Systemic Factors

Definition

Systemic factors refer to the broader societal, institutional, and environmental influences that contribute to prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. These factors operate at a systemic level, shaping the overall structures, policies, and norms that can perpetuate biases and disparities, even in the absence of individual-level prejudice.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Systemic factors can perpetuate prejudice and discrimination even in the absence of individual-level biases.
2. Structural racism is a key systemic factor that creates disadvantages and barriers for people of color across social institutions.
3. Institutional discrimination refers to the ways in which organizational policies and practices can lead to unfair treatment of certain groups.
4. Social determinants of health, such as education, employment, and housing, are systemic factors that contribute to health disparities.
5. Addressing systemic factors often requires comprehensive, multi-level interventions targeting policies, practices, and social norms.

Review Questions

• Explain how systemic factors can contribute to prejudice and discrimination, even when individuals may not hold explicit biases.
  • Systemic factors refer to the broader societal, institutional, and environmental influences that shape the overall structures, policies, and norms within a system. These factors can perpetuate prejudice and discrimination even in the absence of individual-level biases. For example, structural racism, embedded in the policies and practices of social institutions, can create disadvantages and barriers for people of color, leading to disparities in areas like education, employment, and healthcare. Institutional discrimination, where organizational policies and procedures unintentionally lead to unfair treatment of certain groups, is another way systemic factors can contribute to prejudice and discrimination without individual-level prejudice.
• Describe the relationship between systemic factors and social determinants of health, and how they can contribute to health disparities.
  • Systemic factors, such as structural racism and institutional discrimination, are closely linked to social determinants of health - the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These broader societal and environmental factors, shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources, can have a significant impact on individual and community health outcomes. For example, disparities in education, employment, housing, and other social determinants that arise from systemic inequities can lead to poorer health, higher rates of chronic disease, and shorter life expectancies for marginalized groups. Addressing these systemic factors is crucial for promoting health equity and reducing persistent health disparities.
• Evaluate the importance of addressing systemic factors in efforts to reduce prejudice, discrimination, and inequality, and discuss potential strategies for interventions at the systemic level.
  • Addressing systemic factors is critical for effectively reducing prejudice, discrimination, and inequality, as these broader societal, institutional, and environmental influences can perpetuate biases and disparities even in the absence of individual-level prejudice. Strategies for interventions at the systemic level may include: reviewing and revising organizational policies and practices to eliminate institutional discrimination; implementing anti-bias training and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within institutions; advocating for policy changes that address structural inequities, such as in education, housing, and criminal justice; and investing in community-level programs and resources that address the social determinants of health. Comprehensive, multi-level approaches that target systemic factors, in addition to individual-level attitudes and behaviors, are necessary for creating sustainable, equitable change.

Related terms

Structural Racism: The systemic disadvantages and barriers faced by people of color due to historical and contemporary policies, practices, and norms embedded within social institutions.

Institutional Discrimination: Discrimination that is built into the policies, practices, and procedures of organizations, often unintentionally, leading to unfair treatment of certain groups.

Social Determinants of Health: The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, which are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels.