“A Review of Health and Socioeconomic Disparities among Black Older Adults in the District of Columbia”

This report, published by the AARP District of Columbia, in collaboration with Georgetown University’s Department of Health Systems Administration and co-written by Dr. Christopher King, studies the health disparities among Black older adults living in DC. The researchers examine the role that structural racism and lack of access to affordable, high-quality food, transportation, and health care providers play in creating and compounding health disparities. Some of the key findings show that rates for heart failure, diabetes, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma were two to three times higher in Black older adults than their white counterparts. Preventable hospitalizations were two times higher for Black older adults than for whites. The study also provides an overview of the disproportionate impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on communities of color in DC.