The International Journal for Equity in Health has published its first supplement of selected abstracts from the Sixth International Conference of the International Society for Equity in Health (ISEqH), which was held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, last year. The theme of the 2011 conference, “Making Policy a Health Equity Building Process”, explored a departure from the idea that equity requires an interdisciplinary approach as well as a research and policy partnership, showing clear experiences about how to reach equity in health. The supplement includes 8 of the most interesting abstracts presented at the conference, specially selected by the IJEqH Editorial Board. The best paper selected from the ISEqH meeting is now published. The article by Roberto JF Esteves presents a comprehensive rigorous assessment of the health care reforms in Brazil and Colombia in terms of the effects on inequity reduction.

International Journal for Equity in Health is the official journal of ISEqH, and was founded by the late Barbara Starfield shortly after she co-founded the society. The journal has been the natural home for research on health equity for more than 10 years, providing a platform for research on issues that influence the health of populations. International Journal for Equity in Health publishes articles that focus on discussion of political, policy-related, economic, social and health services-related influences, particularly with regard to systematic differences in distributions of one or more aspects of health in population groups defined demographically, geographically, and/or socially.

The new supplement is a demonstration of the multi-faceted field of health equity research spanning a wide array of populations, including implications for policy as well as health services design and delivery, and marks the interdisciplinary collaborative work in the field of health equity. For more information about the conference and the support it received, please visit the society website.

To find out more about the journal please visit the journal’s about page and submit via the online submission system.