James, Sherman AIn this introduction to volume 31 of Epidemiologic Reviews, the author traces the history of health disparities research in epidemiology and situates the 10 review articles comprising this edition within this history. With the aid of a conceptual model describing the key determinants of health disparities, he offers several suggestions for improving future epidemiologic research on health disparities.DisparitiesResearchcontinental population groupshealth status disparitiesprejudicepublic healthresidence characteristicssocial classArticle