Equity

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Equity (medicine)

Equity (pronounced eh-kwuh-tee) in the context of medicine refers to the principle of fairness in healthcare. It is the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically.

Etymology

The term 'equity' originates from the Latin word 'aequitas', which means 'equality' or 'fairness'. In the medical context, it was first used in the late 20th century to address disparities in health outcomes among different population groups.

Definition

In healthcare, equity is about ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential and that no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential. It involves the fair distribution of resources and the removal of obstacles such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and healthcare.

Related Terms

  • Health Disparities: Differences in health outcomes among groups of people. These disparities can be due to a variety of factors, including socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and gender.
  • Social Determinants of Health: Conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
  • Healthcare Access: The ability of an individual or group to obtain or receive appropriate healthcare services. Barriers to access can lead to health inequities.
  • Healthcare Quality: The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.
  • Universal Health Coverage: Ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation) of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski