Health Equity Campaign - AMSA's Platform

The Scales of Justice have tipped showing that our nation's delivery of food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services is divided across social and economic lines with the greatest burden carried by the sick, homeless and those whose inheritance was poverty. By no means do we promote neglecting disparities, however it's becoming apparent to some of us that the focus on disparity has led to the federal government and institutions largely chronicling the level of inequity rather than focusing on the resolution of these problems. The shift in focus assumes that in order to reduce these disparities, we must now organize ourselves around solutions. This, of course, is most important at the local level. This platform's primary function is as an umbrella to unite local efforts by framing the issues around one of the four planks. This collective action will facilitate local movements, as well as provide opportunities for different local communities around the nation to create collaborative networks.

CULTURALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE EDUCATION

We believe education needs to be made more affordable and accessible to children born into poverty. Educational debt deters health students from pursuing careers in primary care and underserved areas. We need to address debt and the affordability of medical education so that educational debt repayment and management does not constrain the culturally-and socially-responsible opportunities available to graduates of higher education.

We believe that our educational institutions' faculty and students should reflect our nation's diversity, to promote culturally-and socially-responsible education. Given that racial and ethnic minorities comprise 25% of the U.S. population, but make up only 6% of the U.S. physician workforce, we must increase efforts that promote the recruitment, retention and matriculation of underrepresented persons at all levels of higher education, especially in the health professions, to reflect the diversity of our nation.

Educational resources & examples of local projects

HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE ACCESS AND TRAINING

We believe all health care providers should be adequately trained to competently address the needs of diverse and traditionally marginalized communities. We must ensure training of health students and residents occurs in underserved areas and community centered clinical practices by instituting minimum standards and quality measures in health professions curricula and licensure to promote a sense of equity and commitment to medically underserved communities and their expectations of the health workforce.

Given that the current health care workforce growth is insufficient to keep pace with the needs of underserved areas and the increasing burden of chronic disease, we must expand the number of health care workers and training opportunities available domestically and abroad.

Educational resources & examples of local projects

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Poverty and socioeconomic inequality are major causes of chronic disease. We must address the social* and economic causes of chronic disease, increase emphasis on prevention and primary care and educate ourselves and our communities on mechanisms of causation and opportunities for prevention. To this end, we must address the impact of poverty by providing individuals a living wage as an investment in the health of our working families.

*Refers to all aspects of one's social position and cultural background, including race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status/class, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religious beliefs, age, disability status, education and health literacy level.

Environmental hazards lead to adverse health outcomes and disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged and minority communities. We need to promote healthy environments for all people and address environmental health issues as critical to achieving social justice and eliminating health disparities. We must address the quality of housing and living environment when attempting to sponsor community-driven initiatives or support community-centered interventions.

Educational resources & examples of local projects

QUALITY OF CARE

We believe that investing in the delivery of high quality health care for all is an investment in society and the ability of our nation to respond to national emergencies and threats to our health and security. While the World Health Organization has ranked the United States 24th in health attainment, with the U.S. spending the highest dollar amount per capita on health care in the world, we believe the U.S. should be among the healthiest nations in the world. With 90 million chronically ill already accounting for $3 out of every $4 of the U.S. health care expenses, we can no longer afford to ignore that the current U.S. market-based health-care system has not realized the possible savings of preventive-health practices. We must strengthen the public health and primary care infrastructure by ensuring that proven models of chronic disease prevention and management are adequately supported. We believe that the increasing burden of disease on our health care delivery system has overwhelmed our current health care system and compromised our nation's ability to deliver the highest quality of care.

We agree with the United Nations that health care is a human right and that access, delivery and quality of care should reflect this value. The current attempts to contain costs and maximize profits of the U.S. health management and insurance industry have left 47 million people uninsured and 16 million people underinsured, nationally compromising access to care with the greatest burden placed on our most needy communities. We need to strengthen efforts that promote equitable access and delivery of high-quality care for medically-vulnerable populations,* among whom systemic bias and stigma continue to compromise public policy, insurance parity and quality of treatment. We, as a nation, have permitted the U.S. market-based model for health coverage to prioritize profit without addressing the physical and fiscal cost to us all.

*Medically vulnerable populations include immigrants, refugees, incarcerated individuals and persons suffering from mental health conditions, substance abuse/addiction and HIV/AIDS.

Educational resources & examples of local projects