Increasing Equity in Pain Management, Substance Use Disorder Treatment, and Linkages to CARE

STRATEGY: Learn about Health Disparities and Health Equity

Why focus on health equity? Racial, ethnic, and additional identity-based health disparities are rooted in historical, systemic, and structural injustices. 1 Health equity strives to remove economic, social, and other structural barriers while creating and strengthening fair and just practices and structures so that all people can attain optimal health and wellness. Health center care teams are well positioned to reduce the impact of health inequities on their patients, and to advocate for broader structural and systemic change. This Resource Guide focuses on methods for reducing health inequities among people who experience stigma, discrimination, and marginalization, including but not limited to the communities listed below, and recognizing that people hold multiple identities: ❚ People who are Black/African American, Hispanic/ Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native/ Native American/Indigenous, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American and/or of mixed race/ ethnicity ❚ Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and all sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQIA+) people ❚ Immigrants and refugees ❚ People who have experienced incarceration or are involved with the criminal justice system ❚ People experiencing housing instability and homelessness ❚ People with mental mental health conditions or cognitive impairment ❚ People with disabilities

1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Communities in action: Pathways to health equity . The National Academies Press; 2017.

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