The pursuit of equity in health and healthcare goes beyond being a mere ambitious goal; it is a fundamental human right that must be prioritized in policies, practice, and services. Current measures of equity is focus on efforts ensuring that individuals, regardless of their origin, economic status, or where they live, can access the necessary care.

In the era of precision medicine however, equity in health and healthcare inherently goes beyond these measures. At it core, data representation is essential for precision medicine to be equitable now and into the future. Getting representative data for the community served is an essential piece of equity because critical healthcare decisions made from data not representative of the individual being served could lead to life altering outcomes. Data used in clinical decision making comes from participants in biomedical and clinical research. Thus representative participation in research is an essential step in achieving equity in health and healthcare.

It is only fair to acknowledge that attaining participant representation in research especially from marginalized communities requires walking a very tight rope. The hurdle becomes easy to navigate when the workforce is representative of the community and trusting relationships are built with community steak holders.

Achieving equity in health and healthcare is therefore the shared responsibility of government, providers, communities, and individuals alike.

Support us in our efforts in advocating for equity in health and healthcare for all.