What are health and health care disparities?
Health and health care disparities refer to differences in health and health care between groups that stem from broader inequities. There are multiple definitions of health disparities. Healthy People 2030 defines a health disparity, as “a particular type of health difference that is linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage,” and that adversely affects groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines health disparities as, “preventable differences in the burden, disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups and communities.” A health care disparity typically refers to differences between groups in health insurance coverage, affordability, access to and use of care, and quality of care. The terms “health inequality” and “inequity” are also sometimes used to describe unjust differences. Racism, which the CDC defines as the structures, policies, practices, and norms that assign value and determine opportunities based on the way people look or the color of their skin, results in conditions that unfairly advantage some and disadvantage others, placing people of color at greater risk for poor health outcomes.
Health equity generally refers to individuals achieving their highest level of health through the elimination of disparities in health and health care. Healthy People 2030 defines health equity as the attainment of the highest level of health for all people and notes that it requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and health and health care disparities. The CDC describes health equity as when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
