What is it about?
This book explains why many people around the world still struggle to get good healthcare and what can be done to change this. Health is not shaped by medicine alone, but also by where people live, how much they earn, their gender, race, age, and the policies that govern healthcare systems. These factors often combine to create deep and persistent inequalities. Also the book shows that improving healthcare fairness requires more than new treatments. It calls for changes in healthcare systems, public policies, and social structures, supported by collaboration across disciplines. Using real-world examples from different countries, the book explores how inclusive policies, universal healthcare approaches, and new technologies—such as artificial intelligence—can help reduce gaps in access and quality of care. Covering topics like aging populations, nursing care, health literacy, and digital health tools, the book offers practical insights for professionals and decision-makers. Ultimately, it argues that fair healthcare systems strengthen societies, protect human dignity, and contribute to better health and well-being for everyone.
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Why is it important?
It’s important because healthcare equity affects everyone, not just those who are currently underserved. At a basic level, unfair healthcare systems mean that some people get sick more often, receive care too late, or die from conditions that are preventable or treatable. These inequalities are not random—they are shaped by social, economic, and policy choices. Addressing them is a matter of fairness and human dignity. Beyond ethics, equitable healthcare is also practically necessary. When large parts of the population lack access to quality care, societies face higher long-term costs, weaker workforces, and greater strain on health systems. Preventive and inclusive care reduces avoidable emergencies and improves overall system efficiency. Equity in healthcare also strengthens social trust and resilience. Systems that serve people fairly are better able to respond to crises such as pandemics, climate-related health risks, or aging populations. When people trust healthcare institutions, they are more likely to seek care early, follow medical advice, and engage in public health efforts. Finally, in an increasingly interconnected world, health inequalities do not stay local. Diseases, workforce mobility, and technological innovations cross borders. Building fairer healthcare systems worldwide supports global stability, shared well-being, and sustainable development.
Perspectives
From my perspective, this book works best when read as the first step of a larger intellectual journey rather than a closed argument. The book succeeds in mapping the scale and complexity of healthcare inequities across societies, technologies, and policy environments, while deliberately resisting the temptation to offer overly simple solutions. That restraint is a strength: it makes clear that equity in healthcare is not a destination, but an ongoing process of redesign, negotiation, and governance. What makes this volume especially compelling is that it opens questions it cannot—and should not—fully resolve alone. Issues such as the long-term governance of AI in health, accountability in global health systems, aging populations, and the political economy of care require deeper treatment over time. In that sense, the announcement that a second tome is in preparation feels less like an add-on and more like a necessary continuation. The forthcoming volume promises to build on this foundation by moving from diagnosis to deeper structural and ethical analysis. Where this first book establishes why inequities persist and highlights promising pathways, the second tome has the opportunity to examine how these pathways can be institutionalized, regulated, and sustained across diverse cultural and political contexts. Seen together, the two volumes signal a serious commitment: not just to documenting inequities, but to accompanying healthcare systems through the difficult work of becoming fairer. For readers invested in long-term change—rather than short-term fixes—the preparation of a second tome reinforces the relevance, ambition, and durability of this work.
Dr. HDR. Frederic ANDRES, IEEE Senior Member, IEEE CertifAIEd Authorized Lead Assessor (Affective Computing), Unconscious AI Evangelist
National Institute of Informatics
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Advancing Equity in Global Healthcare Systems, August 2025, IGI Global,
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3373-1330-6.
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