Systems of Power

Systems of Power: refer to policies, processes, and practices that determine the distribution and access to resources and opportunities needed to be healthy.

Systems of power—as opposed to social conditions such as poverty—contribute to the systematic and differential treatment of groups and include institutionalized and interpersonal manifestations of bias.

Systems of power can promote health equity by ensuring fair access to resources and opportunities. Some have also been restructured to repair the historical and current causes of health disparities. The HEF views these systems as functioning at varying levels in both political (federal, state, and local) and institutional (school, private companies, health care systems) spaces.

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