Conversations on Race & Health Equity

HEALTHY TRI-COUNTY AND THE TRI-COUNTY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLAN
FOCUS ON HEALTH EQUITY AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 

In concert with the effort to identify health priorities, the TCHIP Workgroup also looked at ways to promote equitable health outcomes in the region and to incorporate consideration of  social determinants of health that impact health outcomes in the development of TCHIP recommendations and action steps.  TUW developed tools including a TCHIP Health Equity Principles Guide and TCHIP Social Determinants of Health Considerations to support subcommittees as they crafted their recommendation. In August 2017 the workgroup voted to adopt the following health equity principles:

• Health is more than healthcare- social conditions are just as important to health as medical care
• Health is tied directly to the distribution of resources- the single strongest predictor of our health is our position on the class pyramid
• Racism imposes an added health burden- ongoing discrimination in housing, jobs and education
• The choices we make are shaped by the choices we have - unhealthy behaviors are often shaped by unhealthy social and environmental factors