What is Health Equity?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines health equity as the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. The ADPH Office of Health Equity and Minority Health recognizes that health equity is furthermore attainable when no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.

To achieve this fairness, we must acknowledge health disparities and inequities reflected in differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment, as well as address social determinants of health (SDOH) that contribute to this. Learn more about SDOH.

In contrast to equality where regardless of need or circumstance all obtain the same, equity considers context to meet people’s needs. See image below.

Image Credit: FutureLearn.

Social Determinants of Health

What are social determinants of health?

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

SDOH can be grouped into 5 domains:

• Economic Stability
• Education Access and Quality
• Health Care Access and Quality
• Neighborhood and Built Environment
• Social and Community Context

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Examples of SDOH include:

• Safe housing, transportation, and neighborhoods
• Racism, discrimination, and violence
• Education, job opportunities, and income
• Access to nutritious foods and physical activity opportunities
• Polluted air and water
• Language and literacy skills

SDOH also contribute to wide health disparities and inequities. For example, people who don't have access to grocery stores with healthy foods are less likely to have good nutrition. That raises their risk of health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity — and even lowers life expectancy relative to people who do have access to healthy foods.

Just promoting healthy choices won't eliminate these and other health disparities. Instead, public health organizations and their partners in sectors like education, transportation, and housing need to take action to improve the conditions in people's environments.