Tackle racial inequities in health

Use GIS to address structural racism and health inequities impacting communities of color

A doctor happily listening to the heartbeat of an infant with a map showing density with red dots in the foreground

What are health equity & racial equity in health?

Addressing structural racism and health inequities is critical to providing health services for all. To achieve health equity, all people must have a fair opportunity to reach their full health potential. Racial equity in health implies that no one is disadvantaged from achieving their full health potential because of their racial identity. Location intelligence supports better understanding of community experiences and exposes disparities to improve situational awareness, inform policy making, and address issues in real time. Maps and apps allow organizations to set baselines, monitor progress in at-risk areas, and push forward in achieving optimal health for all.

Engage communities and collaborate

Enhance collaboration in your partnerships with community organizations; tribes; scientific researchers; and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-serving organizations and accelerate your efforts to promote equitable health outcomes by enabling two-way communication. Engage with easy-to-deploy survey tools. Map and analyze results to identify community challenges and sentiments. With GIS, you can share information effortlessly and in an easy-to-understand format, giving residents an accurate snapshot of a community's experiences, nearby services, and authoritative information. 

Computer map titled “Where is the Black population most affected by poor accessibility to healthy food?”

Advance food justice

Use location intelligence to address food insecurity among communities of color. Find and support people of color experiencing food insecurity for many reasons, including transportation and economic barriers and social distancing. Locate areas that could benefit from programming that incentivizes reduced food delivery costs and fresh produce sales. Identify and eliminate barriers to access to healthy and affordable food to minimize health risks for communities of color.

National Farmers Market Directory map

Improve access to health care and health-promoting services

Quickly evaluate current access to health resources in communities of color and identify gaps. Forecast future health service demand to adjust allocations and minimize health inequities. Improve geographic accessibility with advanced mapping and spatial analytics for facility siting, optimizing mobile outreach efforts and leveraging community partners to expand services in underserved areas.

Map titled “Which group is least likely to receive mammogram screening?”

GIS resources for racial equity in health

  • A close-up of a medical professional using a stethoscope to determine a patient’s blood pressure

    Now Available: The Latest Hospitalization and Mortality Data for Heart Disease and Stroke

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shared the latest county-level hospitalization and mortality rates for heart disease and stroke as well as high blood pressure medication nonadherence rates to ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

    Learn about the latest data layers
  • Three people looking at a computer screen

    Racial Equity Community Outreach

    Government agencies can use this solution to communicate progress made on racial equity initiatives or programs. It includes applications used to communicate key racial equity initiatives or programs, visualize workforce diversity metrics, gauge public sentiment, and more.

    Explore Racial Equity Community Outreach
  • A doctor and patient having a discussion

    Using Location Intelligence to Address the Impact of Racial Injustice on Health Equity

    Part of an ongoing webinar series for advancing racial equity in government, this webinar will feature a conversation with subject matter experts in the areas of racial justice, health, and location technology.

    View the webinar series
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Esri Blog

A geographic approach to environmental justice

CalEnviroScreen, a new online map combining data related to pollution and people, explores California from an environmental justice perspective.

Read the blog article

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