“Reduction of health disparities and advancement of health equity in the United States require high-quality data indicative of where the nation stands vis-à-vis health equity, as well as proper analytic tools to facilitate accurate interpretation of these data.Although much is understood about the role of social determinants of health in shaping the health of populations, researchers should continue to advance understanding of the pathways through which they operate on particular health outcomes. There is still much to learn and implement about how to measure health disparities, health inequities, and social determinants of health at the national level, and the challenges of health equity persist.”

Penman-Aguilar A, Talih M, Huang D, Moonesinghe R, Bouye K, Beckles G. Measurement of Health Disparities, Health Inequities, and Social Determinants of Health to Support the Advancement of Health Equity. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2016 Jan-Feb;22 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S33-42.

Recommended Practices for Measurement to Advance Health Equity

-Practice 1: Assess differences in health and its determinants that are associated with social position
-Practice 2: Assess social and structural determinants of health and consider multiple levels of measurement
-Practice 3: Provide reasons for methodological choices and clarify their implications
-Practice 4: Address within-group heterogeneity by comparing groups simultaneously classified by multiple social statuses
-Practice 5: The need to communicate to a wide array of stakeholders can often be taken into consideration in the choice of measures and analytic methods

---

Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu Rev Public Health. 2019 Apr 1;40:105-125. doi: 10.1146/annurev- publhealth-040218-043750. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Williams DR, Cooper LA. Reducing Racial Inequities in Health: Using What We Already Know to Take Action. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Feb 19;16(4):606.

Cogburn CD. Culture, Race, and Health: Implications for Racial Inequities and Population Health. Milbank Q. 2019 Sep;97(3):736-761.

Williams DR, Purdie-Vaughns V. Needed Interventions to Reduce Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2016 Aug;41(4):627-51. Epub 2016 Apr 28.

LaVeist TA, Gaskin D, Richard P. Estimating the economic burden of racial health inequalities in the United States. Int J Health Serv. 2011;41(2):231-8.

Hahn RA, Truman BI. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity. Int J Health Serv. 2015;45(4):657-78. Epub 2015 May 19.