Health Equity
Health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.” Health inequities are reflected in differences in length of life; quality of life; rates of disease, disability, and death; severity of disease; and access to treatment (CDC, 2017).
Learn more: Unnatural Causes... is inequality making us sick?
Health Equity in Winnebago County 2020
How WCHD addresses health equity:
- Part of WCHD's 2016-2020 Strategic Plan
- WCHD Health Equity Team: staff members driving equity concerns
- Devoted member of Fox Valley Thrives, an alliance between ESTHER, East Central WI Regional Planning Commission, Fit Oshkosh, Outagamie and Winnebago County Public Health, and other local partners aimed at making healthier communities through strategic action
Within the equity framework WCHD would like to:
- Strengthen the health equity capacity of our workforce
- Establish department-wide policy and procedures to ensure our work and services have a health equity lens
- Engage partners, stakeholders and the community to address root causes of disparities improving equity across the lifespan
- Create measurements, tools and systems to monitor equity in Winnebago County
- Lead equity initiatives among partners and residents
Resources
- Advancing Public Narrative for Health Equity and Social Justice PDF Handbook
- Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
- National Association of County and City Health Officials on Health Equity
- National Collaborative for Health Equity
- Social Determinants of Health (CDC)
- Wisconsin Center on Health Equity
