Health Equity Resources

As Stanford Biodesign seeks to encourage and equip our trainees to innovate for traditionally underserved populations and develop more technologies that directly contribute to greater health equity and access for all, we have begun to create and compile relevant resources. We will add to these materials on an ongoing basis so be sure to check back for new case studies, videos, and links!

Stanford Biodesign Case Studies

Being Intentional About Strategic Focus

Business Model Innovation to Increase Accessible Care for Small Populations

Performing Empathetic User Research to Validate a Need and Generate Insights

Raising Funds for Small Market Opportunities That Address Big Needs

Thinking Upstream to the Infrastructure of Access

User Research When Dealing With Stigmatized Topics

Using Inclusive Design to Reshape Standard of Care

Stanford Biodesign Video Recordings

Stanford Biodesign Youtube Channel: Health Equity and Innovation Discussion Series

Demystifying Impact Investing
Yousuf Mazhar, Managing Partner, TEAMFund

Decolonizing Healthcare Innovation
Matthew Harris, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Public Health, Imperial College

Introducing University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda

University of Global Health Equity

Pediatric and Women’s Health
Juliana Perl, Marta Arenas Jal, Anuradha Dayal, Impact1, Stanford Medicine

Recommended Reading

Design for Health

Dollar Street
Gap Minder

Equitable Health Innovation Solution Development Toolkit
In Full Health

Equity Resource Navigator
Urban Institute

Health Equity and Well-Being Resources
IDEO

Ethnography field guide: Stanford d.school
IDEO

Ten Simple Rules in Biomedical Engineering to Improve Healthcare Equity
PLOS Computational Biology

The Path to Techquity
Ipsos

Thinking Beyond the Device: An Overview of Human- and Equity-Centered Approaches for Health Technology Design
Natalia Rodriguez, Grace Burleson, Jacqueline Linnes, Kathleen Sienko

Toward Equitable Innovation in Health and Medicine
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine

Recommended Video Content

Gendershades
Joy Buolamwini

Global Population Growth
Hans Rosling

Intersectionality
Kimberlé Crenshaw

The Problem with Race-Based Medicine
Dorothy Roberts

Why Medicine Often Has Dangerous Side Effects for Women
Alyson McGregor

Recommended Podcasts

Centering Health Equity
Maria Hernandez and Duane Reynolds

Conversations with Health Equity Champions
The Root Cause Coalition

Health Equity from the Frontlines
AltaMed Institute for Health Equity

The Dose
The CommonWealth Fund

The Health Disparities Podcast
Movement is Life

Health Equity Data Sources

• America's Health Rankings: Data visualization using state-by-state analysis of health in the US.

• Chronic Disease Indicators tool: Helps you understand the breakdown in data according to different variables. 

• County Health Rankings and Roadmaps: County-level data about social determinants of health. 

• Deloitte Health Equity Dashboard: Allows the user to assess asthma, COPD, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular data through different filters based on state, access to services, etc.

• Global Burden of Disease Study: The GBD study is the largest and most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time, so health systems can be improved and disparities eliminated.

• Global Burden of Disease Tool: This tool helps break down GBD results. 

• Health Equity Tracker: Allows innovators to see various health equity statics by region and a variety of other variables.

• Healthy People 2030: A large dataset that allows the user to disaggregate data to get a more nuanced view from an equity perspective. Watch the video on the homepage to learn how to disaggregate the data into subgroups.

• Health Research & Statistics Unit, Office of Health Equity: HRSU is a leading state unit in collecting data and disseminating information about health and mental health disparities and inequities in California. HRSU researches and produces data to fulfill statutory mandated reports, and provides information and technical assistance to CDPH programs, state agencies, local health departments and stakeholders who are working to collect and report information on health and mental disparities and inequities in California

• Minority Health Profiles: Links to tools, resources, and specific data on minority populations in the US.

• Office of Behavioral Health Equity (SAMHSA): Provides links to data and reports on mental health and substance use for diverse populations. Includes sections on racial, ethnic, and sexual/gender minority groups.

• Our World in Data: Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.

• Places: Local data for better health.: Places provides model-based, population-level analysis and community estimates of health measures to all counties, places (incorporated and census-designated places), census tracts, and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) across the US. Their interactive map of the US allows for the comparison a variety of different factors, including health conditions, social determinants of health, disability, etc. 

• Race Counts: Measures the overall performance, amount of racial disparity, and impact by population size of every county in California and maintains a comprehensive tracking tool of racial disparities across the state in seven key issue areas, including access to health care. 

• Social Determinants of Health Database (AHRQ): County, ZIP code, and census tract level data. Variables in the files correspond to five key SDOH domains: social context (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, veteran status), economic context (e.g., income, unemployment rate), education, physical infrastructure (e.g, housing, crime, transportation), and healthcare context (e.g., health insurance). The files can be linked to other data by geography (county, ZIP Code, and census tract).

• WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit: Helps the user compare global health trends across various levels of inequality.