What is Health Equity and Why Does it Matter?

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are the things that affect one’s life whether we know it or not.

No one is immune. These social forces include such things as education, housing security, proximity to fresh food, the state of city streets and healthcare.

In fact, anything that becomes a factor in how one lives their life. Encountering racism and bias on a daily basis is also a SDoH. Pastor William Johnson has been Pastor of a church in the Fairfax neighborhood for over 25 years.

He has been active in his community making certain that his church and by extension his parishioners are participants in the well-being of their neighborhood. He also writes and produces plays that reflect his ethical values. In this video he reflects, just as you are reflecting, on racial bias and how it shaped the way he has led his life and the lives of his children and grandchildren.

Factors such as maternal health behaviors and toxic stress can contribute to differential health outcomes. We ask that you think about how racial bias is a critical toxic stress.