Despite continued analysis demonstrating unequal outcomes, and an abundance of reports and resources available, disparate health outcomes are worsening for some populations and clinical conditions.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides the following definition: “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.”

Health Equity Dashboards

During its February 2021 meeting, the MHA Board of Directors established a standing Health Equity Committee comprised of leadership and experts in diversity and inclusion from hospitals and health systems across the state. The committee is tasked with steering MHA’s strategic initiatives surrounding health equity promotion, promulgating policies and best practices, and developing assistive research and analytic solutions to assist multisectoral stakeholders with identifying vexing health and social disparities within hyperlocal areas in Missouri.

With guidance from the committee and focus groups comprised of subject matter experts from across the state, MHA Quality, Safety and Research staff developed a suite of four health equity-focused dashboards that offer previously unavailable granularity in health outcomes, health factors and social determinants of health for finite population segments and geographic areas in Missouri.

access the dashboards

Tools and Resources

• exploreMOhealth
• MHA Health Equity Dashboards
• The Joint Commission Health Equity web page
  • TJCs Roadmap for Hospitals
• American Hospital Association Equity of Care website
  • A Toolkit for Eliminating Health Care Disparities
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health website
  • National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care
  • National CLAS Standards: Fact Sheet