Advancing Health Equity Action

The trajectories of people's lives are often shaped by things that fall outside of their control, having more to do with unearned disadvantages than with their own behaviours or biology. Despite solid evidence and practical policy solutions, systematic differences in health and health outcomes persist both within and between countries. Evidence shows the distribution of power, resources, and wealth along social gradients are causes of these inequities. Many people working in health and health research, and particularly in public and global health, describe their work as reducing health inequities or advancing health equity; but research shows their efforts are often poorly aligned the evidence, focusing on symptoms and not causes. 

This program of knowledge translation science supports researchers, students, and professionals in different settings (e.g., rural communities, municipalities, health systems) to align their equity intentions with evidence about causes of health inequities. By supporting people to integrate evidence-informed strategies and principles, efforts to improve population health can move toward more productive health equity action that focuses on addressing the causes, rather than symptoms, of inequities.