Community Organizing for Health Justice: A Missing Link for Health Care

There is increasing recognition within the U.S. health care system that structural determinants are major drivers of health inequities. Many of the current strategies to advance health equity, however, do not directly address the power differentials at the roots of structural determinants. Community organizing offers a framework to address this gap, by offering time-tested tools that shift power to community members who are systemically harmed and create social change most important to them. Three important principles of community organizing—shifting power, centering lived expertise, and solidarity—may be particularly relevant to health systems in their work to advance health equity. Through two contemporary case studies and historical examples, the meanings and applications of these principles are explored. We believe that the integration of community organizing into health systems is a necessary component towards achieving community-led structural change and ultimately: health equity for all.