How Can Health Care Promote Health Equity?

David R. Williams, PhD, MPH; Professor of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

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This is the fifth video in an 8-part series. Click here to watch the next video and learn about the one thing David Williams would do to create health equity.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this activity, you will be able to:

Discuss the role of health care in creating health equity.
Explain why health care alone isn’t enough to create health equity.

Description: David R. Williams, Professor of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has been researching health inequities in the United States for two decades. In this video, he sits down with Don Berwick, MD, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at IHI, to discuss the role of both health care and social determinants of health to create health equity.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube.

Discussion Questions:

After hearing Williams say that health care is important to health equity, how do you feel about your role in ensuring high-quality care to people who face barriers to good health as a result of social circumstances?
What role do you think health care providers play in addressing the non-clinical determinants of health?
Williams says early childhood development is critical to good health. How do you think health systems can promote early childhood development?

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How Can Health Care Promote Health Equity?