Table 3 Sample excerpts demonstrating alignment with Whitehead’s definition

1) Closing the gap in a generation [2]

“Where systematic differences in health are judged to be avoidable by reasonable action they are, quite simply, unfair. It is this that we label health inequity. Putting right these inequities – the huge and remediable differences in health between and within countries – is a matter of social justice. Reducing health inequities is, for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (hereafter, the Commission), an ethical imperative” [2]. Further, the CSDH outlined much of the global burden of disease as “avoidable” and “unacceptable,” thus, “inequitable” [2]

2) Our cities, our health, our future [21]

Cited the WHO and identified equity as “the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable difference in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically and geographically” [21]

3) Equity, social determinants and public health programmes [22]

Referenced the CSDH and stated that “where systematic differences in health are judged to be avoidable by reasonable action they are, quite simply, unfair. It is this that we label health inequity” [22] and indicated that “socioeconomic inequities include differences that are ‘systematic, socially produced (and therefore modifiable) and unfair’” [22]

4) Urban HEART: Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool [23]

“… three features, when combined, turn a mere difference in health into an inequity in health. A difference in health that is systematic, socially produced (and, therefore, modifiable) and unfair is an inequity in health” [23]. Additionally, cited the CSDH’s definition of health inequity: “‘Where systematic differences in health are judged to be avoidable by reasonable action they are, quite simply, unfair. It is this that we label health inequity.’ The Commission adds: ‘Putting right these inequities – the huge and remediable differences in health between and within countries – is a matter of social justice’” [23]

5) Urban HEART User Manual [24]

“Equity is an ethical concept of social justice or fairness. It comprises two elements: horizontal equity, which is the equal treatment of equals; and vertical equity, which is the unequal but fair treatment of unequals” [24]. Further, indicated that “… health inequities are systematic and unjust” [24] and an health inequity is a “difference in health that is systematic, socially produced and unfair” [24]

6) Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings [25]

“… health inequities, which are defined as health inequalities that are systematic, socially produced (and therefore modifiable) and unfair” [25]. Further, “health equity is, above all, an issue of social justice, and an indicator of the ability of cities to provide their residents with the prerequisites for health and well-being, and to help them achieve fulfilment of their aspirations and capabilities” [25]

7) Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health [26]

“We reaffirm that health inequities within and between countries are politically, socially and economically unacceptable, as well as unfair and largely avoidable, and that the promotion of health equity is essential to sustainable development and to a better quality of life and well-being for all, which in turn can contribute to peace and security” [26]

8) Global report on urban health: equitable, healthier cities for sustainable development [27]

“Inequalities that are systematic and remediable are considered to be inequities, and are a manifestation of social injustice” [27] and “when such differences, or inequalities, are not random but are systematic, and not due to biologically determined factors but due to modifiable social factors, they are unjust inequities” [27]. Additionally adding “urban inequity is obviously unjust” [27]

9) Promoting health in the SDGs, Report on the 9th Global Conference for Health Promotion: All for health, health for all [28]

“Policies for health and social justice benefit the whole of society” [28] and “unacceptable health inequities require political action across many different sectors and regions” [28]. Additionally, “the SDG agenda provides all countries and sectors, including health and other development sectors, with a clear roadmap for action and an ethical imperative to leave no one behind” [28]