Health equity

female pediatrician examining patient

Health inequities are systematic differences in the health status of different population groups. These inequities are mostly caused by structural, societal, and economic factors, and they prevent people from achieving optimal health and the highest possible quality of life.

Psychology can play a role in achieving health equity by employing psychological science to improve population health, increase access to services, and reduce disparities.

Adapted from the Report of the 2021 APA Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity (PDF, 171KB)opens in new window

Resources from APA

Policy shifts are impacting psychologists’ ability to deliver care

Psychologists face mounting challenges to access, equity, and clinical integrity

Attendants at the 2025 APA think tank meeting

Advancing educational equity and workforce development in a changing landscape

Psychology leaders convene to develop strategies for expanding access and strengthening the profession’s impact across sectors

smiling women in LBGTQ couple

Lesbian and bisexual women and LGBTQ couples

"We are losing the ability to track the health of groups that are already disproportionately affected by health disparities"

Afghan refugee family living in the United States

Psychological science and immigration today

Report from the APA Task Force on Immigration and Health

More resources about health equity

What APA is doing

Advocacy

Health equity

APA Services works to advance health equity by supporting policies to reduce or eliminate disparities in health outcomes, as well as those that address underlying social determinants of health.

Advocacy

Affordable health care access

APA Services seeks to protect and expand patient access to affordable coverage of comprehensive mental and behavioral health services.

Programs

Office of Health Equity

Promoting the advancement, communication, and application of psychological and interdisciplinary knowledge and practice to advance health equity.