Research collaborators Karen Saban (left) and Regina ConwayPhillips on the Health Sciences Campus.
RESEARCH
Pilot study explores strategies for managing social stressors like discrimination.
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RACISM and discrimination can
seep into every aspect of a Black woman’s life: from the stress of being a minority in a workplace that might be tinged with microaggressions or overt racism to living in a neighborhood that’s not welcoming or still marked by historic redlining to worrying about the safety of loved ones every time they leave the house. Karen Saban, PhD, APRN, CNRN, FAHA, FAAN, a professor and associate dean of research and scholarly innovation at Loyola Nursing, has studied health disparities in cardiovascular disease for years. “Even
L OYO L A U N I V E R S I T Y C H I C AG O M A R C E L L A N I E H O F F S C H O O L O F N U R S I N G
if you control for things like weight, smoking, and diet, disparities still exist, especially for women of color,” she notes. “We know that stress, particularly social stressors like discrimination, can increase inflammation and risk of cardiovascular disease.” Saban designed the Resilience, Stress, and Ethnicity (RiSE) program to reduce racebased stress in Black women at risk for cardiovascular disease. After connecting with two local psychologists who were implementing a race-based stress-reduction program for veterans of color in the Chicago
area, Saban collaborated with them to tailor the program for Black women. During the eightweek pilot, 40 women attended in-person small-group sessions facilitated by the psychologists. Participants shared how racism and discrimination affect their daily lives and discussed how their emotions affect their body. The psychologists—Darnell Motley, PhD, University of Chicago faculty, and Lamise Shawahin, PhD, Governors State University faculty, introduced the women to stress-reducing strategies, including listening to music, coloring, meditation,
PHOTO: ERIK UNGER
Reducing race-based stress improves well-being
