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David Satcher, MD, PhD and Eve J. Higginbotham, MD

David Satcher is the director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga, and the 16th Surgeon General of the United States. Eve J. Higginbotham is Dean and Senior Vice President for academic affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to David Satcher, MD, PhD, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, National Center for Primary Care, 720 Westview Dr SW, Suite 238, Atlanta, GA 30310 (e-mail: dsatcher{at}msm.edu).

Reducing and eliminating disparities in health is a matter of life and death. Each year in the United States, thousands of individuals die unnecessarily from easily preventable diseases and conditions. It is critical that we approach this problem from a broad public health perspective, attacking all of the determinants of health: access to care, behavior, social and physical environments, and overriding policies of universal access to care, physical education in schools, and restricted exposure to toxic substances. We describe the historical background for recognizing and addressing disparities in health, various factors that contribute to disparities, how the public health approach addresses such challenges, and two successful programs that apply the public health approach to reducing disparities in health. Public health leaders must advocate for public health solutions to eliminate disparities in health.

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