To truly address health disparities, we must examine the social conditions that cause them and the systems behind those conditions. We start with the soil, because we can’t assess the inequity within social conditions without first recognizing the systems that keep them in place and lead to inequity. If we were to examine this relationship by using the example of a tree, the social conditions are the “roots” and the systems that manifest injustice within them are “the soil.”
Racism, ableism, sexism, capitalism, and heterosexism are examples of systems* at the foundation of U.S. institutions, reinforced through policies and legislation, that have led to historically oppressed groups facing the brunt of inequity. These systems disturb all facets of the human condition and are deeply intertwined.
* A note about the systems: This is not an exhaustive list of systems underlying the Social Determinants of Health. There are many more systems that also perpetuate inequity such as transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, colonialism, etc.