Everyone deserves a fair opportunity to live a healthy life Give him a chance.

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What is Health Equity?

The opportunity for individuals and communities to live happy, healthy and productive lives.
Uncovering health differences rooted in race, gender, physical abilities, or zip codes.
Empowered communities, organizations and policy makers partnering for healthier conditions.

Problem in Jefferson County

26.3%

Children Living in Poverty

African Americans are unemployed for every 1 White person unemployed

60181

Single Parent Households

33%

Greater Infant Mortality Rate than the National Rate

A Tale of Two Communities

Health inequities persist in Jefferson County. In the summary below, we see unhealthy differences between 2 well-known communities in our county.

“Over the Mountain”/Trussville

Mostly white residents
Less poverty
Longer life expectancy
Low infant mortality rate
Greater access to healthy foods

Interstate 20/59

Mostly minority residents
More poverty
Lower life expectancy
Higher infant mortality rate
Limited access to healthy foods

Reducing income inequalities will help reduce health inequalities. People with low income are more likely to have poor health.

Improving high school graduation rates can help reduce health inequalities. An educated population is more likely to have opportunities to earn a suitable income and impact their individual and community’s health.

Increasing access to grocery stores and farmer’s markets helps reduce health inequalities. Families who have access to healthy foods have better health outcomes.

In 2011, 13.2% of the households in Jefferson County had annual incomes lower than the federal poverty level. Many of these homes bordered Interstate 20/59.

In Jefferson County, educational disparities disproportionately differ by race. More blacks do not graduate high school with a diploma than whites (16.7% vs 9.7%).

Almost 160,000 Jefferson County residents live in a food desert. Many of these residents are concentrated along the I-20/59 corridor.

The Guiding Principles

Involve people negatively impacted by health disparities in development, implementation, and evaluation.

Ensure objectives target people and communities negatively impacted by health disparities.

Ensure health equity messages are appropriate and widely disseminated.

Value both community and technical expertise.

Support and build community capacity to act.

Leverage opportunities to advance health equity.

Download Full Report Here

Use these resources to guide you

in taking the next steps towards health equity.

Local health departments are building power for health equity

Advancing Health Equity Through Strategic Partnerships

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												<h3>Advancing Health Equity Through Strategic Partnerships</h3>
												<p>What does it look like for a community to advance health equity? How do communities strengthen relationships and build capacity to create a culture of health? Join us for a discussion with the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership, anchored in Birmingham, Alabama, where they have made health equity a priority. Members from the Partnership will share how they strategically engaged local and national partners to create conditions that have greatly improved health in Jefferson County. They will highlight successes from their work on increasing health equity and offer practical guidance for how you can take action in your community.</p>

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