What’s Included in this Toolkit?

Health Equity is defined as attaining the highest level of health for all people, regardless of cultural, demographic or socio-economic factors. The concepts of health equity and health disparity are inseparable in their practical implementation. Policies and practices aimed at promoting the goal of health equity will not immediately eliminate…

Health inequity is defined as differences in health between groups of people that are avoidable, unfair and unjust. They are affected by three factors: social, including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, immigration status, etc.; economic, including institutional systems of advantage and disadvantage, etc.; and environmental, including…

Health disparities are the avoidable differences that result from cumulative social disadvantage, including health outcomes, health care access, coverage and quality of care between groups of people, etc. Health disparities are caused by a multitude of systemic factors often referred to as social determinants of health,…

Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. To understand health literacy, language and linguistic competence must initially be considered. Language can be defined as the…

Cultural literacy is the ability to understand the traditions, norms, activities and historical background of a given culture. Cultural literacy also involves the ability to participate fluently in formal and informal traditions, norms and activities. Cross-cultural communication problems and gaps in cultural literacy may cause…

Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems and structures by prioritizing measurable change in the lives of people of color. Racial equity involves focusing on and understanding how racial distinctions…