Application of Public Health Critical Race Praxis to Refine Black Girls Move: An Obesity Prevention Intervention for Black Adolescent Daughter/Mother Dyads

Abstract

Background:

Black adolescent females are disproportionately affected by obesity and its associated adverse health outcomes. Though racial disparities in obesity and related health outcomes are often attributed to differences in socioeconomic status, growing evidence suggests that structural racism is a contributing factor. To prevent the numerous comorbidities associated with obesity in black females, interventionists must confront the tripartite impact of structural racism, racial discrimination, and intersectionality on physical activity and dietary behaviors. The purpose of this paper was to describe Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) as a race-conscious approach to intervention development, refinement, and evaluation.

Approach:

PHCRP can be applied to behavioral intervention research to provide a lens to develop, refine, deliver, and/or evaluate culturally tailored interventions. We present a description of the 4 PHCRP foci for interventionists with examples of the 10 affiliated principles.

PHCRP Application:

The intervention team led with the overarching principle, race consciousness, to guide their refinement efforts, including acknowledgment of personal biases, identification of the mechanisms in which bias perpetuates racism, and development of counteractivities to combat these biases. The intervention team operationalized PHCRP by critically evaluating decisions through a race-conscious lens, ensuring that the 4 foci remained foundational throughout the refinement process.

Discussion:

Interventionists have unintentionally reinforced racism with complicit silence by not directly addressing the profound influence of racism on health behaviors. We urge interventionists to regard the inclusion of a race-conscious framework, such as PHCRP, as a necessary requirement for designing interventions with marginalized populations.