Disparities in Health and Health Care

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Disparities in Health and Health Care: 5 Key Questions and
Answers
Nambi Ndugga (https://www.kff.org/person/nambi-ndugga/) (https://twitter.com/nambinjn) and
Samantha Artiga (https://www.kff.org/person/samantha-artiga/) (https://twitter.com/SArtiga2)
Published: May 11, 2021
Issue Brief
Introduction
The disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing incidents of police brutality,
and recent rise in Asian hate crimes have brought health and health care disparities into
sharper focus among the media and public. However, health and health care disparities
are not new. They have been documented for decades and re�ect longstanding structural
and systemic inequities rooted in racism and discrimination. Addressing these inequities
could help to mitigate the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent
further widening of health disparities going forward. Moreover, narrowing health
disparities is key to improving our nation’s overall health and reducing unnecessary
health care costs. This brief provides an introduction to what health and health care
disparities are, the status of disparities and how COVID-19 has a�ected them, the
broader implications of disparities, and current federal e�orts to advance health equity.
What are health and health care disparities?
Health and health care disparities refer to di�erences in health and health care
between groups that stem from broader inequities. There are multiple de�nitions of
health disparities.
Healthy People 2020 (https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundationhealth-measures/Disparities) de�nes a health disparity as, “a particular type of health
di�erence that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental
disadvantage” and notes that disparities, “adversely a�ect groups of people who have
systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic
group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or
physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other
characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.” The
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
(https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm#1) (CDC)
identi�es health disparities as, “preventable di�erences in the burden of disease, injury,
violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially
disadvantaged populations.” A health care disparity typically refers to di�erences
between groups in health insurance coverage, access to and use of care, and quality of
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care. The terms “health inequality” and “inequity” also are used to refer to disparities.
Racism, which CDC
de�nes (https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html) as the
structures, policies, practices, and norms that assign value and determine opportunities
based on the way people look or the color of their skin, results in conditions that unfairly
advantage some and disadvantage others, placing people of color at greater risk for poor
health outcomes.
Health equity generally refers to individuals achieving their highest level of health
through the elimination of disparities in health and health care.
Healthy people
2020
(https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Disparities) de�nes
health equity as the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, and notes
that it requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal e�orts to
address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and health and
health care disparities.
CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/index.htm) de�nes
the achievement of health equity as 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.”
A broad array of factors within and
beyond (https://www.k�.org/disparities-policy/issuebrief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/) the
health care system drive disparities in health and health care (Figure 1). Though
health care is essential to health, research shows that health outcomes are driven by
multiple factors, including underlying genetics, health behaviors, social and
environmental factors, and access to health care. While there is currently no consensus in
the research on the magnitude of the relative contributions of each of these factors to
health, studies suggest that health behaviors and social and economic factors, often
referred to as
social determinants of health (https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health), are the primary drivers of health outcomes and
that social and economic factors shape individuals’ health behaviors. Moreover,
racism
(https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/impact-of-racism.html) negatively a�ects mental
and physical health both directly and by creating inequities across the social
determinants of health.
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Health and health care disparities are often viewed through the lens of race and
ethnicity, but they occur across a broad range of dimensions. For example,
disparities occur across socioeconomic status, age, geography, language, gender,
disability status, citizenship status, and sexual identity and orientation. Research also
suggests that disparities occur across the life course, from birth, through mid-life, and
among older adults. Federal e�orts to reduce disparities focus on
designated priority
populations
(https://www.ahrq.gov/priority-populations/about/index.html), including people of
color, low-income populations, women, children/adolescents, older adults, individuals
with special health care needs, and individuals living in rural and inner-city areas. These
groups are not mutually exclusive and often intersect in meaningful ways. Disparities also
occur within subgroups of populations. For example, there are di�erences among
Hispanics in health and health care based on length of time in the country, primary
language, and immigration status. Moreover, data for Asian people often mask
underlying disparities among subgroups within the Asian population.
