Health disparities remain a pressing global concern, shaped by the interplay of socioeconomic status, geography, race, ethnicity and access to healthcare. This theme issue examines the challenges that sustain inequities in health outcomes and highlights emerging opportunities to close these gaps.

Contributions address the social determinants of health, barriers to preventive care, and the effects of structural inequities on disease prevalence and treatment outcomes. Work on digital health, community-based interventions and culturally tailored models of care shows how innovation can support more equitable healthcare delivery.

The collection also considers policy reform, interdisciplinary collaboration and patient engagement, together with the ethical case for inclusive, sustainable and patient-centered strategies. Taken together, the articles describe both the obstacles to health equity and the practical routes toward it.

This theme issue was organized in collaboration with the Health Equity Committee.