Chronic pain and fatigue conditions are more common and more severe among under-resourced populations. These include women, communities of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, those living in rural or frontier settings, and those who are incarcerated or without homes. Called health inequities, these differences in health are avoidable, unfair, and unjust.
Social and environmental factors contribute to health inequities in chronic pain conditions, including:
- Implicit and explicit bias, stigmatization, and marginalization
- Systemic racism
- A lack of access or restricted access to resources like health insurance, a good primary care provider, nutritious food, clean water, non-polluted air, safe communities, decent housing, and transportation
- A lack of representation, diversity, and inclusion in research and the development of interventions
Health equity will be achieved when every person can attain their full physical and mental health potential.