Different Types of Health Equities You Need to Know 

Everyone in the medical industry is aware of how health inequity can affect people from all over the world, but only a few of them can bring a solution to the table for it. 

Before we move on, it is important for one to be aware of what exactly health inequities are. According to the World Health Organization, health inequity is defined as the “systematic differences in the health status of different population groups.”

To put it simply, health inequity refers to the unavoidable differences that occur in health between different groups of people. The widespread differences created from it result from unfair systems that have negatively affected people’s living conditions, overall health status, and access to healthcare. 

Health inequity tends to mostly affect people who are either disadvantaged or if they are from oppressed groups. This also creates an unfair and unavoidable divide between different groups, and to change that, governments must change their policies. 

Fortunately, a few professionals have been trying to change these adverse circumstances – a prime example being the highly acclaimed medical contributor and physician Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell. 

Currently serving as the founder of Beyond Clinical Walls, Curry-Winchell uses this platform to conduct a regular series that offers health information in snippets. Since the beginning of her career, Curry-Winchell has been working with different community healthcare leaders, such as priests and pastors. 

This way, she builds trust within the BIPOC community and helps minority groups gain access to crucial information related to COVID-19 and general health topics. In addition to that, she works with Saint Mary’s Urgent Care and Washoe County Sexual Assault Response team.

Naturally, her expertise and extensive knowledge have enabled her to get featured as a medical contributor on many national news channels, like CNN, BBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, Newsy, Scripps News, Cheddar, and various others to talk about trending health topics around the world. 

As a professional in the industry, Curry-Winchell has often emphasized that the public should become more aware of health inequity. Hence, we have shared some common examples of health inequities that you need to know. 

High Rates of Mental Illness 

According to the Youth Risk Behavior Study conducted from 2009 to 2019, it was found that young people in the United States who are part of the LGBTQ+ group have been shown to have higher levels of sexual violence and bullying than heterosexual people. This is also one of the reasons for an increase in mental ill-health and suicide rates. 

Lack of Healthcare Access 

Discrimination, prejudice, and bias can all lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Plus, there are certain groups that may also be having difficulty in being believed or taken seriously by their doctors. 

Some studies suggest that women tend to wait longer on average to get medical care when they are visiting the emergency department compared to their male counterparts. There is also a lack of awareness when it comes to knowing the different kinds of symptoms of heart attacks in men and women – another factor that leads to incorrect diagnoses that can be fatal.