Health Equity

Health equity is is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances” (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Groups of people differ in terms of disease incidence and prevalence, disease course, and health outcomes. These are health disparities. Research in this area includes:

• whether or not there are health disparities for a given condition for given groups of people
• what those health disparities are and what impact they have on the group and/or society
• what is causing those health disparities (genetics, environmental conditions, cultural aspects, access to medical care, differential treatment, etc.)
• how identified health disparities can be eliminated (educational interventions, improved screening, etc.)

It's important to remember that many people are members of multiple groups affected by health disparities, such as a Latina who is underinsured living in an urban area or a transgender teen living in a rural area. The distinctions made in this LibGuide are for ease of finding information, but do not address issues of intersectionality..