Health Equity in Unexpected Places

Course Details

The Miami (Ohio) Valley Regional Planning Commission has done important work to ensure that "all people, regardless of where they live, should have the resources, be provided with opportunities, and be in an environment that facilitates and supports health and well-being."

This presentation draws on health and built-environment assessments that were conducted to share how data collection and presentation can illuminate health disparities and support discussions of health equity in communities that aren't accustomed to doing so. Speakers describe efforts to engage communities in discussions about social determinants of health and how health outcomes can be improved through planning an environment that fosters active living.

Learn from instances when integrating health equity into planning processes had significant impacts. Examples focus on the types of communities that seldom are considered likely candidates for emphasizing health equity: rural villages, bedroom suburbs, and mid-sized legacy cities. Learn methods for bringing health equity into conversations with unlikely groups and collaborating with them to influence health outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify ways to measure health equity in a variety of community types, taking into consideration their unique characteristics.
• Integrate data with public input to formulate health-equity goals, objectives, and recommendations that are both grounded in information and reflective of a community's values and aspirations.
• Formulate ways of talking about health equity with a wide range of demographic groups and in many different contexts (urban, suburban, rural).