Former Detroit public health director focuses on the ‘epidemic of fear’

By Dennis Archambault

There are many ways of applying the idea of an “epidemic” in the social space. Likewise, there are multiple ways to analyze social problems through an epidemiological lens. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former director of the Detroit Health Department and gubernatorial candidate, talks about the “epidemic of insecurity” and “empathy politics” needed to treat it. Promoting his book, Healing Politics, Dr. El-Sayed applies public health principles to social problems, similar to how public health professionals have viewed violence.

He uses insecurity as a way of explaining voter behavior in Middle America, some of who have just enough and strive for more. Recently, he told The Detroit News, “It’s all of the ways in which we have failed people in our society right now, whether it’s lack of access to basic health care or mental health, a broken economy that tends to force people into these gig jobs that don’t provide basic means of living wage and benefits, failure to provide folks adequate housing, a broken political system that tends to suppress votes and gives corporations more rights than people have.” The convergence of these stressors creates an environment of insecurity that makes people fearful of what could occur in the future. That plays out in political behavior.

“When people are insecure, it leads them to make decisions that are more about preventing any future loss than investing in the future game. And I think this is the frame within which we can best understand our politics, and what we need to do about that. And to me, the response has to be a focus on empathy.”

This also applies to those coping with the cumulative effect of social determinants on their health and social viability – and is relevant to understanding resilience. “Social security” isn’t just a program for older adults, it’s a concept that emerged from the Great Depression, a time of widespread insecurity. Dr. El-Sayed seems to be saying that society – and the political system – needs to address the perception of insecurity in the middle class, which prompts the politics of self-interest, as well as the insecurity of the poor, which contributes to greater alienation. Empathy, leading to a stronger sense of social security, helps address this end of the spectrum.

Dr. El-Sayed calls on society to consider this question: “What can we do together in collective pain to help to build out the kind of American that heals?”

Dennis Archambault is vice president of Public Affairs for Authority Health.