Racial Justice Framing

To learn more about how to interpret and act upon CHEI results with a racial equity lens, review the Racial Justice Framing Webinar.

Watch the CHEI Racial Justice Framing Webinar here

As you explore the CHEI data, you will see variations in how different communities respond to questions. Many of the differences seen in the CHEI data are driven by structural racism and other systems of oppression that unfairly advantage certain groups and disadvantage others. These inequities are not due to an individual’s choices, behaviors, or traits. 

The systems of oppression that result in inequities are widespread, harmful to everyone, and influence Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) that have direct impact on health outcomes. SDoH are things that help individuals and families thrive, such as education, economic stability, and safe and affordable housing.

Additionally, these data show only a portion of the lived experiences of Massachusetts residents, not the complete stories of their lives. By partnering with communities to interpret and contextualize the data, these data can be used to inform the actions that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, its partners, and communities take to promote health and equity in Massachusetts.

This framework shows how the health outcomes and inequities on the right side of this figure are driven by systemic racism and other systems of oppression on the left side. These systems cause inequitable access to opportunities (like education and employment) and resources (like housing and transportation), and inequitable exposures to factors like violence and discrimination that impact health. The Community Health Equity Initiative uses this framework to guide our understanding of the causes of health inequities, the design of our health equity data system, and the development of data & action strategies.

To address health equity, we must reduce social and structural barriers that lead to poor health. To transform the systems that maintain racial and social inequities, our focus spans the entire health equity pathway, including:

Interconnected Systems: Address interconnected systems and policies, including global forces and governmental policies, at the macro level.  

Policies and Environment: Address policies and environments to change these unjust policies ex: housing policies, land trusts, etc.  

Increased Risk: Mitigate impact of increased risk caused by these unjust systems, ex: supportive housing, new development, stabilization initiatives.

Health-Related Social Needs: Address immediate health related social needs caused by these unjust systems ex: air-conditioner vouchers