One Year of Advancing Health Equity

Dearest fellow Health Equity Champions, allow me to first thank you for visiting the Health Equity Tracker. For all the Advocates, Collaborators, Community Leaders, Policy Makers, Educators, Supporters, and Individuals working to understand the complex dynamics of the US Healthcare system and the many upstream and downstream drivers that are entrenched in our social, environmental, economic, and political systems: I welcome you.

Over a year ago, in the midst of a pandemic that disproportionately impacted communities of color, we at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute envisioned a tool that could and would empower end users to make meaningful and informed decisions – to know who is impacted and where – so equitable and inclusive policies could be drafted. Over the last three years, COVID-19 reminded us, on a national and visceral scale, that marginalized communities are often the most severely and disparately impacted. Black and Brown communities have historically been on the downside of disadvantage, faced increased risk of exposure, fewer resources, increased rates of mortality, higher rates of job loss and loss of income, worsening behavioral and mental health outcomes, among others. Indeed, the pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives and laid bare the persistent effects of the historical social and political decisions that give root to the health inequities we experience today.

Consider the graph above, despite accounting for only 18.8% of the US population (Hispanic or Latino) and 12.2% (Black or African American), these groups account for 23.6% and 16.2% of total COVID-19 hospitalizations, respectively. This outsized burden of disease is largely unseen in cumulative numbers but sorely felt within those communities where, despite their lower population, they account for a higher percent share of total hospitalizations.

We know these inequities did not begin with, nor will they end with the pandemic. This is precisely why the Health Equity Tracker is intentionally engineered to present as many health topics  as possible, utilizing the best sources of data publicly available, to bring together all these interconnected and changing elements together on a single platform. Asthma, COPD, Diabetes, Uninsurance, Poverty – all these conditions and determinants of health have a root in a policy decision made or not made that either better or worsen outcomes for different populations.

Efforts to quantify this problem – who is impacted and where – became a central strategy for the Health Equity Tracker. As I have said before, there is a false assumption that if there is no data, then there is no problem. That is to say, if we cannot demonstrate these issues with meaningful and actionable data, then little can be done to combat them directly – at least not with a targeted health equity approach. Over this past year, we have demonstrated a crucial need for accurate data collection and reporting practices. Data that is representative, high quality, and structured to empower the Health Equity Tracker in bridging the gap between not just merely providing data but to encourage meaningful use in practical applications across domains and areas of expertise.

And we have made great strides in our first year doing exactly that.

The Health Equity Tracker was designed since its inception to be a tool for everyone. We built a platform that anyone can use to learn more about the health outcomes at the national, state, and in some cases county level; or between demographic groups that can provide context into that fundamental question: who is impacted and where.  The effort to remove barriers in accessing the data, shedding light on known data gaps and data quality concerns, and to create a platform that is agile in its development that can quickly adapt as emerging data is available – benefits all who are interested in Health Equity. However, to serve as a transformational tool to advance equitable health policy we cannot lose sight of those individuals that are best positioned to do that: policy makers and policy influencers. In the spirit of health equity, this  platform continues to remain open and accessible to all while still remaining a fully featured, comprehensive, and engaging tool for policy makers and their staff.

We need to hear from you. Our team is quickly developing for our second year with bigger and bolder ideas – to expand the tracker not just in terms of breadth of health topics covered, but more importantly, in depth – to increase the Health Equity Tracker’s utility to reach decision makers at every level and especially those involved in advancing policy so that health equity has a seat at the table. We believe data can be transformative and that data quality and access is arguably one of the most critical political determinants of health. We invite you to send us feedback to tell us how you are utilizing the Health Equity Tracker to advance health equity, and how we can support your efforts.

In the spirit of collaboration, I hope you will join me in saying: Health Equity for All!