A study found considerable variation in the distances travelled for hospital treatment between electoral wards in England. Some of this was explained by geographical location - individuals located in wards in more rural areas travelled further for elective, emergency and maternity admissions. But individuals located in highly deprived wards travelled less far, and this was not explained just by the closer location of facilities to these wards.
Source: Carol Propper, Michael Damiani, George Leckie and Jennifer Dixon, Distance Travelled in the NHS in England for Inpatient Treatment, Working Paper 06/162, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Working paper
Date: 2006-Dec
A report updated by a further year (to 1 August 2006) the health inequalities public service agreement target and headline indicators that appeared in the programme for action published by the Department of Health in 2005.
Source: Tackling Health Inequalities: Status Report on Programme for Action ? 2006 update of headline indicators, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Dec
An article examined socio-economic gradients in cigarette smoking by age among women aged 20-34. Both conventional and alternative measures pointed to stable socio-economic differentials in rates of ever-smoking, and widening differentials in current smoking across age groups.
Source: Juliet Harman, Hilary Graham, Brian Francis, Hazel Inskip and SWS Study Group, 'Socioeconomic gradients in smoking among young women: a British survey', Social Science & Medicine Volume 63 Issue 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Dec
Revised practice guidance for Sure Start children's centres said that managers should do more to get marginalized families to use their services. There should be a greater emphasis on outreach and home visiting.
Source: Sure Start Children's Centres Practice Guidance, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Guidance | DfES press release | Children Now report
Date: 2006-Dec
An advisory body report said that improving the health of the whole population and reducing health inequalities should be an objective for the whole of government. More resources should be devoted to ensuring that national data on the health of the population were more comprehensive and robust.
Source: Health Impacts - A Strategy Across Government, Council for Science and Technology/Department of Trade and Industry (020 7215 6518)
Links: Report | CST press release
Date: 2006-Dec
An audit report said that most Sure Start children s centres failed to identify the most disadvantaged families in their areas and offer them support. Only a minority actively targeted 'hard-to-reach' groups.
Source: Sure Start Children s Centres, HC 104 (Session 2006-07), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | DfES press release | NCH press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Children Now report
Date: 2006-Dec
A report said that supermarkets might be contributing to health inequalities by selling 'economy' ranges of food products that were less healthy than standard ranges.
Source: Short-changed on Health? How supermarkets affect your chances of a healthy diet, National Consumer Council (020 7730 3469)
Links: Summary | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Dec
A discussion paper examined the key issues of governance and management which had emerged during the first phase of the roll-out of children's centres and extended schools.
Source: The Governance and Management of Extended Schools and Sure Start Children's Centres, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Discussion paper | Letter
Date: 2006-Nov
An article examined the issue of engagement in antenatal parent education for women living in deprived areas, focusing on the findings of a local evaluation of a Sure Start parent education programme. The Sure Start service had been beneficial for those involved, and resulted in improved levels of engagement: but it only reached a small proportion of the eligible population. The article also discussed the issue of professional resistance from mainstream services.
Source: Charlotte Pearson and Miranda Thurston, 'Understanding mothers' engagement with antenatal parent education services: a critical analysis of a local Sure Start service', Children & Society, Volume 20 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Nov
A report said that a million young people faced a life of poor health and depression unless they were given more support to find work. Young unemployed people were more vulnerable to binge-drinking, depression, poor diet, smoking, and drug misuse.
Source: Fit for the Future? Exploring the health and well-being of disadvantaged young people, Prince's Trust (020 7543 1234)
Links: Report | Prince's Trust press release
Date: 2006-Nov
A report examined the ways in which Sure Start local programmes had helped parents to feel that they had an increased sense of control over their lives. There was substantial evidence that SSLPs had empowered individual parents, so that they felt less isolated, more valued (especially as mothers), and more confident in their parenting activities.
