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Health disparities refer to the differences in health outcomes that exist between population subsets. Health disparities are often the result of systematic social or economic disadvantages, reflected in factors such as living situation or job access. They are often seen between members of a different race, religion, gender, age, socioeconomic status, or other group historically linked to inequality. In Kansas, there are numerous diseases and outcomes that show large gaps between populations, such as diabetes (36.1% for Hispanic vs. 23.7% for non-Hispanic white Kansans), infant mortality (13.5 deaths per 1,000 live births for black, non-Hispanic vs. 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births for non-Hispanic white Kansans), and osteoporosis (9.8% for female vs. 1.4% for male Kansans).

Community organizations looking to better understand health disparities between genders, races, or ages can explore promising practices, as well as tools such as the Disparities Dashboard and the SocioNeeds Index, to gain knowledge about disparate areas and learn successful strategies to overcome inequality. It is important to understand the differences in health outcomes between different populations. By digging deeper into the underlying causes, which may not be traditional health factors, communities can effectively move toward population health improvement in Kansas.