"The Difference Between Health Equity and Health Equality: What You Need to Know"
- Wellness for All
- Oct 5, 2025
- 1 min read
2) Overview
While the terms “Health Equity” and “Health Equality” may seem identical, they imply different meanings in their use. In this post, we compare the definition and context in which these terms are applied.
3) 4) 5) Content
Health Equity
Health equity is when everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being regardless of individual milieus such as ethnicity, gender, or economic status. Pursuing this goal is often inhibited due to discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice based on age, gender, and other biological determinants.
Health Equality:
Health equality refers to the equal treatment and availability of healthcare services for all people. While this may sound very similar to health equity, they are fundamentally different because health equality is common access to healthcare with varying levels of individual wellness, whereas health equity is promoting the same level of healthcare and wellness for anyone.
Why is understanding this difference important?
Image source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Health equity and equality pursue equality in healthcare, but they differ in that health equity embraces individual differences to a further degree. This matters because liberal healthcare fosters equity over equality in the modern context, and knowing the differences can help design policies and interventions that reduce health disparities.
6) Conclusion
In conclusion, health equity and equality are similar concepts, yet their definitions are not identical. It is always crucial to be aware of such differences as they have significant implications for how we approach public health challenges.
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