Racial/ethnic discrimination is often identified as a contributor to racial/ethnic disparities in health but rarely examined in this context. The Applied Research and the Behavioral Research Programs of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) are sponsoring a three-day conference to examine the research and research methods for investigating the role of racial/ethnic discrimination in health. The specific purposes of the meeting are to (1) promote the science/research on racial/ethnic discrimination and its contribution to racial/ethnic disparities in health; (2) identify gaps in the research literature and areas for future research and/or NCI/NIH funding initiatives; and (3) increase awareness of the NCI’s interest in funding research in this topic area through the Program Announcement, The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/Bias on Health Care Delivery (PA-080-083, PA-08-084, PA-08-085). Meeting presenters will discuss the research literature and/or present research results on the following topics:

• Institutional racism
• Personal prejudice/bias
• Implicit attitudes and stereotypes
• Stereotype threat
• Strengths and limitations of existing instruments and methodologies for measuring the prevalence of or exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination
• The effect of chronic exposure to discrimination over the life course
• Discrimination and its impact on physical and mental health
• Perceived discrimination including the role of cultural incompetence and racial discordance