Faculty

Jason L. Cummings, PhD

About

Dr. Cummings obtained his PhD from Indiana University. As a trained medical sociologist, his work investigates the socio-historical and present-day consequences of racism, racial (white) privilege, racial stratification, and their manifold contribution to racial and ethnic differentials in health and health care. His work is undergirded by two theoretical perspectives (e.g. intersectionality and Critical Race Theory) and span multiple areas, including interrogating: (1) how racial and gender differentials in health/well-being in the U.S. have changed since the 1970s and the social, political, and economic origins of these changes; (2) whether racial “misclassification” or socially assigned race (i.e. being perceived as White by others) influences (benefits) the socioeconomic and health status of persons of color; and (3) the role of racism/discrimination in Kidney transplant access and treatment. Dr. Cummings' work has been published in several journals and book chapters including Research on Aging, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Quality of Life Research, Social Indicators Research, Population Research and Policy Review, International Journal for Equity in Health, and Journal of Happiness Studies.

Degrees

PhD, Sociology
Indiana University, 2013 

MA, Sociology
Indiana University, 2004 

BA, Sociology/English
Fairfield University, 2002

Professional & Community Affiliations

American Sociological Association

Southern Sociological Society

Courses Taught

Introduction to Sociology

Sociology of Health Care 

Race and Ethnic Relations  

Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (Graduate) 

News

Dr. Cummings recently served as a panelist on an online webinar hosted by the Paul W. Cain Foundation and Terry Performance Group entitled: "Health Inequity: Advocating for Life" on the panel, Dr. Cummings shared his research and expertise—providing personal advocacy tactics when engaging with the health care system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWTdBsBfjg

Dr. Cummings' research on the health profiles of the Black Middle Class referenced in a Brookings Institution Article: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2021/05/04/is-the-united-states-a-racist-country/

Dr. Cummings' collaborative work on Socially Assigned Race and Health Equity was profiled on the Harvard University's T.H. Chan's School of Public Health's Website: https://fxb.harvard.edu/2020/03/10/new-research-on-socially-assigned-race-and-health-inequity-and-on-mass-incarceration-and-preterm-birth/

Dr. Cummings quoted in L'Espresso, a prominent French newspaper in an article on the COVID Pandemic, Racial Injustice and the November 2020 Presidential Election. https://espresso.repubblica.it/plus/articoli/2020/10/01/news/elezioni-usa-south-carolina-1.353768/

Dr. Cummings quoted in the Post and Courier in an article titled: "Long-term inequities put SC minorities at higher risk for coronavirus exposure and death." https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/long-term-inequities-put-sc-minorities-at-higher-risk-for-coronavirus-exposure-and-death/article_9d557788-799d-11ea-a89e-a7d97f6247a1.html

Dr. Cummings quoted in The State in an article titled: "Out-of-the-way places struggle with coronavirus in SC" focusing on racial disparities in health in the rural south. https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article241832581.html

Selected Publications

Cummings, Jason L. 2023. “Entangled Inequalities: U.S. Trends in Self-Rated Health at the Intersection of Gender and Race, 1972-2018.” Forthcoming in Social Indicators Research. Link to article.  Impact Factor (3.100).

Bardo, Anthony R. and Jason L. Cummings. 2023. “Life, Longevity, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Role of Disability in Shaping Racial and Sex Disparities in Living a Long and Happy Life.” Forthcoming in Population Research and Policy Review. Link to article.  Impact Factor (2.600).

White, Kellee, Jourdyn Lawrence,* Nedelina Tchangalova, Shuo J. Huang, and Jason L. Cummings. 2020. “SociallyAssigned Race and Health: A Scoping Review with Global Implications for Population Health Equity.” International Journal for Equity in Health. 19: 1-14. Link to article.  Impact Factor (2.511)

Cummings, Jason L. 2020. “Assessing U.S. Racial and Gender Differences in Happiness, 1972- 2016: An Intersectional Approach” Journal of Happiness Studies: 21: 709-732. Link to article.  Impact Factor (2.511)

White, Kellee, Jourdyn Lawrence,* Jason L. Cummings and Calley Fisk.* 2019. “Emotional and Physical Reactions to Perceived Discrimination, Language Preference and Health-Related Quality of Life among Latinos and Whites.” Quality of Life Research. 28: 2799- 2811. Link to article.  Impact Factor (2.488)

Lawrence, Jourdyn A.*, Kellee White, Jason L. Cummings, James W. Hardin, Myriam E. Torres. 2019. “Socially Assigned Race and Diabetes: Findings from the Arizona Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013-2014.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 6:926- 934. Advance online publication: Link to article. Impact Factor (2.147)

Cummings, Jason L. 2017.  “Race and Physical Health.” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer. London: Wiley-Blackwell Link to article.

Cummings, Jason L. 2017. “Race and Mental Health.” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer. London: Wiley-Blackwell 

Link to article.