Achieving health equity in the African American community

U.S. life expectancy has declined over the past few years. However, from 2019 to 2021, the most significant declines in life expectancy were observed among racial and ethnic minority populations, with the Black population experiencing the second largest reduction in life expectancy, following the American Indian/Alaska Native population. This chapter centers the conversation on health equity in the Black community from a holistic lens where it presents an overview of health inequities, reviews health equity models, and discusses how to achieve health equity in the Black community through community engagement. It uses a multisite, multistakeholder study in sickle cell disease to illustrate best practices in establishing health equity within the African American community in practice. The chapter also provides information on how intersectionalities within the Black community impact health outcomes.