Health disparities and the social determinants of health can be influenced by many factors, some obvious and some you may never have considered until now. What does health equity mean to you? What can be done to improve the health of vulnerable populations in your community, nationally, and even globally?

To prepare for this Application Assignment, review your Learning Resources and the Discussion posts from your classmates this week. Think about your community, and particularly the vulnerable populations and their health risks, as you answer the questions in this week’s application. Find at least two additional resources to add

information to your application. One resource should be from a recent (last 5 years) peer-reviewed journal (from the Walden University Library). For suggestions to help with your search, visit the Library https://library.waldenu.edu/908.htm. The other additional resource should be from an online source with ".edu", ".org", or ".gov" in the web address to ensure you are accessing a reliable resource.

To complete this Application Assignment, write a 2- to 3-page paper that discusses how health equity and the social determinants of health, as described in this week’s
Learning Resources, relate to a racial, ethnic, or geographic group of your choice. In your paper, answer the following questions:

1. What does health equity mean to you? What is the impact of health equity from the perspective of a health care professional?

2. What racial, ethnic, or geographic population are you basing this application on? What types of issues related to health equity are reported in the population you selected for this application?

3. How does your definition of health equity and diversity relate to Walden’s mission of social justice?

Learning resources:
What is the etiology and burden of disease in a population? Has it changed over time? Data from public health sources provides essential information for those professionals as they work to understand the problem and strive to improve the health of people around the world.

•Article: Brennan Ramirez, L. K., Baker, E. A., & Metzler, M. (2008). Promoting health equity: A resource to help communities address social determinants of health. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/pdf/SDOH-workbook.pdf

?Introduction (p. 4)

?Chapter 1, "Achieving Health Equity" (pp. 6–11)

The link between social determinants of health, including food supplies, housing, economics, relationships, and the overall environment to public health outcomes is

widely recognized. This workbook from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an explanation, examples, and a plan for reducing health inequities in a

community. This week, you will read Chapter 1 to better understand health equity, health disparities, and the social determinants of health. You will be reading other chapters later in this course.

•Article: World Health Organization. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Retrieved from https://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2008/WHO_IER_CSDH_08.1_eng.pdf
World Health Organization (2008). Closing the Gap in a Generation Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Copyright (C) World Health

Organization. Used by permission.

Health equity and social justice affect the way people live, their chance of illness, and their risk of premature death. According to the World Health Organization

(WHO), health and illness follow a social gradient: the lower the socioeconomic position, the worse the health of those individuals. The WHO report, Closing the gap in

a generation, provides recommendations to reduce disparities and improve health equity through global action on the social determinants of health. This Executive Summary, from the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, will help you gain an appreciation of the health challenges facing citizens around the globe.

•Article: Friel, S., Chopra, M., & Satcher, D. (2007). Unequal weight: Equity oriented policy responses to the global obesity epidemic. BMJ, 335(7632), 1241–1243.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2137064/

A growing global problem of obesity is unequally distributed between and within countries. This article, from the British Medical Journal, through the example of obesity, demonstrates the critical health equity concepts covered in class this week. Use the permalink in the Syllabus and the online classroom.

•Slides: CDC. (2009). State-specific Prevalence of Obesity Among U.S. Adults by Race/Ethnicity, 2006-2008..
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. Used by permission.

In recent years, the obesity rates have seen a dramatic increase across the U.S. The CDC, using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), shows recent trends in obesity in non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics in the U.S.
Websites

•CDC: Overweight and Obesity
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Obesity rates have been climbing across the country. This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage shows trend data and links to information about overweight and obesity issues in the United States.

•CDC: National Center for Health Statistics
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a valuable source of information about America’s health. NCHS uses data from many sources to identify disparities, monitor trends in health status and health care delivery, as well as compile statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health our citizens.

NCHS is a key element of our national public health infrastructure, providing important surveillance information that helps identify and address critical health problems.