Investigation of Excess Cardiovascular Disease In Black Communities In NYC as Consequence of The Era of Mass

Incarceration

Terrell Finner

Mass incarceration has:

• Not only had negative impacts on the individual but also impacts the community

• Served as one of many (but an important) contributing factors of stress in Black communities

• Led to excessive rates of cardiovascular disease in Black communities

• Increased the need for public health interventions for formerly incarcerated individuals and their communities

Outline of Investigation

Mass Incarceration in New York City

Rockefeller Drug Laws passed in 1973:

• Criminalized the sale or possession of small quantities of drugs to the same levels of murder or felony assaults (2-4 ounces of cocaine, heroin, morphine, opium, or marijuana)

• A minimum of 15 years to life for the possession of the substances

• Sentencing disparity between Blacks and Whites

• Whites had advantages in every level of executive/judicial systems

• Was not reformed until 2009

Information gathered from http://www.nyclu.org/content/rockefeller-drug-laws-cause-racial-disparities-huge-taxpayer-burden

Mass Incarceration in New York City

Between 1970 and 2000 the prison population in the State of New York for drug related

arrests skyrocketed from 1,488 to 22,266 people…

Information gathered from http://www.nyclu.org/content/rockefeller-drug-laws-cause-racial-disparities-huge-taxpayer-burden

Mass Incarceration in New York City

25%

44%

25%

7%

NYC Population

BlackWhiteHispanicAsian

57%

7%

33%

1%2%

NYC Jail Population

BlackWhiteHispanicAsianOther

Gathered from NYC Census 2010 and New York City Budget Office 2013

Since mass incarceration in New York City disproportionately impacts Black Communities, the negative spillover effects of this practice (increased cardiovascular disease being just one of these) will

disproportionately impact these same places.

Cardiovascular Disease in United States

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States:

• 610,000 heart disease associated deaths each year

• African Americans account for 25 percent of them (even though they make up for 12.6 percent of the population)

Information gathered from CDC.gov/heartdisease

Cardiovascular Disease in New York City

Heart disease is also the number one cause of death in NYC:

• Blacks accounted for 29.7 percent of cardiovascular deaths

• Number one fatality cause in Blacks

• Black cardiovascular death rate = 216.7 per 100,000 > White cardiovascular death rate = 198.3 per 100,000 deaths

Information gathered from the Summary of Vital Statistics 2013 The City of New York Mortality

Black Neighborhoods in New York City

Incarceration in New York City

Gathered from JusticeMapping.org

Heart Disease in New York City

“Over the course of the prison boom, imprisonment has become a common event in the life course for Black men..”

“Exposure to family member imprisonment may compromise the physical health, particularly cardiovascular disease – of related health outcomes, of women via lowered socioeconomic status and family functioning, reduced social support, and higher levels of chronic stress.”

(Lee, Wilderman, Wang, Matusko & Jackson, 2014)

Mass Incarceration

Abrupt removal of

family members

Destroys community cohesiveness,

economic capabilities & social

support

Stress and increased

allostatic load

Physical expression of stress as heart disease

“Weathering” of the body

due to cumulative life

stresses

Path from incarceration to heart disease

Contributing Causes to this Disparity

• Formerly incarcerated people with increased likelihood for heart disease returning to communities that they left

• Stress of missing family members

• Socioeconomic constraints cause by reduction in household income

• Lack of healthcare access due to lack of employment, insurance and culturally competent providers

Conclusion

• Improvement of social conditions in Black communities Solving issues related to mass incarceration as one step in the solution

• Increased need for organizations that aid individuals with criminal justice involvement such as the Fortune Society

• Interventions to reduce levels of at risk populations for heart disease

• Focusing more on restorative justice and moving away from punitive measures

Conclusion

• Need for further investigation into why excess cardiovascular disease is disproportionately connected to communities of color which is disproportionately connected to communities with high prevalence of mass incarceration

• Calls for more attention to the interconnectedness of social, political, and public health policy on minority health

• Empowerment of disadvantaged communities (education, resources, equality)

Questions….

US Census of 1850 showed

there were 872,924 Black

men held in the bondage of

slavery.

Today, there are more than 1.68

million Black men in prison,

on probation or on parole.

If we want to talk about

bettering Black health, we have

to address the systematic

oppression that continues to

disrupt the ability of Black

communities to remain viable.