Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Utilization of Race and Ethnicity in Major Epidemiology Journals, 1995–2018: A Systematic Review

Abstract Despite repeated calls by scholars to critically engage with the concepts of race and ethnicity in US epidemiologic research, the incorporation of these social constructs in scholarship may be suboptimal. This study characterizes the conceptualization, operationalization, and utilization of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of epidemiology 2023-02, Vol.192 (3), p.483-496
Main Authors: Martinez, Rae Anne M, Andrabi, Nafeesa, Goodwin, Andrea N, Wilbur, Rachel E, Smith, Natalie R, Zivich, Paul N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coding
Concept Formation
Epidemiologic Studies
Epidemiology
Ethnicity
Hispanic people
Humans
Minority & ethnic groups
Periodicals as Topic
Racial Groups
Systematic review
Systematic Reviews and Meta- and Pooled Analyses
United States
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Summary:Abstract Despite repeated calls by scholars to critically engage with the concepts of race and ethnicity in US epidemiologic research, the incorporation of these social constructs in scholarship may be suboptimal. This study characterizes the conceptualization, operationalization, and utilization of race and ethnicity in US research published in leading journals whose publications shape discourse and norms around race, ethnicity, and health within the field of epidemiology. We systematically reviewed randomly selected articles from prominent epidemiology journals across 5 periods: 1995–1999, 2000–2004, 2005–2009, 2010–2014, and 2015–2018. All original human-subjects research conducted in the United States was eligible for review. Information on definitions, measurement, coding, and use in analysis was extracted. We reviewed 1,050 articles, including 414 (39%) in our analyses. Four studies explicitly defined race and/or ethnicity. Authors rarely made clear delineations between race and ethnicity, often adopting an ethnoracial construct. In the majority of studies across time periods, authors did not state how race and/or ethnicity was measured. Top coding schemes included “Black, White” (race), “Hispanic, non-Hispanic” (ethnicity), and “Black, White, Hispanic” (ethnoracial). Most often, race and ethnicity were deemed “not of interest” in analyses (e.g., control variables). Broadly, disciplinary practices have remained largely the same between 1995 and 2018 and are in need of improvement.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/aje/kwac146