Health Equity
What is Health Equity?
Health Equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires ongoing societal efforts to:
- Address historical and contemporary injustices;
- Overcome economic, social, and other obstacles to health and health care; and
- Eliminate preventable health disparities.
To achieve health equity, we must change the systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustices that give rise to racial and ethnic health disparities.
Factors Affecting Health Equity
Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, play, and worship that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes. Long-standing inequities in six key areas of social determinants of health are interrelated and influence a wide range of health and quality-of-life risks and outcomes.
- Social and Community (Discrimination/Racism)
- Healthcare Access and Use
- Neighborhood and Physical Environment
- Workplace Conditions
- Education
- Income and Wealth Gaps
Examining these layered health and social inequities can help us better understand how to promote health equity and improve health outcomes.
