The EveryONE Project™: Health equity resources

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Find resources to advance health equity in practice and policy.

The EveryONE Project™ encourages equity for all—patients, doctors and their practice staff. This page features resources and information on workforce diversity, advocacy and community collaboration with medical and non-medical organizations.

EveryONE Project™ strategic priorities

The EveryONE Project™ focuses on strategic priorities that support family physicians in advancing health equity through education, collaboration, policy engagement and evidence-based practice.

  • Workforce development

    Providing family physicians with opportunities to learn strategies for addressing social determinants of health (also called “social drivers of health”) in their practices and communities, and working to increase the diversity in the physician workforce so it is more representative of the nation’s population as a whole, to enhance cultural proficiency.

  • Health in all policies

    Providing a systematic approach to public and organizational policy that takes into account the health implications of policies not traditionally considered relevant to health (such as housing and urban development, transportation, education, etc.).

  • Interdisciplinary collaboration

    Forging strong partnerships with medical and non-medical organizations to lead positive community change, advocate for public policies that will support health equity and identify new insights and evidence-based practices to help family physicians address social determinants of health. The AAFP also develops resources to help family physicians develop partnerships in their communities.

  • Evidence-based knowledge

    Providing the most current and compelling evidence for how to address social determinants of health for family physicians and develop resources to assist family physicians as they strive for health equity.

Community collaboration

Community collaboration is essential to advancing health equity. The AAFP offers tools and partner resources to help family physicians build relationships, share knowledge and work across sectors to support patient and community health.

Community engagement briefs

The AAFP provides briefs to help you address disparities tied to food insecurity, the gender pay gap in medicine, health in policymaking, health literacy, housing instability, socioeconomics and transportation. Learn more.

Neighborhood Navigator

Use this interactive tool to connect patients with local social services and community resources in their neighborhoods.

Access the Neighborhood Navigator.

Collaboration resources

Health equity can come from engaging in partnerships to empower disadvantaged communities. The following resources will aid in your efforts to create and foster partnerships within your community

Practical Playbook®

Use this step-by-step guide to build effective partnerships between primary care, public health and community stakeholders.

Explore the playbook.

Local health departments directory

Find your local health department and use this directory to identify partners for community health collaboration.

Open the National Association of County and City Health Officials directory.

Primary Care and Public Health

This report identifies the best examples of effective public health and primary care integration and the factors that promote and sustain these efforts

Access the report.

The Physician Advocate

Use this guide to work with community partners and support advocacy efforts that promote health equity.

View the Physician Advocate Guide.

The Prevention Institute

Explore these resources to strengthen primary prevention efforts and address the root causes of health inequities.

Visit the Prevention Institute resources.

Community-centered homes

Use this framework to develop care models that strengthen community partnerships and improve population health.

Learn more about community-centered homes.

Determinants of health metrics

Use this framework to measure social determinants of health and track progress toward health equity.

Download the metrics framework (PDF).

Health equity and prevention primer

Explore this primer to understand core health equity concepts and prevention strategies.

Read the prevention primer.

Practice-based educational resources

Use these practice-based educational tools to build team capacity, strengthen equity-focused care processes and integrate social determinants of health into everyday clinical workflows.

Implicit bias training

Build team awareness of implicit bias and apply strategies that reduce its impact on patient experiences and outcomes. Learn more.

LGBTQ+ resources

It’s critical to protect LGBTQ+ patients from discrimination that threatens their health and well-being. This page features Clinical guidance and practice resources for LGBTQ+ care, gender-affirming care and inclusive practice for family physicians. Learn more.

Practice leadership

You need the right tools to create a culture in your practice that values health equity and team-based approaches to address social determinants of health. Use the EveryONE Project's implementation guide to help you develop a practice culture that prioritizes health equity, teamwork and consistent, equity-informed decision-making. Learn More.

Taking a team-based approach to health equity

The following resources can help you identify small changes you and your practice team can make to integrate social determinants of health into your practice.

