ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2021
Scoping review of the World Health Organization's underlying equity discourses: apparent ambiguities, inadequacy, and contradictions.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The pursuit of equity in COVID-19 policy and policymaking: A qualitative systematic review.Open research Europe · 2025Pooled it
- Fair play? Participation equity in organised sport and physical activity among children and adolescents in high income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Facilitating equity-oriented cancer care in organizations delivering cancer services: insights from a qualitative study.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- What opportunities exist for the governance of private sector engagement in mixed health systems in the African Region?Journal of global health · 2025Article
- How do World Health Organization technical officers working on noncommunicable diseases approach health equity?International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- To facilitate realisation of access, participation, and equity in healthcare: an interview study with policy makers in a Swedish region.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Addressing health equity during design and implementation of health system reform initiatives: a scoping review and framework.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Global strategies for implementing health financing equity - a state-of-the-art review of political declarations.International journal for equity in health · 2025Review
- Assessing health equity inconsistencies in the World Health Organization's Urban HEART initiative: findings from key informant interviews.BMC public health · 2025Article
- How do high-level African directors of policy and planning operationalize health equity? Findings from a regional survey.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Conceptually mapping how investing in essential public health functions (EPHFs) and common goods for health (CGH) can improve health system performance.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Health equity and distributive justice: views of high-level African policymakers.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- Investigating inconsistencies regarding health equity in select World Health Organization texts: a critical discourse analysis of health promotion, social determinants of health, and urban health texts, 2008-2016.BMC global and public health · 2024Article
- Equity of financial protection for health in high-income countries: scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Re-politicizing the WHO's social determinants of health framework.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Article
- Health promotion, the social determinants of health, and urban health: what does a critical discourse analysis of World Health Organization texts reveal about health equity?BMC global and public health · 2023Article
- Assessing the governance environment for private sector engagement in health in Africa: Results from a multi-country survey.Journal of global health · 2023Article
- Health Equity Cannot Be Sought Without the Consideration of Racism In Equity-Focused Urban Health Initiatives.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveGiven the heightened rhetorical prominence the World Health Organization has afforded to equity in the past half-century, it is important to better understand how equity has been referred to and its conceptual underpinning, which may have broader global implications. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Articles were included if they met inclusion criteria - chiefly the explicit discussion of the WHO's concept of health equity, for example in terms of conceptualization and/or definitions. Articles which mentioned health equity in the context of WHO's programs, policies, and so on, but did not discuss its conceptualization or definition were excluded. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: We focused on peer-reviewed literature by scanning Ovid MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, and supplementing by hand-search.
resultsResults demonstrate the WHO has held - and continues to hold - ambiguous, inadequate, and contradictory views of equity that are rooted in different theories of social justice.
conclusionsMoving forward, the WHO should revaluate its conceptualization of equity and normative position, and align its work with Amartya Sen's Capabilities Approach, as it best encapsulates the broader views of the organization. Further empirical research is needed to assess the WHO interpretations and approaches to equity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.