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Importance: Inequities created by historical and contemporary mortgage discriminatory policies have implications for health disparities. The role of persistent mortgage discrimination (PMD) in breast cancer (BC) outcomes has not been studied., Objective: To estimate the race-specific association of historical redlining (HRL) with the development of BC subtypes and late-stage disease and a novel measure of PMD in BC mortality., Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cohort study used Georgia Cancer Registry data. A total of 1764 non-Hispanic Black and White women with a BC diagnosis and residing in an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) in Georgia were included. Patients were excluded if they did not have a known subtype or a derived American Joint Committee on Cancer stage or if diagnosed solely by death certificate or autopsy. Participants were diagnosed with a first primary BC between January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2017, and were followed through December 31, 2019. Data were analyzed between May 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023., Exposures: Scores for HRL were examined dichotomously as less than 2.5 (ie, nonredlined) vs 2.5 or greater (ie, redlined). Contemporary mortgage discrimination (CMD) scores were calculated, and PMD index was created using the combination of HRL and CMD scores., Main Outcomes and Measures: Estrogen receptor (ER) status, late stage at diagnosis, and BC-specific death., Results: This study included 1764 women diagnosed with BC within census tracts that were HOLC graded in Georgia. Of these, 856 women (48.5%) were non-Hispanic Black and 908 (51.5%) were non-Hispanic White; 1148 (65.1%) were diagnosed at 55 years or older; 538 (30.5%) resided in tracts with HRL scores less than 2.5; and 1226 (69.5%) resided in tracts with HRL scores 2.5 or greater. Living in HRL areas with HRL scores 2.5 or greater was associated with a 62% increased odds of ER-negative BC among non-Hispanic Black women (odds ratio [OR], 1.62 [95% CI, 1.01-2.60]), a 97% increased odds of late-stage diagnosis among non-Hispanic White women (OR, 1.97 [95% CI, 1.15-3.36]), and a 60% increase in BC mortality overall (hazard ratio, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.17-2.18]). Similarly, PMD was associated with BC mortality among non-Hispanic White women but not among non-Hispanic Black women., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cohort study suggest that historical racist policies and persistent discrimination have modern-day implications for BC outcomes that differ by race. These findings emphasize the need for a more nuanced investigation of the social and structural drivers of disparate BC outcomes.

Importance: Racial inequities in incidence, morbidity, and mortality are a defining feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Health care systems are integral to addressing these inequities. However, qualitative evidence that highlights Black SLE care experiences is limited., Objective: To identify opportunities for improving SLE care based on the experiences and perspectives of Black adults with SLE., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this qualitative study, an interpretive description approach was used and data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Semistructured interviews with Black adults in Michigan who were diagnosed with SLE were conducted. Interviews occurred from November 2, 2021, to July 19, 2022, and data analysis occurred from May 6, 2022, to April 12, 2023., Main Outcomes and Measures: Deidentified transcripts from the interviews were analyzed to develop themes that focused on opportunities to improve quality of care and symptom management., Results: The participants included 30 Black adults with SLE (97% women; mean age, 41 years; range, 18-65 years). Four main themes were identified: (1) awareness of SLE signs and symptoms before diagnosis (participants emphasized delays in diagnosis and how knowledge concerning SLE could be limited in their families and communities); (2) patient-clinician interactions (participants faced discrimination in health care settings and talked about the value of coordinated and supportive health care teams); (3) medication adherence and health effects (participants experienced a range of adverse effects from medications that treat SLE and described how monitoring medication use and efficacy could inform tailored care approaches); and (4) comprehensive care plans after diagnosis (participants reported persistent pain and other symptoms despite treatment). In the context of disease management, participants emphasized the importance of behavioral change and the negative impact of social risk factors., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this qualitative study suggest how limited information about SLE, experiences of racism, treatment regimens, and social risk factors may affect Black people with SLE. Future research should further engage and include Black communities within the context of treatment and intervention development to reduce racial inequities.

Importance: Although inequitable care due to racism and bias is well documented in health care, the impact on health care-associated infections is less understood., Objective: To determine whether disparities in first central catheter-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates existed for pediatric patients of minoritized racial, ethnic, and language groups and to evaluate the outcomes associated with quality improvement initiatives for addressing these disparities., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study retrospectively examined outcomes of 8269 hospitalized patients with central catheters from October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2019, at a freestanding quaternary care children's hospital. Subsequent quality improvement interventions and follow-up were studied, excluding catheter days occurring after the outcome and episodes with catheters of indeterminate age through September 2022., Exposures: Patient self-reported (or parent/guardian-reported) race, ethnicity, and language for care as collected for hospital demographic purposes., Main Outcomes and Measures: Central catheter-associated bloodstream infection events identified by infection prevention surveillance according to National Healthcare Safety Network criteria were reported as events per 1000 central catheter days. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to analyze patient and central catheter characteristics, and interrupted time series was used to analyze quality improvement outcomes., Results: Unadjusted infection rates were higher for Black patients (2.8 per 1000 central catheter days) and patients who spoke a language other than English (LOE; 2.1 per 1000 central catheter days) compared with the overall population (1.5 per 1000 central catheter days). Proportional hazard regression included 225 674 catheter days with 316 infections and represented 8269 patients. A total of 282 patients (3.4%) experienced a CLABSI (mean [IQR] age, 1.34 [0.07-8.83] years; female, 122 [43.3%]; male, 160 [56.7%]; English-speaking, 236 [83.7%]; LOE, 46 [16.3%]; American Indian or Alaska Native, 3 [1.1%]; Asian, 14 [5.0%]; Black, 26 [9.2%]; Hispanic, 61 [21.6%]; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 4 [1.4%]; White, 139 [49.3%]; ≥2 races, 14 [5.0%]; unknown race and ethnicity or refused to answer, 15 [5.3%]). In the adjusted model, a higher hazard ratio (HR) was observed for Black patients (adjusted HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-2.6; P = .002) and patients who spoke an LOE (adjusted HR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.3; P = .01). Following quality improvement interventions, infection rates in both subgroups showed statistically significant level changes (Black patients: -1.77; 95% CI, -3.39 to -0.15; patients speaking an LOE: -1.25; 95% CI, -2.23 to -0.27)., Conclusions and Relevance: The study's findings show disparities in CLABSI rates for Black patients and patients who speak an LOE that persisted after adjusting for known risk factors, suggesting that systemic racism and bias may play a role in inequitable hospital care for hospital-acquired infections. Stratifying outcomes to assess for disparities prior to quality improvement efforts may inform targeted interventions to improve equity.

