Commonwealth Fund releases racial equity framework for assessing health policy

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth Fund released a brief laying out a racial equity framework for accessing health policy.

“Despite enduring racism and the need for greater racial equity, there is limited consensus among analysts, academics, and public officials on how to assess policy for its impact on racial equity,” according to the paper. “Without instructive conceptual frameworks, our ability to identify, examine, and eradicate racial inequity through health policy will be limited.”

The framework is a conceptual tool meant to provide researchers, policymakers, and others with guidance on how to assess the racial equity implications of policy. It can also benefit those who are collecting systematic data on health policies by providing a lens through which to methodically assess what those policies mean for racial equity and why.