Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration

Population Vulnerability and State Policy to Address Racial Health Inequity: The Intersection of Politics and Preterm Births in Health Equity Policy

Nathan Myers

Indiana State University

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9213-9218

Tonya E. Thornton

Global Connective Center

P. Edward French

Mississippi State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v4i1.6272

Keywords: Public health emergencies, Governor, Racial equity, Health equity, Preterm birth, Marginalized populations

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Abstract

This study investigates whether a state’s Black preterm birth rate prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is related to the policies a state adopted in the midst of the pandemic to try to increase health equity, controlling for the overall percentage of the African American population in the state and the governor’s partisan affiliation. Regression results find that the Black preterm birth rate and the state’s governor being affiliated with the Republican party have a statistically significant and negative relationship with equity policies associated with the governor. In another regression analysis, the percentage of the state’s population that is African American is positive and significant, while the partisan affiliation of the governor is no longer significant. This finding supports the theory that protecting members of marginalized populations during pregnancy does not greatly influence state policy but the proportion of the African American population may be influential in encouraging policy action.

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Author Biographies

Nathan Myers, Indiana State University

Nathan Myers (Nathan.myers@indstate.edu) is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Master of Public Administration at Indiana State University. His areas of research include public policy, public health emergency preparedness, and the governance of biotechnology. He is the author of Pandemics and Polarization: Implications of Partisan Budgeting for Responding to Public Health Emergencies (2019) and numerous related articles. Myers is a graduate of Knox College (BA), University of Illinois at Springfield (MPA), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (PhD).

Tonya E. Thornton, Global Connective Center

Tonya E. Thornton (Tonya.thornton@gcc-us.org) is the Vice President of Research and Development at the Global Connective Center. She serves as a subject-matter expert to the Department of Defense on critical infrastructure, grid security, and emergency management. She was co-chair of the American Society of Public Administration’s pandemic task force.

P. Edward French, Mississippi State University

P. Edward French (Efrench@pspa.msstate.edu) is a Professor in the Political Science and Public Administration Department at Mississippi State University. A member of the National Academy of Public Administration and former editor of Public Administration Review, as well as editor in chief of Public Personnel Management.

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