Diverse Aging and Health Inequality by Race and Ethnicity

Authors

Kenneth F. Ferraro, Purdue UniversityFollow
Blakelee R. Kemp, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Monica M. Williams, Purdue UniversityFollow

ORCID IDs

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5614-0323 Blakelee R. Kemp

Document Type

Article

Citation

Ferraro, Kenneth F., Blakelee R. Kemp, and Monica M. Williams. 2017. “Diverse aging and health inequality by race and ethnicity.” Innovation in Aging 1(1): igx002, 1-11.

doi:10.1093/geroni/igx002

Comments

© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. 1 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence

Abstract

Although gerontologists have long embraced the concept of heterogeneity in theories and models of aging, recent research reveals the importance of racial and ethnic diversity on life course processes leading to health inequality. This article examines research on health inequality by race and ethnicity and identifies theoretical and methodological innovations that are transforming the study of health disparities. Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, we propose greater use of life course analysis, more attention to variability within racial and ethnic groups, and better integration of environmental context into the study of accumulation processes leading to health disparities.