Promoting health equity in cities through evidence-based action.
The impact of the urban setting on health and, in particular, health inequities has been widely documented. However, only a few countries have examined their inter- or intra-city health inequalities, and few do so regularly. Information that shows the gaps between cities or within the same city is a crucial requirement to trigger appropriate local actions to promote health equity. To generate relevant evidence and take appropriate actions to tackle health inequities, local authorities need a variety of tools. In order to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of health systems performance, these tools should: (1) adopt a multi-sectorial approach; (2) link evidence to actions; (3) be simple and user-friendly; and (4) be operationally feasible and sustainable. In this paper we have illustrated the use of one such tool, The World Health Organization's Urban HEART, which guides users through a process to identify health inequities, focusing on health determinants and then developing actions based on the evidence generated. In a time of increasing financial constraints, there is a pressing need to allocate scarce resources more efficiently. Tools are needed to guide policy makers in their planning process to identify best-practice interventions that promote health equity in their cities.
Kumaresan
Jacob
J
World Health Organization Centre for Health Development, Kobe, Japan.
Prasad
Amit
A
Alwan
Ala
A
Ishikawa
Nobukatsu
N
D002947:Cities; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006285:Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D040841:Resource Allocation / Q000379:methods; D014504:Urban Health; D014944:World Health Organization
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