By Trimmel Gomes
Public health advocates in Arizona said it will not be easy to achieve health equity or making sure everyone has access to the resources they need to be healthy but it is a challenge they are willing to tackle.
Health equity is driven by a convergence of social, economic and environmental factors, and in Arizona, with one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation, the risks are already major for vulnerable communities.
Elena Burr, director of communications and outreach for the nonprofit AllThrive 365, a group helping to plan the Arizona Health Equity Conference coming up next month, said climate vulnerability is a pressing and deadly issue.
"Arizona leads the nation in heat-related illness and death," Burr pointed out. "We experienced over 600 deaths in 2024 alone, and that was just within Maricopa County. Our climate disproportionately affects low-income residents, unsheltered individuals and older adults."
Public health professionals from across the region will address challenges at the conference in October, in Phoenix. Local experts said the issues disproportionately intersect in under-resourced communities across the state.
For example, Burr noted a lack of culturally competent care and language access as barriers for the state's robust Native American and Hispanic populations. She stressed the goal of health equity is not just for individuals but for communities.
"At the root of it, health equity is when everyone can achieve their full potential for health and well-being," Burr emphasized. "When every individual is healthy and thriving, then they are contributing members of the community."
The fully volunteer-run Arizona Health Equity Conference is expected to draw more than 500 public health professionals from government, academia and nonprofit organizations to collaborate on solutions.
