Is it the same as health inequality or disparity?

Although they sound similar, the terms health inequity and health inequality are different.

Inequity refers to unfair and avoidable inequalities that are not inevitable or natural but the product of human behavior. Inequality, on the other hand, simply refers to the uneven distribution of resources.

For example, health differences based on age are usually the result ofTrusted Source health inequality. It is normal for the health of young people to be better than the health of older adults overall. As a result, this is not typically an example of health inequity.

Disparity has a slightly different meaning to both of these terms. A disparity simply means a difference. It does not specifically refer to differences that are the result of unfairness or injustice.

For instance, differences in infant mortality among social, racial, or ethnic groups within the same country are often the result of inequity rather than disparity. This is because if a country can provide higher quality maternal care to one group, there is typically no medical reason that it should not provide it for another.