Importance: Structural racism has been implicated in the disproportionally high asthma morbidity experienced by children living in disadvantaged, urban neighborhoods. Current approaches designed to reduce asthma triggers have modest impact., Objective: To examine whether participation in a housing mobility program that provided housing vouchers and assistance moving to low-poverty neighborhoods was associated with reduced asthma morbidity among children and to explore potential mediating factors., Design, Setting, and Participants: Cohort study of 123 children aged 5 to 17 years with persistent asthma whose families participated in the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership housing mobility program from 2016 to 2020. Children were matched to 115 children enrolled in the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) birth cohort using propensity scores., Exposure: Moving to a low-poverty neighborhood., Main Outcomes: Caregiver-reported asthma exacerbations and symptoms., Results: Among 123 children enrolled in the program, median age was 8.4 years, 58 (47.2%) were female, and 120 (97.6%) were Black. Prior to moving, 89 of 110 children (81%) lived in a high-poverty census tract (>20% of families below the poverty line); after moving, only 1 of 106 children with after-move data (0.9%) lived in a high-poverty tract. Among this cohort, 15.1% (SD, 35.8) had at least 1 exacerbation per 3-month period prior to moving vs 8.5% (SD, 28.0) after moving, an adjusted difference of -6.8 percentage points (95% CI, -11.9% to -1.7%; P = .009). Maximum symptom days in the past 2 weeks were 5.1 (SD, 5.0) before moving and 2.7 (SD, 3.8) after moving, an adjusted difference of -2.37 days (95% CI, -3.14 to -1.59; P < .001). Results remained significant in propensity score-matched analyses with URECA data. Measures of stress, including social cohesion, neighborhood safety, and urban stress, all improved with moving and were estimated to mediate between 29% and 35% of the association between moving and asthma exacerbations., Conclusions and Relevance: Children with asthma whose families participated in a program that helped them move into low-poverty neighborhoods experienced significant improvements in asthma symptom days and exacerbations. This study adds to the limited evidence suggesting that programs to counter housing discrimination can reduce childhood asthma morbidity.

Importance: Prior research has established that Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black residents in the US experienced substantially higher COVID-19 mortality rates in 2020 than non-Hispanic White residents owing to structural racism. In 2021, these disparities decreased., Objective: To assess to what extent national decreases in racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality between the initial pandemic wave and subsequent Omicron wave reflect reductions in mortality vs other factors, such as the pandemic's changing geography., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for COVID-19 deaths from March 1, 2020, through February 28, 2022, among adults aged 25 years and older residing in the US. Deaths were examined by race and ethnicity across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and the national decrease in racial and ethnic disparities between initial and Omicron waves was decomposed. Data were analyzed from June 2021 through March 2023., Exposures: Metropolitan vs nonmetropolitan areas and race and ethnicity., Main Outcomes and Measures: Age-standardized death rates., Results: There were death certificates for 977 018 US adults aged 25 years and older (mean [SD] age, 73.6 [14.6] years; 435 943 female [44.6%]; 156 948 Hispanic [16.1%], 140 513 non-Hispanic Black [14.4%], and 629 578 non-Hispanic White [64.4%]) that included a mention of COVID-19. The proportion of COVID-19 deaths among adults residing in nonmetropolitan areas increased from 5944 of 110 526 deaths (5.4%) during the initial wave to a peak of 40 360 of 172 515 deaths (23.4%) during the Delta wave; the proportion was 45 183 of 210 554 deaths (21.5%) during the Omicron wave. The national disparity in age-standardized COVID-19 death rates per 100 000 person-years for non-Hispanic Black compared with non-Hispanic White adults decreased from 339 to 45 deaths from the initial to Omicron wave, or by 293 deaths. After standardizing for age and racial and ethnic differences by metropolitan vs nonmetropolitan residence, increases in death rates among non-Hispanic White adults explained 120 deaths/100 000 person-years of the decrease (40.7%); 58 deaths/100 000 person-years in the decrease (19.6%) were explained by shifts in mortality to nonmetropolitan areas, where a disproportionate share of non-Hispanic White adults reside. The remaining 116 deaths/100 000 person-years in the decrease (39.6%) were explained by decreases in death rates in non-Hispanic Black adults., Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that most of the national decrease in racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality between the initial and Omicron waves was explained by increased mortality among non-Hispanic White adults and changes in the geographic spread of the pandemic. These findings suggest that despite media reports of a decline in disparities, there is a continued need to prioritize racial health equity in the pandemic response.