Hosted by the GPH Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice & Public Health (CASJPH)
The island areas of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. territories; home to 3.6 million U.S. citizens and/or nationals who depend on federal public health systems, policies, and processes to maintain population health. However, as neither states nor independent nations, these territorial jurisdictions exist in a type of political purgatory - excluded from many of the federal political processes that shape the allocation of health resources. Dr. Anna-Michelle McSorley, CASJPH Postdoctoral Associate, combines her expertise in public health and political science to demonstrate how differential federal treatment under U.S. territorial status contributes to health inequities for the residents of these island areas.