The evidence is clear that health disparities, due to race or ethnicity, sex, age, disability, geography, and socioeconomic status, directly influence an individual’s opportunity to actualize a healthy life. In fact, the most influential social determinant of health is the zip code.
Large health disparities exist in rural and urban populations around the world, with evidence highlighting the undeniable fact that the lower a person’s socio-economic status, the greater their risk of poor health.
