What are Health Disparities?

Critical Mass focuses on the elimination of health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations. We recognize that other groups experience health disparities too. Disparities can be reduced when communities confront racism and other societal biases directly, value diversity and promote the health and well being of their members.

Health Disparities are the differences in the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, burden of disease, access to prevention, screening & treatment services and other health indicators†that exist between specific, different populations. These disparities are further influenced by socio-economic status and biases, including race, religion, sexual identity and immigrant status.

Expanded Definition

Health Disparities are the differences in health status between different groups. Critical MASS focuses upon their elimination in racial and ethnic groups. We measure these gaps in many ways, through identifying

* new cases of a disease
* number of people overall with a disease
* deaths from a disease
* access to prevention, screening & treatment services
* increased burdens a disease causes
* and other health markers.

Factors such as income, education and where a person lives intensify these disparities. The disparities can be reduced when society as a whole confronts racism and other biases including those against religions, sexual identity and immigrants; when it values the ability to work with diverse peoples and promotes the health and well-being of all its communities.

Influences on Health Disparities: an image from the Critical MASS Toolkit