About Equity in Health
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"Reducing Health Disparity and improving the health of disadvantaged communities is a key objective of the North Coast Area Health Service. As a result the North Coast Area Health Equity Committee has been established to coordinate a strategic and integrated approach towards addressing disparities across the area.
As part of this process, this website has been developed to provide information and support for those health professionals and community members wanting more information on the topic of health inequity.
The website outlines the factors that impact on health, how health inequities effect the North Coast Area population and provides information on what our Health Service is doing to reduce health disparities across the area. The site also provides valuable links to other support documents and resources on the topic". (Chris Crawford, Chief Executive - North Coast Area Health Service).
There is currently a wave of international and national interest in tackling health inequity. Understanding the determinants of health has an important influence on the interventions adopted to reduce health inequities.
How healthy you are and how long you live is not only related to good medical care and health services, but also to how much you earn, where you live, whether you have a job and whether you are able to access the services you need.
Health inequities exist in all societies. Health inequity runs throughout the life course, from conception to death. It exists between social classes, has been described in all developed countries and between countries, for almost all diseases and causes of death, between men and women and between people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
Inequities in health are long standing, interrelated and the causes are deeply ingrained in our social structure. Despite the increasing wealth of developed countries, health inequities are not decreasing. The gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' is actually widening worldwide.