California continues its focus on health equity and strives to provide the highest possible standard of health for all Californians. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) uses health equity data to improve the state's response and to track trends over time. Collecting and reporting health equity data helps to identify those at greatest risk and to provide special attention to those communities least served by our public health and healthcare systems.
Health equity is a priority for advancing public health in California and is elevated as a focus in the 2024 State of Public Health Report. The report finds that there have been major improvements in health and well-being over the past 20 years; however, there are significant opportunities to reduce health inequities and address emerging public health concerns. The importance of addressing equity has been further elevated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
California put health equity at the center of its COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. CDPH developed and incorporated a health equity metric to improve overall vaccination rates and address differences in outcomes across communities and populations. California's COVID-19 response worked to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and continues to prioritize equity and community partnership.
The pandemic exposed harsh racial, ethnic, and socio-geographic disparities driven by inequities in factors associated with the risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness, including income, access to health insurance, occupation, and housing security. The Demographic Report on Health and Mental Health Equity discusses some of the destructive health equity fault lines of the pandemic and aims to help mobilize the understanding of and sustain the commitment to improvements in health equity in California. (author introduction)