Building a More Equitable Society: Psychology's Role in Achieving Health Equity

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines health disparities as "preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations." Health disparities are often the result of persistent unjust policies and discriminatory practices that increase the risk of vulnerable populations for poor health. Environmental, social, and behavioral factors-all areas of psychology's expertise-contribute to health disparities in interacting ways. This article describes health disparities, including the evidence for them, the role that psychology and the American Psychological Association (APA) can play in addressing the health disparities, and the work of the APA Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity, including the APA Resolution on Psychology and Health Equity. Public Significance Statement The American Psychological Association's Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity has shown that all of psychology can have an impact in deceasing health disparities and improving health equity, from recruiting and mentoring students of color in becoming psychologists, to advocating for creative payment models to bring gold standard and effective mental health and medical care to underserved communities, and to rethinking how we conduct and publish our science.