Health Equity and Health Disparities
Health Sciences Librarian, School of Nursing Liaison
2100 W 39th Street
Kansas City, KS 66160
How to use this guide?
You can use the definitions, links, and more to find information and research on health equity and health disparities.
Definitions
Health Equity
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.” Health inequities are reflected in differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment (CDC, 2022).
Health Disparity
A decline in a dynamic state or condition of physical and psychological wellbeing for one individual or group compared with another that is not a result of individual physiologic variance (Fink, 2009).
Healthcare Disparities
Difference in access to or availability of medical facilities and services (MeSH Controlled Vocabulary, 2008).
Health Status Disparities
Variation in the rates of disease occurance and disabilities between socioeconomic and/or geographically defined population groups (MeSH controlled Vocabulary, 2008).
Minority Health
The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of members of minority groups (MeSH Controlled Vocabulary, 2008) (See the reasons for this problematic concept in article below - Sotto-Santiago, 2019).
- Toward a New Definition of Health Disparity: A Concept Analysis.Fink AM. (2009). Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(4):349-357. doi:10.1177/1043659609340802
- Time to Reconsider the Word Minority in Academic MedicineSotto-Santiago, S. (2019). Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity, 12(1), 72-78.
Why does it Matter?
- Disparities in Health and Health Care: Five Key Questions and Answers"Disparities in health and health care not only affect the groups facing disparities, but also limit overall improvements in quality of care and health for the broader population and result in unnecessary costs. As the population becomes more diverse, with people of color projected to account for over half of the population in 2045, it is increasingly important to address health disparities" (Artiga, para. 2, 2016)
- History of Health Equity and Health DisparitiesUMKC has gathered articles explaining what health equity/justice is and why it exists.
