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Moving from Equality to Equity
Health equality means giving everyone the same opportunities , care , and services . This has been the focus for laws , polices , procedures , and medical training . This focuses on elimination of differences in health diagnoses and treatments . Health equity focuses on fundamental justice .
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. 1
In most states where data are available, Black people and American Indian/American Native people are more likely than white people to die early in life from conditions that are treatable with timely access to high-quality health care.
2
While current cancer screening guidelines focus on equality , data indicates that these need to be adjusted to disparities within specific communities . The incidences of preventable cancer and higher mortality are impacted by the type of cancer , geographic location , race and ethnicity , country of origin , and gender . To address the underlying issues and individual needs , public health needs to move toward an equity - based approach . The goal is to ensure equal access to quality healthcare and good health , even if this requires giving some people more support and resources . Equity - minded medical professionals must consider how social determinants of health such as access to a healthy diet , stress , and trauma affect outcomes . They must also consider how apparently equal systems lead to inequitable and unjust outcomes . An equity lens moves health systems closer to removing disparities . It also encourages policymakers to think about the myriad ways social environments affect health .
LINK TO EXTENDED BLOG
1 https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/index.htm 2 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/scorecard/2021/nov/achieving-racial-ethnic-equity-us-health-care-state-performance
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