What Do Georgians Think When They Hear “Health Equity”? 

by Joann Yoon Kang, Vice President of Strategic Communications

In early 2024, the Initiative commissioned messaging research to help us better understand how different people across Georgia hear, interpret, and respond to the terms “equity” and “health equity.” We particularly were curious to learn the attitudes and perceptions that Georgians hold around both the term and the concept of “health equity,” by which we mean all people sharing the opportunity to live out their fullest potential for health. 

As an organization, we stand firm in our mission to “inspire and promote collective action that advances health equity for all Georgians.” For collective action truly to gain traction, we need to call people into this work and into a shared vision of what’s possible for our state. In issuing this call and inviting others in, we need to be intentional about the language we use. The words we use should include, and not (though unintentionally) exclude. 

Throughout this year, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with experts from Lake Research Partners and Spitfire Strategies who together conducted messaging research and translated their findings into a Message Guide. This guide is now published on our website, along with slides from the informational webinar we organized about the research findings. Just as we at the Initiative will use these findings to inform how we engage and elevate authentic dialogue on issues critical to health equity, we hope this resource is beneficial to many of you in doing the same.  

I’m grateful to both Lake Research Partners and Spitfire Strategies for accompanying us on this learning journey over the past nine months, as well as to our partners at CareSource for helping to support this work. During this time and throughout this process, I’ve been challenged to think critically and craft carefully when communicating with different audiences—across sectors, communities, and regions.  

Through this project, I’ve had the chance to observe focus groups comprised of different individuals across Georgia engaging with one another in thoughtful discussions about factors that can be facilitators or barriers to achieving health equity. One lesson I’ve learned is that language itself can serve as either—a facilitator or a barrier.  

For those who share our vision of a Georgia where all people have the opportunity to attain their fullest potential for health, it’s up to each of us to take care in the words we use when we talk about this important work. Using terms that others can readily understand supports our ability to engage in meaningful conversations as together we identify and put into action solutions to improve health and wellbeing for each and every one of us.