# Moving Beyond Single Racial Identification: Considering Multiracial and Multiethnic Identification in Public Health

## TL;DR

This paper discusses the need to move beyond single racial identification in public health to better understand and serve multiracial and multiethnic populations.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a new perspective on racial identification that considers multiracial and multiethnic identities in public health research and practice.

## Key findings

- Single racial identification fails to capture the health experiences of multiracial and multiethnic individuals.
- The author suggests more complex methods to capture personal racial identification and perceptions.
- Public health interventions should consider multiple cultural identities to effectively reach diverse groups.

## Abstract

As multiracial and multiethnic youth populations are anticipated to be 11.3% of the U.S. population by 2060, it is essential that public health research and practice find ways to effectively capture and reach these diverse groups. Single racial identification has been a norm in public health practice; however, this method has limitations for capturing the health of multiracial and multiethnic individuals. Drawing on personal experience of the author and multidisciplinary scholarship, this research commentary examines the limitations of single race identification and how this influences the processes of racialization. The author provides important implications for public health research by suggesting more complex and effective ways to capture personal racial identification and racial perceptions and addresses how to reach multiracial and multiethnic groups through public health interventions where individuals might identify with multiple cultural identities.