Health Equity and Social Justice

Policy Statements | Staff Contacts

NACCHO's Health Equity and Social Justice initiatives explore why certain populations bear a disproportionate burden of disease and mortality and what health departments can do to better address the causes of these inequities. The goal of NACCHO's Health Equity and Social Justice initiatives is to advance the capacity of local health departments (LHDs) to tackle the root causes of health inequities through public health practice and their organizational structure. NACCHO's Health Equity and Social Justice initiatives include:

The LHD National Coalition for Health Equity, an organization dedicated to eliminating the fundamental causes of inequity in the distribution of disease and illness through public health practice;
The Health Equity Campaign, sponsored by the California Endowment, brings together health departments and others using the PBS documentary film series Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making us Sick? in their jurisdictions to host community dialogues about health equity;
The Health Equity and Social Justice Toolkit, a searchable database of Health Equity tools, publications, and resources, available in NACCHO's Toolbox; and
Publications tailored to local health departments, including the anthology Tackling Health Inequities through Public Health Practice: Theory to Action (revised and expanded, February 2010) and NACCHO's Guidelines For Achieving Health Equity in Public Health Practice.

In the Spotlight

DVDs of "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick" still available to LHDs

With the support of the California Endowment NACCHO is helping local health departments screen the award-winning film Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? and discuss actions to tackle health inequity. NACCHO provides a free copy of the DVD, tools, and technical assistance to departments hosting events. More »

Tackling Health Inequities through Public Health Practice: Theory to Action

Oxford University Press released Tackling Health Inequities through Public Health Practice: Theory to Action" in February 2010. Edited by NACCHO Senior Analyst Richard Hofrichter and the Director of the San Francisco Department of Health's division of Occupation and Environmental Health Rajiv Bhatia, this text raises questions and provides a starting point for health practitioners ready to reorient public health practice to address the fundamental causes of health inequities. This reorientation involves restructuring the organization, culture and daily work of public health.

Tackling Health Inequities is meant to inspire readers to imagine or envision public health practice and their role in ways that question contemporary thinking and assumptions, as emerging trends, social conditions, and policies generate increasing inequities in health.

Download the table of contents (PDF) by clicking here. More »

Announcing a New Toolkit in NACCHO's Toolbox

Health Equity and Social Justice Toolkit

Announcing the Health Equity and Social Justice Toolkit, a searchable database of resources to help local health departments explore and tackle the root causes of inequity in the distribution of disease, illness, and death. It covers subjects ranging from social justice theory to public health practice, and includes journal articles, video clips, reports, PowerPoint presentations, book references, action guides, Web sites, and more. More »