health equity
(helth EH-kwih-tee)
A situation in which all people are given the chance to live as healthy a life as possible regardless of their race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, education, job, religion, language, where they live, or other factors. A lack of health equity can result in differences in health outcomes, such as rates and severity of disease, disability, death, and quality of life. There are efforts to promote health equity by looking at root causes and removing barriers to equal access to health care services.