1. Environmental justice and allergic disease: A Work Group Report of the AAAAI Environmental Exposure and Respiratory Health Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
- Author
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Allison J. Burbank, Michelle L. Hernandez, Akilah Jefferson, Tamara T. Perry, Wanda Phipatanakul, Jill Poole, and Elizabeth C. Matsui
- Subjects
Immunology ,Immunology and Allergy - Abstract
Environmental justice is the concept that all people have the right to live in a healthy environment, to be protected against environmental hazards, and to participate in decisions affecting their communities. Communities of color and low-income populations live, work and play in environments with disproportionate exposure to hazards associated with allergic disease. This unequal distribution of hazards has contributed to health disparities and is largely the result of systemic racism that promotes segregation of neighborhoods, disinvestment in predominantly racial/ethnic minority neighborhoods, and discriminatory housing, employment and lending practices. The AAAAI Environmental Exposure and Respiratory Health (EERH) Committee and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee jointly developed this report to improve allergy/immunology specialists' awareness of environmental injustice, its roots in systemic racism, and its impact on health disparities in allergic disease. We present evidence supporting the relationship between exposure to environmental hazards, particularly at the neighborhood level, and the disproportionately high incidence and poor outcomes from allergic diseases in marginalized populations. Achieving environmental justice requires investment in at-risk communities to increase access to safe housing, clean air and water, employment opportunities, education, nutrition, and healthcare. Through policies that promote environmental justice, we can achieve greater health equity in allergic disease.
- Published
- 2023