HEALTH INEQUALITIES

The world we live in is hugely unequal People in a better socioeconomic position do not only lead more comfortable lives but also longer and healthier lives This is true not only in the poorer parts of the world but also in the richest countries including the advanced welfare states of Western Europe which have successfully pushed back poverty and other forms of material disadvantage Why are health inequalities systematically higher rates of disease disability and premature death among people with a lower level of education occupation or income so persistent How can we expect to reduce this when it persists even in the most advanced states Written by a leading figure in public health this book looks to answer these questions by taking a broad critical look at the scientific evidence surrounding the explanation of health inequalities including recent findings from the fields of epidemiology sociology psychology economics and genetics It concludes that a simplistic view in which health inequalities are a direct consequence of social inequality does not tell us the full story Drawing upon a unique series of studies covering 30 European countries and more than three decades of observations it shows that health inequalities are partly driven by auton