Special Coverage:
Silicon Valley Health Gap: What's at Root?

In Santa Clara County, African Americans and Latinos disproportionately report that they are in poor or fair health. African American babies are the most likely to die at birth or emerge too early. Latinos and Asian Americans have higher rates of adult-onset diabetes and cervical and liver cancers. Latinos have been hit hard by HIV/AIDS. The county consistently has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the country, with most cases plaguing Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders.

It's common — and easy — to blame the victim. Why don't people educate themselves, make better choices, diet and exercise more? But the health disparities in our county cannot be explained by individual decisions. Education and improved access to health services alone cannot bridge the gap, public health experts have found. Instead, they say, policies and practices in our communities, neighborhoods, schools and jobs give some people a better chance at good health than others. Santa Clara University students recently set out to investigate the social forces in the county that shape health opportunities. These stories illustrate some of the inequities that they found and the solutions that community members are putting in place.