Practice assessment

Assess your current workflows and identify opportunities to integrate social determinants of health across care processes.

Download the practice assessment (PDF).

Patient flow evaluation

Examine patient flow to reveal touchpoints where screening, referral and team coordination can better support equity.

Download the patient flow evaluation (PDF).

Implementation plan

Create an actionable plan that assigns responsibilities, tracks progress and sustains equity-focused improvements.

Download the implementation plan (PDF).

Build a culture of health equity in your practice

The AAFP offers numerous tools to help you facilitate an in-service or lunch-and-learn session with your practice team.

Social factors and health

Explore how social and environmental conditions influence patient outcomes and shape barriers to care.

Access the social factors and health module.

Cultural proficiency

Strengthen culturally responsive communication to improve trust, patient engagement and quality of care.

Explore the cultural proficiency resource.

Health literacy

Improve patient understanding by refining communication approaches and supporting clearer health information.

View the health literacy module.

Screening patients for social determinants of health

The AAFP offers tools you and your practice team can use to screen patients for social needs, connect them with community-based resources and develop action plans that address those needs to reduce health risks and improve outcomes. Learn more.

Understanding anti-racism and social determinants of health

There’s more to patient care than reviewing numbers on a chart. Social determinants of health and the presence of racism in health care are among the factors that can have the greatest impact on patient adherence to medical advice, perceived quality of care and health outcomes. To give you tools and strategies to effectively address social determinants of health and counter long-standing misconceptions about race and medicine, the Academy has developed the following guides:

Supporting leadership development

Health equity and diversity in the workforce are associated with better patient outcomes. Patients often report greater satisfaction when cared for by providers who share similar ethnic, racial or language backgrounds. However, the current physician workforce lacks sufficient diversity to fully meet patient needs or care for underserved populations.

The Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) has identified the need for a stronger and more diverse leadership pipeline in academic family medicine. Although the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the field is increasing, representation in senior leadership roles has not kept pace.¹

The CAFM leadership development tool (PDF) was created to help match individuals with the right opportunities at the right time along their academic pathway. It visually illustrates the roles mentors, sponsors, peers and coaches play in supporting career development. Women and minorities are less likely to have access to these supports, and the tool also highlights potential career paths in academic medicine that are often not visible to emerging leaders.

¹ Leadership Development Taskforce Final Report to CAFM, December 31, 2017

Advocacy

Public policy plays a vital role in creating conditions that improve health and address the social determinants of health fundamental to health equity. It ensures the health impact of all policies, even those traditionally viewed outside of health care, is considered important for advancing health equity.

Examples of health equity advocacy

  • Developing and implementing policies that have created new standards to protect indoor air quality in housing near congested roads

  • Improving access to parks

  • Increasing access to nutritious food options

  • Advocating for safe and affordable housing for low-income residents

  • Supporting street designs that promote safe walking, cycling and transit access

Family physicians can help mitigate health inequity, including systemic racism, by collaborating with community stakeholders to create positive change for the populations they serve.

Advocating for policies that affect patient health is one important step in addressing social determinants of health, though it can feel daunting. Public health officials and elected leaders often welcome insight from the family medicine perspective during the legislative process. The Physician Advocate Guide (PDF) is designed to help strengthen your advocacy skills and support efforts to advance health equity in your community.

Advocacy resources

These advocacy resources provide background, policy context and partner materials to help you engage in efforts that support health equity at the local and national levels.

Related resources

These related resources offer practical tools and guidance to support education, assessment and documentation activities connected to social determinants of health.

Policies and papers

Review AAFP policies and position papers, addressing workforce diversity, equity in clinical practice and community-based approaches to improving health.

About The EveryONE Project™

The EveryONE Project™ is administered through the AAFP’s Center for Diversity and Health Equity (CDHE) to make an impact on health disparities and is supported in part by a grant from the AAFP Foundation.

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