Equity
Equity
Equity means social justice or fairness; it is an ethical concept, grounded in principles of distributive justice.39–[->0]42[->1] Equity in health can be—and has widely been—defined as the absence of socially unjust or unfair health disparities.1,[->2]6[->3] However, because social justice and fairness can be interpreted differently by different people in different settings, a definition is needed that can be operationalised based on measurable criteria.
For the purposes of operationalisation and measurement, equity in health can be defined as the absence of systematic disparities in health (or in the major social determinants of health) between social groups who have different levels of underlying social advantage/disadvantage—that is, different positions in a social hierarchy. Inequities in health systematically put groups of people who are already socially disadvantaged (for example, by virtue of being poor, female, and/or members of a disenfranchised racial, ethnic, or religious group) at further disadvantage with respect to their health; health is essential to wellbeing and to overcoming other effects of social disadvantage.
The concept of health equity focuses attention on the distribution of resources and other processes that drive a particular kind of health inequality—that is, a systematic inequality in health (or in its social determinants) between more and less advantaged social groups, in other words, a health inequality that is unjust or unfair
Ref:
1. Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity in health. Int J Health Serv1992;22:429–445. (first published with the same title from: Copenhagen: World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe, 1990 (EUR/ICP/RPD 414).) [Medline][->4][Web of Science][->5]
6. Evans T, Whitehead M, Diderichsen F, et al, eds. Challenging inequities in health: from ethics to action. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
Ref: Defining equity in health
1. P Braveman[->6]1[->7],
2. S
Equity means social justice or fairness; it is an ethical concept, grounded in principles of distributive justice.39–[->0]42[->1] Equity in health can be—and has widely been—defined as the absence of socially unjust or unfair health disparities.1,[->2]6[->3] However, because social justice and fairness can be interpreted differently by different people in different settings, a definition is needed that can be operationalised based on measurable criteria.
For the purposes of operationalisation and measurement, equity in health can be defined as the absence of systematic disparities in health (or in the major social determinants of health) between social groups who have different levels of underlying social advantage/disadvantage—that is, different positions in a social hierarchy. Inequities in health systematically put groups of people who are already socially disadvantaged (for example, by virtue of being poor, female, and/or members of a disenfranchised racial, ethnic, or religious group) at further disadvantage with respect to their health; health is essential to wellbeing and to overcoming other effects of social disadvantage.
The concept of health equity focuses attention on the distribution of resources and other processes that drive a particular kind of health inequality—that is, a systematic inequality in health (or in its social determinants) between more and less advantaged social groups, in other words, a health inequality that is unjust or unfair
Ref:
1. Whitehead M. The concepts and principles of equity in health. Int J Health Serv1992;22:429–445. (first published with the same title from: Copenhagen: World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe, 1990 (EUR/ICP/RPD 414).) [Medline][->4][Web of Science][->5]
6. Evans T, Whitehead M, Diderichsen F, et al, eds. Challenging inequities in health: from ethics to action. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
Ref: Defining equity in health
1. P Braveman[->6]1[->7],
2. S