Moving Together Towards
Health Equity
San Joaquin County (SJC) is one of the fastest growing counties in California, with more than 779,000 residents.1 The County includes seven cities, many small towns, and numerous rural farm and ranching communities. The population is an interesting mix—very ethnically and linguistically diverse. As of 2020, the population was 30.5% White, 42.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 8.3% Black or African American, and 1.8% other ethnicities.
A greater percentage of the SJC population lives below federal poverty levels as compared to the state average. Lower educational attainment is directly related to the lower income and higher rates of poverty. Furthermore, place matters: health is linked to geography-based conditions that tend to concentrate resources and opportunities for healthful living in some places while bypassing others. Life span is foreshortened by 20+ years in the most impoverished neighborhoods throughout SJC.
With this in mind, addressing health disparities and inequities is a priority. This webpage includes an overview of health equity, as well as resources and actions we can all take to promote health equity across all of our communities.
1: United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts. San Joaquin County, California
| What is Health Equity? | Race Equity | Resilient Community Advisory Committee (RCAC) |
| Social Inequity : The community's Perspective | How Can you Promote Health Equity? | Additional Resources |
What is Health Equity?
A state in which every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of socioeconomic or environmental conditions or policies.
(Source: Adapted from CDC, Promoting Health Equity,2008)
Race Equity
Research has shown that racial and ethnic minority groups experience higher rates of illness and death due to a variety of health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and heart disease. Examining population and community data by race/ethnicity is the first step to identify racial disparities and address how to close the gaps.
Resilient Community Advisory Committee (RCAC)
RCAC was created in 2020 to bring together community partners who serve the most vulnerable populations throughout San Joaquin County and who are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a collective action approach, the RCAC meets monthly to engage community partners and residents in the development of messages for the community, establish community outreach and disease mitigation activities, and gather feedback on planned activities.
For More Information about the RCAC, contact shill2@sjcphs.orgInterested in receiving information about upcoming Resilient Community Advisory Committee meetings and updates?
