What data collection, assessment, and analytic practices should we retire or grow to build health equity on a strong asset-based community perspective?

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Communities often see themselves very differently than how traditional health data and assessments describe them. This is particularly evident when it comes to quantifying social determinants—whether it details chronic disease prevalence, crime rates, education achievement—researchers often apply a deficit frame.

 

This framing means communities that have experienced health inequity are ranked the lowest or the highest on critical indicators, labeled with the darkest shades on maps, or pegged to the severest end of indices. But residents of these same places often view their communities as a place of assets, bringing optimism and vision to what is and what can be.

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What analytic practices should we cease or expand to ensure our health equity work is centered?