At a glance
Health equity is achieved when everyone has the opportunity to attain their full health potential. Communities can take steps to ensure that no one has less chance of achieving this potential.
Chronic disease
Three major modifiable health risk behaviors are responsible for many early deaths related to chronic disease:
- Tobacco use.
- Poor nutrition.
- Lack of physical activity.
Many chronic conditions tend to be more common, diagnosed later, and result in worse outcomes for particular groups. These health disparities related to chronic conditions may be seen in the following groups:
- People of color.
- People with disabilities.
- People living in rural communities.
- Older adults.
- People with mental health or substance use disorders.
- People with less than high school education.
- People with low incomes or those experiencing poverty.
- People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT).
Community efforts
Here’s what communities can do to reduce health disparities and improve health for all residents:
Build organizational capacity
Advancing health equity requires organizations to be purposeful in every action and think carefully about how their work gets done.
Meaningfully engage affected residents
Include populations affected by health inequities in their efforts to improve communities.
Develop diverse and inclusive partnerships
Amplify the often unheard voices of people most directly affected by inequities through partnerships and coalitions. Include people with diverse backgrounds, skills, and expertise.
Identify and understand health inequities
Collect data to help establish baselines, monitor trends over time, and ensure that strategies account for the needs of people experiencing health inequities.
Consider health equity in selection, design, and implementation
How strategies are selected, designed, and implemented will affect the populations experiencing health inequities, the organizations doing the work, and the community at large. Health equity should be taken into account when decisions are made.
Make the case for health equity
Communicating effectively requires understanding the community context, using messages supported with relevant data, and increasing awareness of local issues.
Address health equity in evaluation efforts
All efforts should be evaluated to identify what works, for whom, and under what conditions. Well-designed evaluations help focus interventions and determine if health inequities have decreased, increased, or remained the same.