Get to root causes: Address maternal and infant health outcomes through a health equity lens
Print
EmailUnderstanding health equity can help address root causes of health disparities.
Health disparities are the preventable differences in health outcomes between two populations. For example, in Michigan, Black infants are three times more likely to die before they turn one year old than White infants. While this data highlights the alarming reality faced by families and communities, it does not explain the reasons for these disparities in health outcomes.
To address underlying root causes of disparities in infant mortality and other health issues, it is important to understand health equity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines health equity as “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” Social determinants of health are factors that influence health equity, and include access to safe and affordable housing, quality education, a living wage, healthy and affordable food, access to transportation, affordable health care, safe communities, and other non-medical factors.
Exploring health disparities through a health equity lens includes moving away from solely focusing on individuals but considering systemic inequities that put some groups at higher risk of getting sick, or having poor health. Applying a health equity lens includes identifying potential unintended impacts, positive or negative, of planned actions or programs, or policies. A health equity lens invites us to work in partnership within and across communities to create more opportunities and greater access to the social, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to the overall health of individuals and communities.
Health educators, practitioners, and others can learn more about how to apply a health equity lens to their work through various resources, such as local, state or national coalitions. The CDC’s Perinatal Quality Collaboratives are state or multistate networks of teams – currently 36 states— that work to improve the quality of care for mothers and their infants. You can also learn more about Michigan’s maternal and infant health equity issues and steps to address the root causes of these inequities through the State of Michigan plan called Advancing Healthy Births: An Equity Plan for Michigan Families & Communities.
For more information and resources on maternal and infant health at MSU Extension, visit MSU Extension's Safe Food = Healthy Babies webpage.
