Health Inequities & Covid-19

Health Equity: Why it Matters and How to Achieve it

Health inequities—defined by the World Health Organization as systematic differences in the health status of different population groups—have been in the national spotlight for years, which isn’t surprising given that the U.S. ranks last on measures of health equity compared to other industrialized countries.

Keys to an Equitable Recovery: Better Data and ‘Trusted Messengers’

Vast racial health disparities are not accidental and can be fixed, says Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, head of Biden’s Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for an equity-focused global health agenda

The current crisis underscores why the pursuit of health equity should remain the top priority in global health. But it also lays bare the gap between the equity ambitions of the global health field and healthcare realities. The attention that the pandemic has brought to social and health inequalities may offer an opportunity to address that shortcoming.

A colorblind vaccine approach isn’t good enough. The US needs racial equity

Without a focus on racial equity, vaccine allocation will further divide the country and perpetuate health inequalities.

American inequality meets covid-19

Some already yawning gaps are being pushed farther apart by the virus

Covid-19 has shone a light on racial disparities in health

Unpicking the causes of gaps in health outcomes requires better data than most countries currently collect.

COVID-19 vaccine inequity allowed Omicron to emerge

While people in the wealthy West have had preferred access to multiple rounds of vaccines, vast numbers of people, especially in Africa and on the Indian subcontinent, haven’t received a single dose. This has permitted the virus to thrive and accelerated the process of mutation, adding months and perhaps years to the pandemic.

Covid’s racial impact in US clouded by failure to collect race and ethnicity data

Glaring absences in US data despite disproportionate effect on Black, Latino and Native American communities.

Downturns tend to reduce gender inequality. Not under covid-19

Women’s unemployment has risen more than men’s

Health equity and COVID-19: global perspectives

The COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting the poor, minorities and a broad range of vulnerable populations, due to its inequitable spread in areas of dense population and limited mitigation capacity due to high prevalence of chronic conditions or poor access to high quality public health and medical care. Moreover, the collateral effects of the pandemic due to the global economic downturn, and social isolation and movement restriction measures, are unequally affecting those in the lowest power strata of societies.

How Racial Health Disparities Will Play Out in the Pandemic

Blackstock is an emergency medicine physician by training. She was in academic medicine for 10 years until she left in December to focus on her company, Advancing Health Equity, which partners with health care organizations to make sure that they have the tools needed to provide equitable care. Her academic and clinical experience have led her to conclude that not only will testing patterns fall along racial and socioeconomic lines, but Black people are going to be disparately affected by COVID-19.

How Vaccine Requirements Can Advance Equity

Companies now have an opportunity to lead where public health has historically failed. Vaccine requirements are here; employers can make sure they work for everyone... Every long-term solution must be viewed through the health equity lens, for if they are not, we’ll be setting the stage for our next public health failure."

Is Covax finally going to vaccinate the world?

The global vaccination initiative has faced setbacks. Could a recent surge in doses foretell a better year ahead?

Racial Inequities Persist in Health Care Despite Expanded Insurance

The pandemic has highlighted longstanding inequities, taking a greater toll on Black and Hispanic communities. An editorial in the journal noted that the health care system has a long history of racism. Hospitals only desegregated when they were threatened with the loss of federal funds from the Medicaid and Medicare programs, which were enacted in 1966.

Rich nation, unequal health care: Why a charity that's helped Haiti is aiding the U.S.

Early on in the pandemic, PIH began working with partners in various U.S. communities, including Newark, N.J., Fulton County, Ga., the Navajo Nation and the state of Massachusetts, to train contact tracers and set up other public health interventions for America's most vulnerable. Low-income communities of color have been disproportionately hard hit throughout the pandemic — and that's made long-standing racial and ethnic health disparities glaringly obvious.

Toward Better Outcomes And Equity In Healthcare: Turning Pandemic Adaptations Into Lasting Transformation

This burgeoning patient-centric model may soon be the norm, helping make care more fruitful and accessible for everyone. Much of IT modernization work has been done or is underway, and approaches to data management and patient models have evolved with lightning speed—and with these foundations in place, it’s time to chart out the next steps towards better equity and outcomes for all.

Who the pandemic’s next phase will hurt the most

The US health system’s racial inequities will still be felt after Covid-19 becomes endemic.

Not Everyone Can Afford to ‘Learn to Live With’ COVID-19

If history is a guide, infectious diseases exploit inequities not just within societies but between them.

5 Ways To Make The Vaccine Rollout More Equitable

Recognize the barriers to equitable, quality health care....

Advancing Health Equity

Despite significant advances in healthcare innovation and technology, racialized health inequities have persisted and even worsened over the last century. These trends persist due to the expansive reach of systemic racism on Black communities and other communities of color. Healthcare organizations must act now to mitigate the root causes of these inequities.

APHA

Creating health equity is a guiding priority and core value of APHA. By health equity, we mean everyone has the opportunity to attain their highest level of health.

CDC

Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing efforts to address avoidable inequities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and healthcare disparities. The population health impact of COVID-19 has exposed longstanding inequities that have systematically undermined the physical, social, economic, and emotional health of racial and ethnic minority populations and other population groups that are bearing a disproportionate burden of COVID-19.