Role of Hegemony in Preventing the Eradication of Health Inequity

Objectives: Aim # 1: to analyze health inequities that persist in spite of the advances made in the health fields. My question is “why do health inequities and inequalities in health persist in spite of our knowledge about what causes them?” I argue that when it comes to health policy geared to alleviating inequalities and inequities in health a discrepancy exists between what we know and what we do to address the problem of inequity. Aim # 2: to analyze the reasons for the gap between knowledge and practice. Aim # 3: to formulate some solutions. Methods: Critical literature review to clarify definitions (disparity, inequality, inequity), describe the recent trajectory of social determinants of health, and propose solutions. Key terms: Health disparity, inequality, inequity; social determinants of health, solutions to inequity, ending inequalities in health, race and health, class and health, health policy, and politics of health. I covered journal articles in sociology, epidemiology, social medicine, public health and anthropology from 1990 to 2010. Results: Knowing about the power of morality politics; taking into account the copious knowledge about social, political, economic and social determinants of health; and understanding how systems create and perpetuate inequities, gives us a solid understanding of the reasons for the gap between knowledge and practice. Conclusions: I make recommendations based on the body of information available to effectively and convincingly reframe the context in which health is studied, and policies are made, in order to close the gap between knowledge and action in health.