African Americans, democracy, and biomedical and behavioral research: contradictions or consensus in community-based participatory research?

Full Abstract

Individualism, in both its political and attitudinal senses, reinforces societal and institutional racism in the United States. Because of individualism's dominant focus on self-interest and self-reliance, any application of "participatory democracy" in community-based biomedical and behavioral research is fraught with dilemmas similar to those that Gunnar Myrdal observed between American racism and democracy. The research establishment is overwhelmed by well-meaning non-minorities who recognize racism and its consequences in health, but only greater representation of people-of-color in the health establishment can ameliorate the inherent contradictions of "participatory democracy" which is so fundamental to the process of community-based participatory research.

Author information

Author/s: Spigner, C (C);

Affiliation: Department of Health Services, Box 357660, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: International quarterly of community health education (Int Q Community Health Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -1999-2000; vol 19 (issue 3) : pp 259-84

Dates: Created 2005/07/15; Completed 2005/08/11;

PMID: 16021781, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

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