Oral

America spends more than $2.5 trillion, or 17+% of GDP, on health care. If we could eliminate health inequalities, America could save more than a $1 trillion in excessive health care expenditures and indirect costs. We've been spending our resources on the illness model, instead of investing our resources on the determinants of health (e.g., jobs, education, physically and environmentally safe neighborhoods) that have the potential to bring us closer to achieving health equity. To make progress, we must address the determinants of health, and eliminate discrimination of all forms - racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and income inequality - from the start. We must implement the National Health Prevention Strategy, Healthy People 2020, the National Stakeholder Strategy to Achieve Health Equity, and Health Reform. For what we do today to stem social and health inequalities has the potential to generate sustainable health outcomes that will endure across the life span, and affect the health and social well-being of future generations. Because it is important to look at health equity through more than one lens, we have organized a panel to discuss health inequalities and health equity through a race/ethnicity and social/environmental justice lens, a women’s lens, a persons with disabilities lens, and a LGBTQ lens. High level policy officers will provide policy recommendations and information from a variety of different data and policy sources.

Session Objectives: Define how health disparities or health inequalities are measured. Describe how addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) today could affect the health and social well-being of future generations. Discuss two strategies for achieving health equity.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)