What is the status of disparities?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color and other underserved groups
faced longstanding disparities in health. Major recognition of health disparities began
nearly two decades ago with two Surgeon General’s reports published in the early 2000s
that documented disparities in
tobacco use (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2000
/index.htm)
and access to mental health care (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44243/) by
race and ethnicity. Despite the recognition and documentation of disparities for decades
Figure 1: Health Disparities are Driven by Social and Economic Inequities
1,2
3
,4
5
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and overall improvements in population health over time, many disparities have
persisted, and, in some cases, widened.
Recent data (https://www.k�.org/racial-equity-andhealth-policy/report/key-facts-on-health-and-health-care-by-race-and-ethnicity/) from before the
COVID-19 pandemic showed that people of color fared worse compared to their White
counterparts across a range of health measures, including infant mortality, pregnancyrelated deaths, prevalence of chronic conditions, and overall physical and mental health
status (Figure 2). As of 2018,
life expectancy (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifeexpectancy.htm) among Black people was four years lower than White people, with the
lowest expectancy among Black men. Research also documents disparities across other
factors. For example, low-income people report worse health status than higher income
individuals, and
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals
(https://www.k�.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/health-and-access-to-care-and-coverage-forlesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-individuals-in-the-u-s/) experience certain health challenges
at increased rates.
There also are longstanding disparities in health care. The A�ordable Care Act health
coverage expansions led to large gains in coverage across groups. Despite these gains,
however, people of color and low-income individuals remain at increased risk of being
uninsured (https://www.k�.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/)
(Figure 3), contributing to greater barriers to accessing health care. Further, starting in
2017, coverage gains stalled and began reversing, re�ecting a range of actions by the
Trump administration, including decreased funding for outreach and enrollment
assistance, approval of state waivers to add new eligibility restrictions for Medicaid
6
7
Figure 2: People of Color Fare Worse than their White Counterparts Across Many
Measures of Health Status.
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coverage, and immigration policy changes that increased fears among immigrant families
(https://www.k�.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/fact-sheet/public-charge-policies-for-immigrantsimplications-for-health-coverage/) about participating in Medicaid and CHIP. These coverage
losses eroded some of the previous coverage gains under the ACA, particularly among
Hispanic people (https://www.k�.org/policy-watch/hispanic-people-facing-widening-gaps-healthcoverage/), who already were at increased risk of being uninsured. Coverage losses have
likely continued due to the COVID-19 pandemic as people have lost jobs and experienced
declining income. Beyond disparities in coverage, people of color and lower income
individuals also receive
poorer quality of care (https://www.ahrq.gov/research/�ndings/nhqrdr
/nhqdr19/index.html)
. Recent KFF/The Undefeated survey data (https://www.k�.org/report-section
/k�-the-undefeated-survey-on-race-and-health-main-�ndings/#HealthCareSystem)
�nd that Black
adults are more likely than White adults to report certain negative health care
experiences, such as a provider not believing them and refusing them a test, treatment,
or pain medication they thought they needed.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic a�ected disparities?
Data (https://www.k�.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-covid-19-key-
�ndings-available-data-analysis/)
consistently show that American Indian and Alaska
Native (AIAN), Black, and Hispanic people have experienced disproportionate rates
of illness and death due to COVID-19 (Figure 4).
Analysis
(https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-pandemic-related-excess-mortality-and-potentialyears-of-life-lost-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/) further �nds that AIAN, Black, Native Hawaiian
Figure 3: People of color face longstanding disparities in health coverage.
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and Other Paci�c Islander (NHOPI), and Hispanic people had over three times premature
excess deaths per 100,000 people in the US in 2020 than the rate among White or Asian
people. The higher rates of illness and death among people of color re�ect
increased risk
of exposure
(https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/communities-of-color-at-higher-riskfor-health-and-economic-challenges-due-to-covid-19/) to the virus due to living, working, and
transportation situations,
increased risk of experiencing serious illness (https://www.k�.org
/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/low-income-and-communities-of-color-at-higher-risk-of-serious-illness-ifinfected-with-coronavirus/)
if infected due to higher rates of underlying health conditions, and
increased barriers to testing and treatment due to existing disparities in access to health
care.
