{"id":550,"date":"2016-06-08T21:41:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T21:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/?page_id=550"},"modified":"2016-09-01T18:39:21","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T18:39:21","slug":"omhhes-message","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/omhhes-message\/","title":{"rendered":"OHE’s Message"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.” These words were spoken by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over 40 years ago. While the health status of all Americans has improved significantly since that time, injustice in health continues to exist in the United States and in our Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

The Facts<\/h2>\n

Even middle class Virginians experience poorer than average health outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent research estimates that nationally there are roughly 83,000 excess deaths<\/a>among African-Americans and 195,000 excess deaths<\/a> among lesser educated adults compared to college educated adults every year. In fact, the United States ranked 14th in the world for life expectancy in 1980. In 2007, we ranked 29th. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation<\/a>, health inequity costs the U.S. more than $1 trillion per year. The\u00a02012 Virginia Health Equity Report highlights health inequities that exist in Virginia by socioeconomic status (SES), race and ethnicity, gender, neighborhood and geography.\u00a0Not only are the most disadvantaged Virginians at increased risk for a multitude of adverse health outcomes, but even Virginians in the middle experience poorer average health outcomes than those with the greatest level of social and economic advantage. Eliminating health inequities should be a priority for all Virginians.<\/p>\n

Take Action<\/h2>\n

We are often asked by our colleagues and other health professionals, “what specifically can we do to support efforts to eliminate health inequities?” Our immediate responses include, “The first step is to recognize that health inequities are systematic, avoidable and unjust because they result from social and economic policies, practices, and conditions that disadvantage certain populations and create barriers to opportunities to live productive and healthy lives.” This recognition requires a different framework, one that is supported by research demonstrating that\u00a0individual<\/a> and neighborhood-level<\/a> socioeconomic status are strongly associated<\/a> with most of the major causes of death, even after controlling for access to health care, health behaviors, and other risk factors. This framework recognizes the importance of promoting social justice by addressing the unequal distribution of social determinants of health\u2014such as income, education, and wealth; discrimination by class, race, and\/or gender; quality and affordable housing; healthy neighborhood environments; social support and social capital; transportation; working conditions and others.<\/p>\n

The New Framework<\/h2>\n

The new framework by no means diminishes the good work that leads to improved access to quality health care, behavior change, etc.\u00a0 Rather, it demands that our focus in these areas be informed by a commitment to advance health equity and social justice. Within the healthcare setting, that means things such as:<\/p>\n