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Health Equity
Equity in health care is when every person has the opportunity to attain their full potential of health; and no one is disadvantaged from attaining this potential due to their race/ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, or geographical background. Changes in health policy can promote or impede advancements in health equity.
On this page, you will find content from Health Affairs on health equity and the multiple factors that impact it such as discrimination , workforce diversity , health disparities , and the social determinants of health (housing, education, neighborhood, and income). The content is intended to inform Health Affairs readership about the various aspects and practices of health equity and may serve as a catalyst to improve health outcomes of populations which are most burdened by the US health system.
In addition to publishing content about health equity, Health Affairs established a Health Equity Advisory Committee to guide the journal with developing and implementing strategies to advance equity within scholarly publishing of health services and health policy research. In conjuction with the Health Advisory Committee, Health Affairs launched a new Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees program. The Fellowship is a part of Health Affairs’ national initiative to advance racial equity in health policy and health services scholarly publishing.
Health Affairs published a theme issue on racism and health , with an emphasis on structural racism , on February 7, 2022. We inform the discussion of the topic with the latest scholarship and consider forward-looking pieces to help shape the future research and policy agenda. We aimed to be inclusive, including the voices of individuals with lived experience as authors and peer reviewers.
As part of our commitment, we included a video and unique campaign artwork alongside the research to set the foundation of the issue .
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