Beyond the direct health impacts of the virus, the pandemic has taken a
disproportionate toll on the �nancial security and mental health and well-being of
people of color, (https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/one-year-into-the-pandemicimplications-of-covid-19-for-social-determinants-of-health/) low-income people, (https://www.k�.org
/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-�nding/k�-health-tracking-poll-late-february-2021/)
LGBT people
(https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-�nding/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-lgbtpeople/), and other underserved groups. For example, KFF survey data (https://www.k�.org
/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-�nding/k�-health-tracking-poll-late-february-2021/?utm_campaign=KFF-2021-
polling-surveys&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=2&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-
94DsTuSFLL7i9wxynd4Xhrzv20LWr2_RYO3G2cXW96z8Eu3x5VdLh9sUITGOEm4eaNctjPzpFoQF8ZswhrbGY2
U6cA-g&utm_content=2&utm_source=hs_email)
from February 2021, showed that about six in
ten Hispanic adults (59%) and about half of Black adults (51%) said their household lost a
Figure 4: People of color have had higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and
death due to COVID-19.
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job or income due to the pandemic, compared to about four in ten White adults (39%)
who say the same. Moreover, adults with a household income under $40,000 were three
times as likely as those with a household income of $90,000 or more to say they have had
trouble paying for basic living expenses in the last three months (55% vs. 19%). As of
late
March 2021
(https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/implications-of-covid-19-for-socialdeterminants-of-health/), Black and Hispanic adults were more likely than White adults to
report lack of con�dence in their ability to make their next housing payment and to
report food insu�ciency.
Despite being disproportionately a�ected by the pandemic, as of April 2021, Black
and Hispanic people were less likely than White people to have received a COVID-19
vaccine.
Data (https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-
vaccinations-race-ethnicity/)
across states show a consistent pattern of Black and Hispanic
people receiving smaller shares of vaccinations compared to their shares of cases,
deaths, and the total population, resulting in lower vaccination rates compared to their
White counterparts. While vaccination rates are increasing across all groups, the gaps in
vaccination rates for Black and Hispanic people are persisting (Figure 5). These disparities
in vaccinations re�ect the longstanding inequities that create increased barriers to health
care for people of color and other underserved groups. Moreover, they leave people of
color at increased risk for infection and illness and hinder e�orts to achieve population
level immunity.
What are the broader implications of disparities?
Figure 5: Although vaccination rates are increasing across groups, Black and
Hispanic people face persistent gaps.
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Addressing disparities in health and health care is important not only from and
social justice and equity standpoint, but also for improving the nation’s overall
health and economic prosperity. People of color and other underserved groups
experience higher rates of illness and death across a wide range of health conditions,
limiting the overall health of the nation. Research further �nds that health disparities are
costly.
Analysis (https://altarum.org/RacialEquity2018) estimates that disparities amount to
approximately $93 billion in excess medical care costs and $42 billion in lost productivity
per year as well as additional economic losses due to premature deaths. As the
population becomes more diverse, with people of color projected to account for over half
of the population by 2050 (Figure 5), it is increasingly important to address disparities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated underlying disparities in health and
health care and increased the importance of addressing them. This disparate
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for people of color and other underserved groups
may lead to even further widening of health disparities and greater health risks for the
community as a whole, particularly if some groups remain at increased risk from
COVID-19 due to lower vaccination rates and/or increased risk of exposure to the virus.
As such, prioritizing equity in COVID-19 response e�orts is not only important for
mitigating the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic itself, but for protecting against
even larger health disparities in the future.
What are current federal e�orts to address health disparities?
Figure 6: People of color are projected to make up over half of the U.S. population
as of 2050.
