When Being Sick Makes Us Sicker: A Black Feminist Approach to Financial Toxicity

Abstract

Health and wellbeing have a significant impact on our quality of life. They matter to people. Unfortunately, there are vast inequities in healthcare and health outcomes in the United States on the basis of race, gender, and class. Often, being sick makes people sicker, especially those impacted by the aforementioned systems of oppression – racism, sexism, and class. One axis through which being sick makes us sicker is the financial toxicity of sickness. Here, financial toxicity is defined as the negative health effects of financial hardship, typically associated with health care. In this thesis we take a Black Feminist approach towards understanding the mechanism of financial toxicity using the Healthy Neighborhood Study, a participatory action research study in nine Massachusetts communities. We observe a significant relationship between health status, stress, and financial insecurity and propose next steps for Black Feminist research in the Health Neighborhood Study