"Everyone should have a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential and no one should be disadvantaged from achieving this potential." – World Health Organization
What is health equity?
Health equity can be defined as "the attainment of the highest level of health for all people." On the U-M campus, health and well-being is not experienced equally by all students. Forms of oppression like racism, ableism, and sexism harm student health, leading to disparities that affect their college experience. Pursuing health equity means continually addressing issues like these and making resources more responsive to student needs. See what Student Life is doing with their DEI 2.0 Plan.
How can we improve health equity?
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offers four steps to practice:
- Identify important health disparities.
- Change and implement policies, laws, systems, and practices to reduce inequities in opportunities and resources needed to be healthy.
- Evaluate and monitor efforts using short- and long-term measures.
- Reassess strategies in light of process and outcomes, and plan next steps.
Cultural competence vs. cultural humility
Cultural competence involves organizations promoting positive and effective interactions with diverse cultures. They do this by understanding the core needs of a target audience and then designing services and materials to meet those needs. Some limitations are that it can lead to assumptions or stereotyping. It's also difficult to become competent in a culture that's not your own.
Cultural humility is a lifelong commitment to self-reflection and discovering your own beliefs, values, assumptions, and biases. This work is never finished. It's an ongoing curiosity about how our own culture affects our understanding.
We want to help!
If your student org is engaged in activities to promote well-being among students impacted by campus health disparities, apply for the Wolverine Wellness Health Equity Grant.
This grant provides funds and planning help for student-led health equity projects at U-M. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until all funds are used ($2,000 per semester). Groups can request up to $500 per year for their projects.
Questions? Contact us at WolverineWellness@umich.edu.