Health Equity
Health equity 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. Addressing social determinants of health is a primary approach to achieving health equity'. -- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Defintions
Health disparity: A higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group relative to another group.
Health care disparity: Differences between groups in health insurance coverage, access to and use of care, and quality of care.
- Kaiser Family Foundation. “Disparities in Health and Health Care: Five Key Questions and Answers.”
Health inequality: used more often in scientific literature to describe differences associated with specific attributes such as income, or race.
Health inequity: implies that a difference is unfair or unethical
Health and health care disparities are all around. Disparities can include:
- geographic location (urban, rural)
- race, ethnicity
- age, gender
- language
- cultural perceptions
- religion
- access to health care
- insurance, ability to pay
- education, income
- sexual identity, orientation
- disability status
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