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Addressing Health Inequities

We all want to live in a community where we have the best opportunities to be healthy – for ourselves, for our children, for our families and friends. Unfortunately, the conditions that support health are not evenly distributed in our community. Health inequities are the unjust and preventable differences in health outcomes that arise from unfairly distributed conditions and opportunities that impact health. The inequities we see in Lane County (and throughout the United States) are the result of human-created systems and, therefore, can be changed by community efforts. The Community Partnerships Program is committed to working with the community to transform systems so that everyone in Lane County has their best chance of optimal health.


Part of this commitment is taking an anti-racist approach to framing and solving public health problems. The foundations for this approach can be found locally and nationally in resolutions passed by the county commissioners as well as mission and policy statements from leading public health organizations. Addressing health inequities is foundational to the essential public health services and there is a large, and growing, body of evidence that demonstrates that addressing inequities starts with addressing the root causes: our national and local history of exclusion based on the values of white supremacy.


History of white supremacy in Lane County: the foundation of inequities

Tableau timeline - history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Lane County


Racing to Change (Lane County History Museum)

Where we are now: Racism is a public health crisis

In April 2021, Lane County’s Board of Commissioners declared racism a public health crisis in recognition of the systemic barriers to health that racism has created in Lane County. In 2022, CPP provided an update to the Public Health Advisory Committee on progress made. Read the report here.  


The following links are to CBO newsletters with Demystifying Data features that illustrate health inequities that are the result of systems steeped in white supremacy:

The indicators for the 2021-25 Community Health Improvement Plan demonstrate some of the disparities in the social determinants of health in Lane County – things like education and income:

  • Native American and Asian people have the lowest median incomes, while White people have the highest.
  • Rates of homeownership – the most common way to build wealth in the United states – are substantially lower than the county overall for every racial and ethnic group except White people.
  • Native American, Black, and Latine people have the lowest rates of on-time high school graduation.
  • The median age of premature death (deaths before age 75) are significantly lower in Black/African American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander communities compared to the county overall.


Where we are headed: Antiracism is the future of public health

Taking an antiracist approach to public health is key to addressing health inequities and improving the health of our community overall. Every major public health organization in the US has identified the need to address root causes of inequities:

Because of the disparities identified in the 2018-2020 Community Health Assessment, one of the priorities in the 2021-2025 Community Health Improvement Plan is transforming systems to address current and historical injustices that produce inequities. Some of the actions included in the CHP: 

  • Provide trainings to staff and volunteers on the history of racism, bias, and cultural humility/responsiveness.
  • Use an equity lens when planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and policies.
  • Redirect resources to address racism and support communities that have been systemically marginalized.

How to get involved

Live Healthy Lane will be starting a new Community Health Assessment in 2024 using the MAPP 2.0 process (MAPP stands for Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnership). The updated framework centers equity and community power-building while applying an anti-racist lens to the work.