Health Equity Resource Library

Use these tools, templates, and resources to build your public health department's health equity capacity. To receive alerts when new resources are added, subscribe to Health Equity Resource Library Updates.

If you have questions or suggestions, please contact the MDH Center for Public Health Practice.

Are you looking for the Regional Health Equity Networks? Head over to the networks to learn more about connecting with health equity practitioners in your part of the state!

Addressing the social determinants of health through the community health improvement matrix 
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
This brief discusses how to determine whether you address social determinants of health in community health improvement activities.
tag(s): equip staff, guides/toolkits

Advancing health equity: Key questions for assessing policy, processes, and assumptions 
Minnesota Department of Health
These key questions can help an organization consider equity in specific policies, processes, and assumptions. 
tag(s): show organizational commitment, assessments, assess a program/policy

Advancing the mission: Tools for equity, diversity, and inclusion 
Annie E. Casey Foundation
This resource contains eight tools to help organizations identify opportunities to integrate equity goals into their programs and operations.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, guides/toolkits, case studies, assess my organization, assess a program/policy

Allegories on race and racism 
Camara Jones via TEDx Talks
This video uses storytelling to discuss race and racism in the United States, and to empower people to take action to reduce racism. 
tag(s): equip staff, videos, help staff understand equity

Applying social determinants of health indicator data for advancing health equity
Bay Area Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII)
This guide describes how to collect, analyze, and share data related to the social determinants of health, and identifies a core set of fifteen indicators.
tag(s): collect and use data for change, guides/toolkits, case studies

Cliff analogy of health 
Camara Jones via Denver University
This video uses a cliff to illustrate why public health strategies need to move beyond individual services and address social determinants of health.
tag(s): equip staff, videos, help staff understand equity

Community engagement assessment tool 
Building the Field of Community Engagement
This tool helps organizations improve their community engagement efforts by assessing their activities on a scale from outreach to engagement.
tag(s): authentically engage with the community, assessments, build community relationships

Effective communication
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
This excerpt from a larger toolkit identifies strategies for communicating about health equity and social determinants of health.
tag(s): spread the word about what creates health, guides/toolkits, communicate with elected officials

Embracing equity in community health improvement
Health Resources in Action 
This paper discusses how to intentionally integrate equity into community health improvement planning. 
tag(s): equip staff, reports/articles

Equity and empowerment lens – first version 
Multnomah County, OR
This guide to a series of tools can help an organization assess programs or policies for equity impacts, and implement an action plan to improve equity. 
tag(s): show organizational commitment, guides/toolkits, assessments, case studies, assess my organization

Equity and empowerment lens [updated] 
Multnomah County, OR 
This updated version of an assessment tool helps you consider equity-related impacts of an issue, program, or policy decision and new tools to support action steps for advancing equity. 
tag(s): show organizational commitment, guides/toolkits, assessments, case studies, assess a program/policy

Health and well-being for all: Accelerating learning about social determinants
CDC Foundation
This "meeting in a box" provides interactive materials you can use to discuss the factors that affect health, and for conversations about how to take action through teamwork and cross-sector collaboration. 
tag(s): spread the word about what creates health, guides/toolkits, change the narrative, build community relationships

Health equity data analysis (HEDA)
Minnesota Department of Health
This guide provides information on how to think about, collect, and analyze local data related to health equity. It provides a starting point for understanding how to document health inequities. 
tag(s): collect and use data for change, guides/toolkits

HealthEquityGuide.org
Human Impact Partners
This website identifies a set of practices for advancing equity, provides examples of health departments using those practices, and suggests actions and additional resources for health departments to advance health equity. 
tag(s): equip staff, guides/toolkits

Health equity: Make it your business
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota 
This website includes five short videos explaining different aspects of health inequities.
tag(s): spread the word about what creates health, equip staff, videos, help staff understand equity, change the narrative

Health equity at work: Skills assessment of public health staff
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
This report shares recommendations and survey questions from a nationwide pilot survey to build workforce capacity to address health equity.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, assessments

Health in all policies: A guide for state and local governments
PHI: Public Health Institute
This guide describes the Health in All Policies approach to health improvement and outlines action steps for implementing this strategy.
tag(s): influence public policy, guides/toolkits, case studies, work across sectors

Intercultural Development Inventory
The IDI is an online survey to assess inter-cultural competence at both an individual and organizational level. 
tag(s): equip staff, assessments

Let's talk
National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health 
This series of seven short documents is designed to promote understanding how key health equity concepts apply to public health practice. 
tag(s): equip staff, reports/articles

Managing unconscious bias
Facebook
These videos presents information about bias that is grounded in research, in a positive, accessible way. It describes what implicit bias is, where it originates, how different forms of bias play out in the workplace, and things you can do to counteract your biases. 
tag(s): equip staff, videos

Moving into equity: The public health journey 
Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI) 
This guide describes stages of organizational development related to health equity practice for public health departments. It provides practical tips, suggestions for overcoming challenges, and tools to use along the way.
tag(s): equip staff, guides/toolkits

A new way to talk about the social determinants of health 
RWJF: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This document provides new ways to talk about the social determinants of health for policymakers and other audiences. 
tag(s): spread the word about what creates health, guides/toolkits, communicate with elected officials

Opportunity for all: The path to health equity 
Sudbury & District Health Unit 
Opportunity for All provides an example from Canada about how to use local data to inform community conversations about health equity.
tag(s): case studies

Organizational self-assessment for addressing health inequities toolkit 
Bay Area Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII)
This toolkit provides data-gathering tools to help local health departments identify the skills and infrastructure they need to advance health equity.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, guides/toolkits, case studies, assessments

A practitioner's guide for advancing health equity: Community strategies for preventing chronic disease 
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This guide helps public health professionals incorporate the goal of health equity into current public health practice.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, guides/toolkits, case studies, assess my organization

Public health department health equity assessment
Hennepin County
Hennepin County developed these surveys to assess its public health department's knowledge and practices related to equity.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, assessments

Racial equity and social justice tool 
City of Madison, WI 
This assessment tool evaluates how decisions might impact low-income populations and communities of color.
tag(s): show organizational commitment, assessments, case studies, assess a program/policy

Roots of health inequity 
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
This structured online learning collaborative for public health practitioners will help improve and apply their knowledge and skills related to health equity. 
tag(s): equip staff, webinars/courses

Spent 
Urban Ministries of Durham
Spent is a quick and easy web-based game that builds understanding about how low-wage jobs affect individuals and families. 
tag(s): equip staff, webinars/courses, help staff understand equity, change the narrative

Targeted universalism
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
This brief, animated video explains the difference between a targeted universalism framework and more traditional policy approaches.
tag(s): equip staff, videos

THRIVE: Tool for Health & Resilience in Vulnerable Environments 
Prevention Institute 
THRIVE is a framework for understanding how community conditions impact health and a tool for engaging others to take action to improve those conditions. 
tag(s): authentically engage with the community, guides/toolkits

This resource library was created for local health departments to use as they continue to build their capacity to advance health equity, and was developed under the direction of the SCHSAC Advancing Health Equity Workgroup. It groups various guides, videos, assessments, and other materials into six public health practices.

The library is designed to allow local health departments to identify resources to best meet their needs from among a wide range of materials. MDH staff have included a summary for each resource, which includes considerations for use. The library is not comprehensive but will be expanded over time.

To receive alerts when new resources are added, subscribe to Health Equity Resource Library Updates. If you have questions about the library, or would like to suggest additions, please contact the Center for Public Health Practice at health.ophp@state.mn.us or 651-201-3880.