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Review
. 2022 Sep;10(S1):S3-S8.
doi: 10.1089/big.2022.0204.

Equity as a Guiding Principle for the Public Health Data System

Anita Chandra  1 , Laurie T Martin  1 , Joie D Acosta  1 , Christopher Nelson  2 , Douglas Yeung  2 , Nabeel Qureshi  3 , Tara Blagg  3
Affiliations
Review

Equity as a Guiding Principle for the Public Health Data System

Anita Chandra et al. Big Data. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

The growing centering of equity in health has elevated a conversation about how those interests should translate within the systems and sectors that influence health. In particular, the public health data system has been relatively limited in capturing the drivers and consequences of health inequity as well as the varying dimensions of equity. This article examines what it means to use equity as a guiding principle throughout the components and functions of a modern public health data system. As with other articles in this supplement, this article builds from a literature review, environmental scan, and deliberations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems to summarize current gaps to integrate equity throughout the system. It outlines opportunities for the technology and data science sectors specifically to engage given the access that these sectors have to information that would illuminate and frame the nuances and impacts of health inequity.

Keywords: data; equity; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

References

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    1. Chandra A, Martin L, Acosta J, et al. Transforming Public Health Data Systems, Why? The Focus on Equity in the Modern Public Health Data System. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems: Princeton, NJ; 2021.
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    1. National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. Charting a Course for an Equity-Centered Data System: Recommendations from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Princeton, NJ; 2021. Available from: https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2021/10/charting-a-course-for-a... [Last accessed: April 1, 2022].
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Paving the Road to Health Equity Online. Atlanta, GA; 2020. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/publications/health_equity/index.html [Last accessed: 2022].

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