Social Inequalities in Health – New Evidence and Policy Implications

Citation

(2006), "Social Inequalities in Health – New Evidence and Policy Implications", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 19 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2006.06219gae.005

Social Inequalities in Health – New Evidence and Policy Implications

Edited by Johannes Siegrist and Michael MarmotOxford University PressISBN: 0-19-856816-9

Keywords: Equality, Health and safety, Social policy

Health inequalities according to people’s social standing are persisting, or even growing, in modern societies. Recent decades have revealed evidence of strong variations in life expectancy, both between countries and within them. This widening of social inequalities has developed despite considerable progress in medical science and an increase in health care spending. The reasons behind this are complex, and the implications considerable.

This book provides a summary of the major achievements of a five-year European Science Foundation (ESF) Programme on “Social Variations in Health Expectancy in Europe”. The contributors are major figures in their subjects, and combine state of the art reviews with the latest results from interdisciplinary research in epidemiology, sociology, psychology and biomedicine. Three conceptual frameworks of life course influences, health effects of stressful environments, and macro social determinants of health, are unified, while each chapter addresses the policy implications and recommendations derived from currently available evidence. The major topics covered include the role of family in early life, social integration and health, work stress and job security, successful ways of facing adversity, and the impact of the larger environment on health.

Epidemiologists, public health research and policy makers, and students of related public health and sociology courses wlll find the results of this research fascinating.

Contents include:

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  “Life course development of unequal health”; Chris Power and Diana Kuh

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  “The shape of things to come: how social policy impacts social integration and family structure to produce population health”; Lisa F. Berkman and Maria Melchior

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  “Socioeconomic position and health: the role of work and employment”; Johannes Siegrist and Tores Theorell

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  “Psychobiological processes linking socioeconomic position with health”; Andrew Steptoe

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  “Socioeconomic position and health: the role of coping”; Margareta Kristenson

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  “Socioeconomic differences in health: Are control beliefs fundamental mediators?”; Hans Bosma

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  “Aggregate deprivation and effects on health”; Frank J. van Lenthe

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  “Welfare state regimes and health inequalities”; Espen Dahl, Johan Fritzell, Eero Lahelma, Pekka Martikainen”; Anton Kunst and Johan P. Mackenbach

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  “Socioeconomic inequalities in health in Western Europe: from description to explanation to intervention”; Johan P. Mackenbach.