This figure shows the context of structural
inequities, socioeconomic and political drivers,
and the determinants of health in which health
inequities and community-driven solutions exist.
The tools described in the following pages are
anchored to three elements at the center of
the committee’s conceptual model. Making
health equity a shared vision and value, building
community capacity, and fostering multi-sector
collaboration are all vital in the development of
community-based solutions for promoting health
equity.
Health depends on much more than individual choice, which is why so many communities are engaging in the hard work of addressing the systemic root causes of health inequities. System-level changes are needed to reduce poverty, eliminate structural racism, improve income equality, increase educational opportunity, and fix the laws and policies that perpetuate structural inequities. Working to tackle unemployment, concentrated poverty, and school dropout rates can seem overwhelming to communities, but when actors in the community—residents, businesses, state and local government, and other local institutions—work together across multiple sectors, communities have the power to change the narrative and promote health equity through enduring community-driven interventions.