Everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. By promoting health equity, companies can help improve the overall well-being of their communities.
“If you’re an employer, you want your employees to be in the best possible health because that’s when they’re going to be most productive,” says Lisa Cooper, Professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health. “If you want to be seen as a good employer or even as somebody who is a good neighbor within a community, it behooves you to pay attention to what it takes for people to be healthy.”
Many studies show that improving health equity can lead to increased productivity, lower healthcare costs and people living longer and healthier lives. The gains from reducing healthcare disparities are estimated at $135 billion annually. Here are five steps businesses can take to advance health equity in the workplace.
