Most U.S. residents want a society in which all persons live long, healthy lives; however, that vision is yet to be realized fully. As two of its primary goals, CDC aims to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality and to eliminate disparities in health between segments of the U.S. population. Health disparities are differences in health outcomes and their determinants between segments of the population, as defined by social, demographic, environmental, and geographic attributes. Health inequalities, which is sometimes used interchangeably with the term health disparities, is more often used.

CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report - United States, 2011 -- CDC Health CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report - United States, 2013 -- Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities-Selected CDC-Sponsored Interventions, United States, 2014.