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The Biden administration has identi�ed racial equity, including health equity, as a
key
priority (https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/), which has been re�ected in several
recent agency actions. Immediately after taking o�ce, President Biden issued a series
of executive orders and actions focused on advancing health equity. These included
orders that outline
equity as a priority (https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ng-room/presidentialactions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communitiesthrough-the-federal-government/) for the federal government broadly and as part of the
pandemic response and recovery (https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ng-room/presidential-actions
/2021/01/21/executive-order-ensuring-an-equitable-pandemic-response-and-recovery/)
. Re�ecting the
prioritization of health equity, in March 2021, the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
launched the
UNITE Initiative (https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements
/nih-stands-against-structural-racism-biomedical-research)
to address structural racism and racial
inequities in biomedical research. In early April 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) declared
racism a serious threat to the public’s health (https://www.cdc.gov
/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html)
and noted that it would lead in e�orts to confront
systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustice that has given rise to
racial and ethnic health inequities. The Department of Health and Human Service’s
(HHS’s)
O�ce of Minority Health (https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=1&
lvlid=1)
is focused on the “success, sustainability, and spread of health equity promoting
policies, programs, and practices,” and has three overarching programmatic priorities for
FY2020 and 2021, including supporting states, territories, and tribes in identifying and
sustaining health equity-promoting policies, programs, and practices; expanding the
utilization of community health workers to address health and social service needs within
communities of color, and strengthening cultural competence among healthcare
providers throughout the country.
Federal COVID-19 response e�orts have included a focus on equity. In January 2021,
President Biden issued an Executive Order on
Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response
and Recovery
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ng-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/21/executiveorder-ensuring-an-equitable-pandemic-response-and-recovery/) to address the disproportionate
and severe impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and underserved populations.
The order establishes a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, directs agencies to
strengthen equity data collection and reporting and ensure response plans and policies
provide for equitable allocation of resources, and directs HHS to conduct an outreach
campaign focused on building vaccine con�dence among communities of color and other
underserved populations. The COVID-19 relief American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in
March 2021, provides new funding to support
COVID-19 vaccination and other public
health e�orts
(https://www.k�.org/policy-watch/whats-in-the-american-rescue-plan-for-covid-19-vaccineand-other-public-health-e�orts/), with a focus on enhancing access to vaccines and resources
to protect against and respond to COVID-19 among underserved populations. In part,
through this funding, HHS
will invest nearly $10 billion (https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ngroom/statements-releases/2021/03/25/fact-sheet-biden-administration-announces-historic-10-billioninvestment-to-expand-access-to-covid-19-vaccines-and-build-vaccine-con�dence-in-hardest-hit-andhighest-risk-communities/) to expand access to vaccines and better serve communities of
color, rural areas, low-income populations, and other underserved communities. This
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includes $6 billion that will be provided to community health centers, which data show
(https://www.k�.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/are-health-centers-facilitating-equitable-access-tocovid-19-vaccinations-an-april-2021-update/) have been vaccinating larger shares of people of
color compared to overall vaccination e�orts.
The administration and Congress have taken a range of actions to expand access to
and enrollment in health coverage. As noted, beginning in 2017, health coverage gains
stalled and began reversing. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely further increased
coverage losses as people have experienced job loss and decreases in income. In January
2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on
Strengthening Medicaid and the
A�ordable Care Act
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ng-room/presidential-actions/2021/01
/28/executive-order-on-strengthening-medicaid-and-the-a�ordable-care-act/)
, which established a
Special Open Enrollment Period for the Health Insurance Marketplaces and directed
federal agencies to review policies and practices to ensure they support access to health
coverage. The American Rescue Plan Act also contains provisions designed to increase
access to health coverage and make health coverage more a�ordable. These include
increases and expansions in eligibility for subsidies (https://www.k�.org/health-reform/issuebrief/how-the-american-rescue-plan-act-a�ects-subsidies-for-marketplace-shoppers-and-people-who-areuninsured/) to buy health insurance through the Marketplaces as well as Medicaid
(https://www.k�.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-provisions-in-the-american-rescue-plan-act/)
provisions that o�er incentives to encourage states that have not yet adopted the ACA
Medicaid expansion to do so and provide a new option for states to extend the length of
Medicaid coverage for
postpartum women (https://www.k�.org/policy-watch/postpartumcoverage-extension-in-the-american-rescue-plan-act-of-2021/). The administration also restored
funding
(https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hhs-announces-largest-ever-funding-allocationnavigators-and-releases-�nal-numbers-2021-marketplace) for navigators to help eligible people
enroll in health coverage and increased outreach activities. These actions will particularly
bene�t people of color and low-income people who are more likely to be uninsured. Six
in ten
uninsured adults who would become eligible (https://www.k�.org/medicaid/factsheet/uninsured-adults-in-states-that-did-not-expand-who-would-become-eligible-for-medicaid-underexpansion/) if all remaining states expanded Medicaid are people of color, and over seven
in ten are adults living below poverty. Overall,
research (https://www.k�.org/medicaid/issuebrief/e�ects-of-the-aca-medicaid-expansion-on-racial-disparities-in-health-and-health-care/) shows that
Medicaid expansion is associated with reductions in racial/ethnic disparities in health
coverage as well as narrowed disparities in health outcomes for Black and Hispanic
individuals, particularly for measures of maternal and infant health.
