Equity
The Equity Office works to find and address health differences at their root causes. We work to understand how racism impacts our health and the health of our community. We know that our community’s health is far more than healthcare and our personal choices. We support policies and projects that will allow every person who lives in Frederick County to achieve their highest level of health no matter where they live, learn, work, worship, play and age.
What is Health Equity? Check out the video below to get a quick overview.
What are Social Determinants of Health?
Our health is far more than healthcare and our personal choices. Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, live, work, play, worship and age. The choices we make depend on the options that are available and accessible. They are often grouped into 5 categories: Economic Stability, Education Access, Health Care Access, Neighborhood and Built Environment, and Social and Community Context.
Nuestra salud es mucho más que la atención médica y nuestros comportamientos de salud individuales. Los determinantes sociales de la salud son las condiciones en las que las personas nacen, viven, trabajan, juegan, adoran y envejecen. Los determinantes sociales influyen en las opciones entre las que debemos elegir en conjunto. Por lo general, se agrupan en 5 categorías: Estabilidad económica, Acceso a la educación, Acceso a la atención médica, Vecindario y entorno construido, y Contexto social y comunitario.
There are a lot of terms used when talking about equity, so here's what we mean when we use these words. A printable handout of the definitions is available at the bottom of this page.
Definitions:
- Equality: Treating everyone the same, no matter who they are. It means giving everyone the same options, no matter what they already have or need.
- Equity: To treat everyone fairly, sometimes we need to treat people differently based on their needs. Focusing on equity means trying to make things just (like justice) by thinking about the different ways certain groups get more help or face more harm.
- Racial Inequity: When different racial groups do not have the same chances or resources. This means some groups might have fewer opportunities in things like school, healthcare, or owning a home. It’s unfair because it treats people differently based on their race. These differences shouldn’t happen if everyone had the same chances.
- Disparities: Differences that are unfair or not equal. It can be related to a person's race, religion, money situation, gender, age, mental health, or physical disabilities and can affect their health, education, or opportunities. These differences can mean that some groups of people have less access to what they need compared to others. This is often caused by discrimination or being left out of decision-making or just left behind.
- Implicit bias: When someone has automatic thoughts or feelings about a person or group without realizing it. These hidden ideas can affect our understanding, actions, decisions, and how we treat others, even if we don’t mean to.
- Explicit bias: When someone has clear and openly stated beliefs or opinions about a person or group. These are thoughts and feelings that people are aware of and say or do on purpose.
- Person with a Disability: Someone who has a physical or mental condition that makes it much harder to do certain life activities. Disabilities can affect the body, mind, or how someone learns or grows, and they might not always be easy to see.
- Microaggressions: Actions, words, or behaviors can hurt people, whether it's on purpose or not. These hurtful messages can be about someone’s race, gender, or other identities. Even though they may be small, having them every day adds up and makes people feel worse and worse. It can even affect a person's mental or physical health. Here are some common examples:
- "Where are you really from?"
- "What are you?"
- "You don’t act like a normal Black person."
- "You’re really pretty for a dark-skinned girl."
The video below explains microaggressions:
A note about definitions. The terms above have been gathered from a variety of resources and rephrased into plain language as appropriate using ChatGPT.
Resources:
- EmPOWER Employer Resource Toolkit from the Frederick County Office of Economic Development
- Initiate a Complaint of Discrimination in Frederick County
- City of Frederick Equity and Inclusion Office
- Frederick County Equity and Inclusion Office
- Frederick County Human Relations Commission
- Frederick County Declaration of Racism as a Public Health Crisis (3/18/2021)
- Maryland Dept. of Health - Minority Health and Health Disparities
- U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services - Office of Minority Health
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities
- Frederick County Health Department Health Equity Definitions (Nov. 2024)
Health Disparities Data
- For Frederick County data on health disparities, please see the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment.
- LGBTQ+ Health Among Youth
Trainings
- None currently, but check back!
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We want to hear from you! If you have ideas of things for us to work on, or want to volunteer with us, please email us at FCHDequityoffice@frederickcountymd.gov .