David Williams - everyday discrimination is an independent predictor of mortality

There comes a tipping point in all campaigns when the evidence is overwhelming and the only way to proceed is with action. According to David Williams, it’s time to tackle the disproportionate effects of race on patients in the UK. David Williams, from Harvard University, developed the Everyday Discrimination Scale that, in 1997, launched a new scientific approach to assessing social influences, such as racism, on health. He’s shown that people who experience every day acts of discrimination— like getting poorer service in a bank or a restaurant, or being treated with less courtesy—will over time have worse health outcomes, including higher rates of heart disease, lower life expectancy, and greater infant mortality. In this podcast he is interviewed by Lilian Anekwe, assistant news editor for New Scientist. Read Lilian's article on tackling racism in the NHS https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m341 And all of the special issue on racism in medicine https://www.bmj.com/racism-in-medicine