Health Equity Resources

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:  What is Health Equity?

“Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.”
-Braveman, P., Arkin, E., Orleans, T., Proctor, D., & Plough, A. (2017)

American Public Health Association Topic Guide:  Health Equity

"Health equity is a goal we can achieve, and it's within our power to do so. We have the tools and the knowledge to make health equity happen, but it's up to all of us to use them."
-Benjamin, G. (2018)

Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication

“CDC’s Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication emphasize the importance of addressing all people inclusively and respectfully. These principles are intended to help public health professionals, particularly health communicators, within and outside of CDC ensure their communication products and strategies adapt to the specific cultural, linguistic, environmental, and historical situation of each population or audience of focus.”

APA Style Guide:  Bias-Free Language

“The American Psychological Association emphasizes the need to talk about all people with inclusivity and respect. Writers using APA Style must strive to use language that is free of bias and avoid perpetuating prejudicial beliefs or demeaning attitudes in their writing.”

American Medical Association:   Racism is a Threat to Public Health

“Recognize that the false conflation of race with inherent biological or genetic traits leads to inadequate examination of true underlying disease risk factors, which exacerbates existing health inequities.

Encourage characterizing race as a social construct, rather than an inherent biological trait.

Recognize that when race is described as a risk factor, it is more likely to be a proxy for influences including structural racism than a proxy for genetics.”

Harvard Kennedy School: Racial Justice, Racial Equity, and Anti-Racism Reading List

“This reading list is a starting place to find resources that speak to racial justice, racial equity, and anti-racism.”