Efforts to direct additional resources toward groups experiencing inequitable health outcomes can often be derailed by perceptions that doing so works against the common good and that some people are receiving preferential treatment in the allocation of scarce resources.  Targeted universalism, however, is based on the assumption that health for all is a benefit for all.  Targeted universalism involves setting universal health goals for a community and then taking targeted actions to make sure that everyone achieves those goals.   "It is an approach that supports the needs of particular groups, even the politically powerful or those in the majority, while reminding everyone that we are all part of the same social and civic fabric.  As such, targeted universalist policies are more resistant to the critique that government programs serve special interests, whoever that might be.”  (Haas Institute, 2019).  To learn more, visit https://belonging.berkeley.edu/targeted-universalism

Might targeted universalism be an approach that Cooperative Extension might utilize in its efforts to address health inequities without pitting groups against each other?  Can community health coalitions and other collective impact initiatives benefit from such an approach?

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