Health disparities are the differences in health or opportunities to achieve health that are primarily experienced by marginalized populations. They are caused by current systemic barriers to care and a long history of discrimination in medicine. In order to achieve health equity, we must work to reduce and eliminate health disparities. This page provides resources that describe the state of health disparities in Ohio and Summit County and contributing factors to health disparities.
Immediately below are resources that describe various health disparities in Akron and Summit County and provide additional resources to address those disparities. Further down the page are links to resources that describe current and past cases of medical mistreatment and redlining, which continue to have long-lasting impacts on contemporary health disparities.
These data reports and dashboards illustrate the distribution of health disparities in Ohio. When compared with the redlining maps on the Redlining tab, we can see the long lasting impact of redlining practices.
Below are Ohio-based organizations that work to combat poor health literacy and health disparities. These webpages provide resources to health professionals.
In 1933, the The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created as a government-sponsored private corporation. The goal of the HOLC was to create color coded maps of cities and suburbs to indicate the social desirability of these areas for mortgage lending purposes. Criteria for social desirability included race, citizenship status, and income. The most desirable areas were marked in with green while the least desirable areas were marked in red. A red line indicated that the HOLC deemed it unwise for lenders to support mortgages in the community and simultaneously discouraged privileged populations from moving to these locations. The impact of the HOLC was compounded by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which worked to restrict banks from providing loans in areas with Black residents. These practices led to state-sanctioned, harsh segregation of communities, frequently along the lines of race and income.
Redlining was made illegal by the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. However, the impact of redlining lingers today. Take a look at the redlining maps linked below and compare them to the maps in the Summit County dashboards and reports. Notice the overlap - communities that experience health disparities and negative outcomes today are often communities that were redlined in the past.
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use health information and services to make health-related decisions. According to the National Library of Medicine, nearly 9 of 10 adults in the United States have limited health literacy. Low levels of health literacy are especially common among older adults and marginalized education. People with low health literacy are more likely to experience poor health outcomes and struggle to manage medications or chronic diseases. As a result, low health literacy is one of many barriers that contributes to health disparities. Below are educational resources and strategies for addressing health literacy.
Individuals who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP) do not speak English as their primary language. They may struggle to read, write, speak, or understand English. Below are educational resources about LEP and various tools to address LEP in practice.
Implicit bias in the context of healthcare refers to the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that healthcare providers may hold towards certain groups of people, which can influence their behavior and decisions in ways that contribute to disparities in health outcomes. It may manifest in diagnosis, treatment, or communication. Below are articles that address implicit bias in healthcare.
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ABOUT THE LIBRARY Location, Contact Us: Library Hours & Access: |
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Located at: Akron Campus, South Pavilion, Ground Floor, Suite G-3 |
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