The purpose of this week’s lessons is to understand specific events that contributed to the disproportionate disease burden seen in certain communities, and illustrate why health disparities, and in turn, healthcare disparities, exist by race.

This week, we will learn about the history of health insurance in the United States. The US health insurance system is complex and can vary based on your location, age, ability status, and for some groups, your identity. Understanding these differences helps shed light on how health insurance plays a role in health inequity and, specifically, racial health inequity.

This week, we will explore how the lack of access and representation in various sectors has had an impact on healthcare equity. By illustrating exclusion and discrimination in other sectors of society, we can better see the same parallels that are observed in healthcare and how exclusionary practices outside of healthcare contribute to health disparities and causes of inequities that will be detailed in Course 2 of this specialization.

This week, we will spend time learning about how marginalized communities came together to take care of themselves and their demonstration of resilience in the face of inequity. This not only occurred in the US but around the world with many groups.