Taking Action to Build Health Equity

Although we have made significant progress improving the health status for many Boston residents, there are groups of people who have not benefitted equally from our progress and who bear a severe and disproportionate burden of diseases. To tackle this imbalance, the Boston Public Health Commission has developed a framework for organizing our work that addresses the interpersonal, community, and societal influences of disease transmission and health, paying particular attention to how racism and poverty limit opportunity for many to make healthy choices.

Our work is organized under three principles: 1. We are data-driven and responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information that explains inequities in health. This information is used to guide programming, resource allocation and advocacy, and allows us to advance the health of our communities by eliminating persistent racial inequities in health. 2. Our work supports and builds community capacity to lead and engage in efforts to eliminate inequities. The voices of our clients and residents must be central to the design and implementation of programming and policy development. 3. Building strategic partnerships to address root causes/social determinants of health inequities is a priority and requires collaboration with a diverse group of organizations in order to identify and adopt policies that promote health equity. Strategies for organizing our work differently involve an investment in education and training for residents and employees; mobilizing to promote policies, regulations and laws that promote social justice and racial/economic equity; retooling programming to support transformative learning and empowerment; and benchmarking progress.