Glossary

Welcome to our glossary of essential health equity terms. 

We created the glossary to respond to practitioner requests to promote the use of clear and effective language – within public health and across sectors and regions in Canada – in order to enhance powerful communication and action on the social determinants of health and health equity. 

The terms are organized under four categories. Each definition is followed by an example of how you could use it in a discussion with a colleague or community partner.

We’d like to hear from you. Does the definition, and the way we use the term in a sentence, make sense to you? 

To send us feedback on a particular term, please use the comment boxes that are placed under each term. You can also e-mail comments to nccdh@stfx.ca. The terms will be updated regularly on our website, based on your feedback, as well as on evolving usage in the public health community.

A PDF version of the glossary is available for download from the Resource Library.