The administration has reversed policies implemented under the Trump
administration that contributed to reduced access to health care and other
programs for immigrant families. In February 2021, President Biden issued an
Executive Order on
Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening
Integration and Inclusion E�orts for New Americans
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ngroom/presidential-actions/2021/02/02/executive-order-restoring-faith-in-our-legal-immigration-systemsand-strengthening-integration-and-inclusion-e�orts-for-new-americans/), which declared that the
federal government should develop welcoming strategies that promote integration,
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inclusion, and citizenship. The order directed federal agencies to review existing actions
to ensure they are consistent with this policy, reduce barriers that impede access to
immigration bene�ts, and review
changes to public charge policies (https://www.k�.org/racialequity-and-health-policy/fact-sheet/public-charge-policies-for-immigrants-implications-for-healthcoverage/) made under the Trump Administration, which contributed to reduced access to
health care and other programs for immigrant families. The administration subsequently
took
action (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/�les/document/notices/SOPDD-Letter-to-USCISInteragency-Partners-on-Public-Charge.pdf) to reverse these public charge policy changes. The
Department of Homeland Security also issued a
statement (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021
/02/01/dhs-statement-equal-access-covid-19-vaccines-and-vaccine-distribution-sites)
to clarify that all
individuals, regardless of immigration status, should receive the COVID-19 vaccines, and
that it will not carry out enforcement operations at or near health care facilities, except in
the most extraordinary circumstances.
The administration has launched several
initiatives (https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ngroom/statements-releases/2021/04/13/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-initial-actions-toaddress-the-black-maternal-health-crisis/) focused on addressing inequities (https://www.k�.org
/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-maternal-infant-health-overview/)
in
maternal health. In April 2021, President Biden issued a
proclamation
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/brie�ng-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/13/a-proclamation-on-blackmaternal-health-week-2021/) to recognize the importance of addressing the high rates of
Black maternal mortality and morbidity. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved several state waivers to extend the Medicaid
postpartum coverage period, a policy which will become available as a state
option
(https://www.k�.org/policy-watch/postpartum-coverage-extension-in-the-american-rescue-plan-actof-2021/) beginning in 2022, under the American Rescue Plan Act. The Human Resources
and Services Administration has also announced $12 million in awards for the
Rural
Maternal and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program,
(https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health
/community/rmoms)
which is designed to develop models and implement strategies to
improve maternal health in rural communities.
Looking Ahead
In sum, disparities in health and health care for people of color and underserved groups
are longstanding challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these disparities
and heightened the importance of addressing them. Health disparities are driven by
underlying social and economic inequities that are rooted in racism. Addressing
disparities is important not only from a social justice standpoint but for improving our
nation’s overall health and economic prosperity. The federal government has identi�ed
equity as a priority and launched a range of initiatives to address disparities both in
response to COVID-19 and more broadly. States, local communities, private
organizations, and providers also are engaged in e�orts to reduce health disparities. A
broad range of e�orts both within and beyond the health care system will be
instrumental in advancing equity, including: prioritizing equity across sectors; providing
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resources to support e�orts to advance equity; increasing availability of data; supporting
and building on existing community strengths and resources; establishing incentives,
accountability, and oversight for equity; and recognizing and addressing racism as a root
cause of disparities.
Endnotes
Issue Brief
1. “Disparities” Healthy People 2020. Available from https://www.healthypeople.gov
/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Disparities
Return to text
2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine
Division; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Committee on
Community-Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States; Baciu A,
Negussie Y, Geller A, et al., editors. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity.
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