Develop a Shared Analysis

How public health departments and their partners can develop a common understanding of what creates and maintains inequities to advance health equity effectively

It’s important that people working together on projects and campaigns have a shared analysis of the root causes of health inequities — namely, power imbalances and structural oppression. This analysis is foundational to setting effective goals and strategies to address inequities, and to create a more just and equitable society. Health departments, together with their partners, should work to deepen their understanding of these root causes, as well as develop an analysis of power and the political landscape in which they work. And central to this analysis is understanding how all of these play out in their local communities.

With a shared analysis, health department staff can:

• Ensure that approaches and projects make tangible gains toward health equity goals
• Understand their agency’s role in the community historically, including histories of government oppression or harm – and what that means for their role in the current political climate
• Recognize and exercise their power appropriately and effectively
• Develop more meaningful partnerships that advance transformative change

Without a shared analysis, health department staff might:

• Waste time on projects or approaches that do not impact health equity goals, or that cause harm
• Deny, misunderstand, misuse, or even abuse their power
• Work in silos and contribute to disjointed, misaligned efforts
• Engage in surface-level, ineffective partnerships

Action steps health departments can take to develop a shared analysis:

• Provide training about the root causes of health inequity to ground everyone in a common analysis — this may be especially helpful if the group is early in its formation or feeling pulled in many directions
• Develop or select a theory of change for advancing health equity, with attention to the role of power and structural oppression
• Use a Community of Practice model to provide ongoing opportunities for shared learning experiences and applying those learnings to the work
• Build meaningful partnerships with community power-building organizations to align behind a shared agenda for advancing health equity — e.g., develop a joint policy agenda, or conduct a collaborative power mapping analysis for a policy objective
• Use an equity lens or analysis tool to ensure your policies and practices explicitly address power imbalances, structural oppression, and racial inequities
• Work with fellow government agencies to advance a shared understanding of the historical role of government laws, policies, and practices in creating and maintaining inequities — particularly around race – and government’s role in repairing these harms