Overview of the textbook

Currently, many books focus on health disparities and social determinants of health from an individual or community standpoint, but evidence is mounting that structural factors underlie these disparities. There is limited comprehensive work that provides foundational background information on the topic, as well as targeted discussion on how to move forward from a research and policy standpoint. This textbook aims to serve as a reliable scientific resource offering overviews of definitions and frameworks for understanding the problem, historical perspectives that provide context for the issue, summaries of the evidence across several chronic diseases and special populations, and recommendations for next steps to address structural inequalities and ultimately eliminate health disparities. The intended audience is a wide range of individuals in the research community, clinicians, health policymakers, and trainees in fields including public and community health, internal medicine, and health services research.