What term describes the situation where people with less than 12 years of education have a higher infant mortality rate compared to those with 13 or more years of education?

The situation described reflects health disparities, which refers to differences in health outcomes between groups that are systemic and generalizable across populations. In this context, the difference in infant mortality rates based on educational attainment highlights how social and economic factors, such as education level, can lead to unequal health outcomes.

Health disparities are often linked to a variety of factors including socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and educational opportunities. In this case, those with less education may lack access to health resources, prenatal care, or health literacy, leading to poorer health outcomes for both mothers and infants. Understanding health disparities encourages public health professionals to identify and address the causes behind these differences to create a more equitable health system.

While health inequities are closely related, they emphasize the unfair and avoidable nature of these disparities, often rooted in systemic inequalities. Social determinants of health are the broader conditions that influence health, such as economic stability and social context, but they don't specifically encapsulate the outcome of different mortality rates. Health equity, on the other hand, strives for fairness in health outcomes but is not the term that describes the observed difference in infant mortality rates per education level. Thus, identifying the condition as a health disparity accurately captures the essence of the observed difference.