Health is more than access to good health care. Factors such as income, education, housing, food, and freedom from discrimination all affect health.
There is more to health than just having “good health benefits.” Health justice should matter to you because, simply put, the health of others is just as important as your own health. Moreover, the poor health in any community impacts you in one way or another. Poor health is associated with increased health care costs, higher crime rates and can negatively impact the economy.
More health info—reference health insurance
While we may have access to the same resources, we do not have equal access to them. There are large disparities in technology access, language barriers, and low health literacy among communities of color, especially, which points to having poor health outcomes compared to their white counterparts.
Not just fair and equal—acknowledge historical oppression, inaction, etc.
Health justice is when there is equity. Health equity means that everyone has all the resources they need that will give them a fair chance at achieving good health. We remove barriers and eliminate discrimination that prevents certain communities from achieving good health.
Health justice means that all members of a society have the support they need to achieve the highest quality of health. It is achieved by dismantling barriers to good health such as poverty, poor education, food insecurity etc, and creating laws that take into account the different social determinants of health.
No. Minnesota has some of the most drastic racial disparities of any state. As of 2020, we ranked 45th out of 50 states and Washington, D.C. for racial integration, making us one of the most segregated states in the country. This pattern is the same across many measurements—Minnesota consistently has one of the worst educational achievement gaps, median income gaps, and poverty rates between our white residents and our black residents.
COVID-19 infection rates illustrate deep racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes in Minnesota.
Percentage of each community in MN who has tested positive for COVID-19
Sources: Minnesota Department of Health: Situation Update for COVID-19 (updated September 14, 2020) and SHADAC Resource: Minnesota’s Uninsured Profile and Interactive Map (2018).
Though Minnesota has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the United States, people of color are significantly more likely to be uninsured than white Minnesotans.
Percentage of community in MN who is uninsured
Source: SHADAC Resource: Minnesota’s Uninsured Profile and Interactive Map (2018).
- Expand our definition of health
Make connections between seemingly disconnected issues like police brutality, incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, redlining, and housing inequality.
- Identify and eliminate bias
Work to identify and eliminate bias
- [Individual level] Donate or volunteer, or both.
Donating to or volunteering at organizations in your community like Women’s and Homeless shelters that seek to empower individuals can be your way of uplifting your fellow community members.
- Engage with local government
Vote for individuals who seek to create health equities in our state, contact your elected officials to pass laws and regulations that work towards health justice.
- [advocacy]
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