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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Social Determinants and Equity

Health equity

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˌhelθ ˈekwəti/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, health equity means: The situation in which everyone has a fair chance to be as healthy as possible, with no avoidable or unfair differences in health between social groups.

In Turkish: sağlıkta hakkaniyet, sağlıkta eşitlik

How it is used

A goal, a value and a way of looking at policy. Agencies promote, advance or achieve health equity and carry out health equity assessments. Its opposite, health inequity, means differences that are unfair and avoidable, not simply unequal.

Example sentences

  1. Health equity should be built into every stage of programme design.

  2. The report treats access to clean water as a health equity issue.

Common collocations

  • promote health equity
  • achieve health equity
  • health equity lens
  • health equity impact assessment
  • health inequalitiesDifferences in health, such as life expectancy or disease rates, between groups of people defined by income, area, ethnicity, gender or other social factors.
  • social determinants of healthThe conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, such as income, education, housing and employment, which strongly shape their health.
  • vulnerable groupsGroups of people who face a higher risk of poor health or have more difficulty getting care, for example because of age, poverty, disability, migration status or homelessness.
  • universal health coverageA situation in which everyone can use the good-quality health services they need, from prevention to treatment and care, without suffering financial hardship.

More terms: Social Determinants and Equity

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.