Health disparity and health equity are two of the terms most commonly used in the healthcare sector especially in the field of public health. Health disparity refers to the differences, in terms of health status and health access, associated with various disadvantages like economic, political, social, or even environmental. Majority of individuals who are victims of health disparities experience greater economic and political problems and injustices to their health because of their sexual orientation, ethnicity, mental health, developmental disabilities, and other factors that could greatly influence discrimination and even exclusion (Braveman, 2014). On the other hand, health equity refers to the equal access to health care services and just distribution of determinants of health and outcomes regardless of the social standing of an individual in a population (Klein & Huang, 2010). Additionally, health equity refers to the ability to provide the highest possible level of care for individuals especially those who are affected by the various disparities in health (Braveman, 2014).
Two of the primary goals for Healthy People 2020 is the elimination of health disparities and advocacies towards health equity. The main concern of health disparity is the differences of incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and even burden of disease. Additionally, the concepts and philosophies associated with health disparities are the main factors used to assess the need for health equity. The main issue involved in health equity is social justice wherein the individuals who need more are given more (Braveman, et al., 2011).
An example of health disparity is the difference in infant mortality rate for mothers with 9-11 years of education compared with mothers with 16 or more years of education. On the other hand, health equity is prioritizing the disadvantaged and high risk groups when it comes to providing health care services. In totality, the main goal of health equity is to improve the health status of individuals who are at a disadvantage socially or economically (Perrin, 2016).
References
Braveman, P.A., Kumanyika, S., Fielding, J., LaVeist, T., Borrell, L.N., Manderscheid, R., and Troutman, A. (2011). Health Disparities and Health Equity: The Issue is Justice. American Journal Public Heath 101(Suppl 1): S149-S155.
Braveman, P. (2014). What are Health Disparities and Health Equity? We Need to Be Clear. Public Health Reports 129 (Suppl. 2): 5-8.
Klein, R. and Huang, D. (2010). Defining and measuring disparities, inequities, and inequalities in the Healthy People initiative. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ppt/nchs2010/41_Klein.pdf [Accessed on 14 Mar 2016].
Perrin, K.M. (2016). Essentials of Planning and Evaluation of Public Health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
