Third Meeting: June 5 and 6, 2008

Appendix 1

Health Equity and Health Disparities
Draft Definitions and Key Concepts

1. Draft Definitions of Health Equity

   Health equity means striving:

   1. for fairness in efforts to achieve the best possible health for everyone;
   2. to eliminate remediable disparities in health and health care; and
   3. to eliminate disparities in social conditions that lead to disparities in health.
2. Draft Definitions of Health Disparities

   Health disparities mean differences in health and health care that unfavorably affect racial or ethnic minorities, low-income people, or other groups who have systematically experienced worse health and greater social obstacles to health and health care, particularly discrimination.

3. Key Related Concepts
   • Health equity derives from a basic human right of all people to achieve the highest possible level of health.
   • Health equity means overcoming discrimination, including that which is unintentional.
   • Health equity means striving to eliminate avoidable social disparities in health and health care, and in the pre-requisites needed to be healthy.
   • Health equity involves pursuing improvement for everyone.
   • Health equity is a cornerstone concept of public health, but not its only concern.

Content for this site is maintained by the Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: September 23, 2008