Why Haven’t We Made More Progress on Health Equity?

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

Have trouble viewing this video? Read the transcript.

This is the second video in an 8-part series. Click here to watch the next video and learn if racism plays a role in health inequities.

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

Discuss the progress in reducing health disparities.
Give at least one reason why progress is slow.

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 talk about the progress in reducing disparities to date, and what stands in the way of progress now.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube.

Discussion Questions:

How deep is your own knowledge of inequities in health and health care? Do you agree that there’s a general lack of awareness of these issues?
What do you think would raise awareness of the issue of health inequities?
Do you agree that there is a lack of political will to address inequities? Why or why not?
Do you think health care providers have a role to play in raising awareness of inequities and building political will to address them?

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Why Haven’t We Made More Progress on Health Equity?