Roots of Health Inequity

The Roots of Health Inequity Course Series challenges practitioners to take a closer look at public health inequities by focusing on the underlying history, narratives, and structures of power that drive them. Users will find that the course draws upon a mix of historical and recent events to discuss concepts that apply to current topics in public health practice. By understanding the root causes of health inequities, public health practitioners can effectively strategize and orient their organization’s programming to address the social or structural drivers of health inequities. Users are encouraged to critically reflect upon how they may address root causes in their own work. Initiatives thus become more creative, collaborative, and cohesive. The course series serves as a repository of health equity resources, and includes references, toolkits, and additional resources to better address each community’s unique needs.

Why Root Causes? Watch the Course 1 Video

Course Structure: Each course is organized the same way, with a course overview, followed by three chapters, and then closed with a course wrap up. The overview contains the course purpose, learning objectives, key terms, and overview videos. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and provides historical context. Chapter 2 dives into contemporary manifestations to public health practices and details how the course topic generates health inequity. Chapter 3 discusses strategies to act against this specific root cause. We recommend using the “Course Navigation” sidebar to help you navigate through each page. Each course will also contain videos, interactives, discussion prompts, voices, activities, case studies, and worksheets.

Language: The course is also offered in Spanish. Just click the orange “Español” button in the top right side of the screen to switch languages.

Creating an Account: Navigate to the “Login” page and click “Create an Account,” and enter the desired information. This may include a short biography, your LinkedIn, your Professional Category, etc. If you are not part of an organization taking the course, you may join the “Independent Learners” group.

Creating a Group: If you are taking a course with other people from your organization, we recommend creating a group for your organization. To do so, click “Start a Group” on the home page and enter the desired information. Once your group is created, enter in the emails of everyone in your group. They will be sent an email prompting them to create an account. You can then assign your group members to a course or specific set of pages. This assignment will show up on all their dashboards. We highly recommend using this feature for group facilitation! You can manage your group on the “Dashboard” page.

Narration: Each course has a narration tool that can read each page for you. To engage in a narrated course, click “Listen to Audio Version” at the top of each page.

Accessibility: The course has been updated to meet modern day accessibility standards, including:

• Descriptive alternative text is assigned to every meaningful image on our website
• Our website is navigable without a mouse, by keyboard only
• We use a focus indicator to highlight interactive elements on our website
• We ensure that all text to background color contrast meets a 4.5:1 ratio
• We include a skip navigation link on all pages of our website
• We maintain a consistent and predictable layout throughout our website