The Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Health Equity, has released the HRSA 2019-2020 Health Equity Report: Special Feature on Housing and Health Inequalities (PDF - 6 MB). The report shows progress in vital health indicators and addresses the agency’s efforts to improve health outcomes through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce and innovative, high-value programs. A high-resolution, print-ready version of the report (PDF - 28 MB) is also available.
The Office of Health Equity (OHE) works to reduce health disparities so that communities and individuals can achieve their highest level of health.
- Communication
- Health Policy
- Public Health Systems (Care Delivery and Integration)
- Social Determinants of Health
- Strategic Agency/Organizational Partnerships
- Workforce Development, Clinical Care, Provider-Patient Relationships
- African Americans and Black Americans
- Asian Americans
- Hispanics and Latinos
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)
- Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
- People with disabilities
- Rural communities
- Urban communities
Vision
Our vision is for health equity to be realized in communities throughout the United States.
Mission
Our mission is to reduce disparities and improve health equity, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.
Impact areas
- Health Equity Policy Coordination for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations
- Internal, External, and Community Partnerships to Improve Health Equity
- Health Equity Solutions -- Training and Operations
Essential functions
We work with external organizations as well as other HRSA bureaus and offices to improve health equity.
- Principal advisor regarding health disparities, health equity, and minority and priority population health
- Provide technical assistance to HRSA bureaus and offices, and external stakeholders on matters impacting health equity
- Increase the visibility of data and policies that may impact health equity
- Develop partnerships with other government agencies and external stakeholders to increase the visibility of health disparities and health equity issues
What is health equity?
Health Equity is the absence of disparities or avoidable differences among socioeconomic and demographic groups or geographical areas in health status and health outcomes such as disease, disability, or mortality.
What are the social determinants of health?
Social Determinants of Health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
Reports
- 2019-2020 Health Equity Report (PDF - 6 MB)
- 2019-2020 Health Equity Report - high-resolution version (PDF - 28 MB)
- 2017 Health Equity Report (PDF - 2 MB)
- 2017 Health Equity Report - high-resolution version (PDF - 38 MB)
Areas of focus
OHE at a glance
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