Intersectionality Theory

Empirical health research uses intersectionality inconsistently, and few studies apply it as a full theoretical, methodological, or analytic framework. Intersectionality explains how multiple social identities and systems of power interact to create overlapping advantage and disadvantage. Health research should examine social positions such as ethnicity, gender, income, sexuality, religion, age, migration status, and legal status as interacting rather than isolated variables. Single-axis research can obscure differences within ethnic minority groups and lead to poorly targeted interventions. The protocol requires ethnicity, race, culture, language, ancestry, or a related axis to be included in intersectional analysis but not necessarily as the primary axis.