WHAT IS IMPACT?

 What is the impact?

Health inequity negatively impacts everyone. It leads to worsened outcomes not just for the people it directly affects, but also for those with more power and resources.

For example, health inequity:

• makes it more difficult to contain and treat infectious diseases

• increases levels of crime and violence across communities

• fuels alcohol and substance misuse

• increases stress and anxiety by damaging social cohesion

• decreases productivity and employment, and, therefore, tax revenue

• pushes 100 million people

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•  into poverty each year and prevents at least half of the world’s population from getting the healthcare they need

• costs billions of U.S. dollars per year

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•  and raises the cost of healthcare for everyone

For people who health inequity directly affects, the impact is not just limited to their lifetime. Health inequity can affect their children and grandchildren, both psychologically and physically.

What could health equity look like?

Health equity is the opposite of health inequity. It describes a system that supports a high standard of health and healthcare for all people.

To achieve this, people would need to eliminate sources of health inequity and provide people with individualized care based on their needs. This means giving more power and resources to groups that have less rather than treating everyone the same.

In the healthcare system, this could involve:

• financial risk protection

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•  for people who need to pay for healthcare

• affordable prices for medications and vaccines

• flexible appointment times for people who work long or unusual hours

• mobile health services for those in remote areas and people who cannot travel

• easy access to translators, care workers, and others who can help people understand and access medical care

• education for healthcare professionals on how inequity affects the care they provide to their patients

• financial and social support for trainee medical staff who come from diverse backgrounds

Achieving health equity also involves societal change. This could involve:

• providing financial investment to areas and groups that need it most

• cleaning up environmental pollution and instating laws to protect against it

• addressing problems with accessing healthy food

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• , such as food deserts

• addressing barriers that prevent people from attending school, such as period poverty

• ensuring that all houses and workplaces are safe and accessible, as well as prohibiting exclusionary housing practices

• ensuring that everyone can access green spaces, parks, and trails

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•  for exercise

These are just a few examples. How countries tackle health inequity will be unique to the needs of the people who live there.

Learn more about the social determinants of health here.

Summary

Health inequities are avoidable differences in the health status of different social groups. They are not the product of biological or inevitable disparities but of human-made systems and structures.

Health inequity harms everyone, regardless of background or identity. However, it most severely impacts historically marginalized groups.