Allana T. Forde, Ph.D. M.P.H.
Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator
Race-Related Stressors and Health Disparities Lab
Dr. Allana T. Forde staff profile | Lab members
Scientific Expertise
African Diaspora, discrimination, epidemiology, epigenetics, health disparities, resilience, stress
Research and Programmatic Interests
The program conducts epidemiologic research studies (quantitative, qualitative) that focus on stressors that are more frequently experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations and the impact that these stressors have on health disparities in the United States and abroad.
Specifically, Dr. Forde aims to reduce/eliminate health disparities by exploring heterogeneity in the experiences of race-related stressors (e.g., discrimination) among African, African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latino/a populations to better understand the:
- Impact of race-related stressors on cardiovascular risk, morbidity, and mortality.
- Biological mechanisms through which race-related stressors impact cardiovascular health.
- Protective and adaptive factors that could inform interventions.
Research Projects
Race-Related Experiences Associated With COVID-19 and Health in the United States (REACH-US)
The Race-Related Stressors and Health Disparities Research laboratory designed the REACH-US online survey to investigate:
- Personal and observed experiences of racial discrimination.
- Perceived consequences of these experiences on health, quality of life, and behaviors.
- The impact of discrimination on access to services and resources at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey was administered to a nationally representative sample of 5,500 adults aged 18 years and older in the United States between January 26, 2021 and March 3, 2021. The sample included 500 American Indian/Alaska Native, 1,000 Asian, 1,000 Black/African American, 1,000 Hispanic/Latino (which includes Latino and Latina participants), 500 multiracial, 500 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1,000 White adults.
Selected Publicly Available Secondary Data Sources From Publications in the Race-Related Stressors and Health Disparities Research Laboratory
Jackson Heart Study
The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is the largest single-site, prospective, epidemiologic investigation of cardiovascular disease among African American adults. In addition, the JHS is the largest study to examine the environmental, social, and inherited (genetic) factors associated with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and other health outcomes impacting the African American population.
Dr. Forde serves on the leadership team for the Social Determinants of Health Working Group, which is one of the many working groups established to facilitate manuscript development, mentoring, and research collaborations contributing to the aims of JHS.
Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) is a medical research study of subclinical cardiovascular disease (i.e., disease detected non-invasively prior to clinical signs and symptoms) and the risk factors that predict progression to clinically overt cardiovascular disease or progression of subclinical disease.
MESA researchers recruited a population-based sample of asymptomatic White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian adults from six communities in the United States (New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Winston Salem).
Health and Retirement Study
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a longitudinal panel study of aging that was designed to explore the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that individuals undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years after. HRS collects multidisciplinary survey data including, but not limited to, discrimination, coping, disability, cognitive function, and physical health among a representative sample of older adults in the United States.