Better Science Enough? Autoethnography of a Collaboration to Measure Structural Racism

TL;DR

This paper explores a multidisciplinary team's efforts to measure structural racism through collaborative methods and lived experiences.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel anti-racist praxis approach combining autoethnography and interdisciplinary collaboration to measure structural racism.

Findings

Collaborative methods revealed structural racism's dimensions through lived experiences and institutional infrastructures.

Interdisciplinary efforts produced tools like interviews, measurement infrastructure, and a podcast on racism measurement.

Critical reflection highlighted methodological challenges and transformative approaches to addressing racialized health inequities.

Abstract

Addressing structural racism remains a critical challenge in health and social sciences, despite significant methodological advances over recent decades. This autoethnographic study explores a multidisciplinary collaboration’s approach to measuring structural racism through an intentional anti-racist praxis. Comprising biostatisticians, nurse scientists, epidemiologists, gerontologists, social scientists, and a nephrologist from diverse racial backgrounds, multi-career stages, and institutions, the research team employed innovative methodological approaches to examine structural racism’s complex dimensions. Our collaborative efforts included conducting life course history interviews with older adults racialized as Black, developing an infrastructure for structural racism measurement, organizing an interdisciplinary symposium, and producing a multi-season podcast exploring varied perspectives on racism measurement. Key themes emerging from our work centered on understanding structural racism through lived experiences, institutional infrastructures, and comprehensive measurement strategies. By critically reflecting on our collaborative process, we illuminate both the methodological challenges and potential transformative approaches to understanding and addressing systemic racialized inequities in health research.