In response to our blog post describing the levels at which we can work to advance health equity, our colleagues, partners, and friends asked us, how does this framework translate into action? That is, what does implementing activities and progress at these levels look like in practice?
Although many conceptual models depict where and how to approach work in pursuit of health equity, we offer one that maps to the levels of our framework and provides specific insights into interventions needed to advance health equity at each level. In particular, we present a theory of change that provides the basis for understanding how to assess progress by explicitly stating the assumptions and components needed to effect change. We use theories of change to underpin our work, including strategy development and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and other decision makers can adapt our theory of change to determine where to invest time and resources to advance equity and to assess the effectiveness and impact of these investments. (author introduction)