America benefits when everyone has the opportunity to live a long, healthy, and productive life, yet health disparities persist. A health disparity is a difference in health outcomes across subgroups of the population, often linked to social, economic, or environmental disadvantages (e.g., less access to good jobs, unsafe neighborhoods, lack of affordable transportation options). Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health on the basis of their racial or ethnic group, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental health, cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.