Source: Fiona Williams and Harriet Churchill, Empowerment in Sure Start Local Programmes, Research Report NESS2006FR018, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Nov
A report examined outreach and home visiting services in Sure Start local programmes. The prime aim of outreach services in most SSLPs had been to gain the confidence of families, to assess with them what they would find most helpful, and to get them to participate regularly in the relevant Sure Start services.
Source: Mog Ball and Lisa Niven, Outreach and Home Visiting Services in Sure Start Local Programmes, Research Report NESS2006FR017, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Nov
The women and children who stood to benefit most from the new 'Healthy Start' scheme risked missing out because of obstacles which prevented them getting the vouchers they needed, when they most needed them. (From 26 November 2006 milk tokens for pregnant women and their babies were replaced by vouchers that could be exchanged for fresh fruit and vegetables as well as milk and infant formula.)
Source: Welfare Foods and Healthy Start: CAB evidence on the provision of milk tokens, Citizens Advice (020 7833 2181)
Links: Report | Citizens Advice press release
Date: 2006-Nov
Two linked reports outlined the government's approach to improving health and tackling health inequalities. The first brought together regional and national data to give a snapshot of the state of public health in 2004 (the year that the 'Choosing Health' White Paper was published). The second report set out the next stage in the government's programme of action to improve public health.
Source: Health Profile of England, Department of Health (08701 555455) | , Health Challenge England: Next Steps for Choosing Health, Department of Health
Links: Report 1 | Report 2 | DH press release | Factsheets | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
An article reported a scientific study which suggested a positive correlation between low socio-economic status and the speed of physical ageing.
Source: Lynn Cherkas et al., 'The effects of social status on biological aging as measured by white-blood-cell telomere length', Aging Cell, Volume 5 Issue 5
Links: Abstract | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
Income for the private hospital industry rose by 8 per cent to £2.7 billion in 2005-06, with nearly all the growth coming out of money spent by the National Health Service.
Source: Healthcare Market Review 2006-2007, Laing & Buisson (020 7833 9123)
Links: Summary | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on health charges. It said that it would be conducting a review of the existing exemptions for prescription charges, with a view to identifying revenue-neutral options for change. The outcome of the review would be reported to Parliament before the 2007 summer recess.
Source: Government Response to the Health Committee?s Report on NHS Charges, Cm 6922, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report | Hansard | RPSGB press release
Date: 2006-Oct
A report examined the financial costs of differences in specialist mental health service use among people from different ethnic groups in London. Over-representation of African and Caribbean people in these services costs the National Health Service in London up to £100 million per year. If mental health trusts in London had the funds to invest in more appropriate community-based services for African and Caribbean people, they would not need to spend as much as they did on inpatient services.
Source: Costs of Race Inequality, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (020 7827 8300)
Links: Report | SCMH press release
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined whether the quality of primary care measured by the 2004 contract varied with socio-economic deprivation. It said that the system did not reward the additional work required in deprived areas.
Source: Gary McLean, Matt Sutton and Bruce Guthrie, 'Deprivation and quality of primary care services: evidence for persistence of the inverse care law from the UK quality and outcomes framework', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined epidemiological evidence to determine if there was strong evidence of a positive gradient of increasing physical activity across the socio-economic strata. Those at the top of the socio-economic scale appeared to perform more leisure-time activity than those at the bottom: but further studies were necessary in order to reach firm conclusions about the relationship.
Source: Christopher Gidlow, Lynne Halley Johnston, Diane Crone, Naomi Ellis and David James, 'A systematic review of the relationship between socio-economic position and physical activity', Health Education Journal, Volume 65 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
An article reported a study which found that family doctors perceived affluent patients to be more attractive than patients from deprived backgrounds. It said that this could be one reason why richer patients tended to receive better care.
Source: Dermot O Reilly, Keith Steele, Chris Patterson, Penny Milsom and Pat Harte, 'Might how you look influence how well you are looked after? A study which demonstrates that GPs perceive socio-economic gradients in attractiveness', Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, Volume 11 Number 4
Links: Article | Abstract | RSM press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
The government announced a new requirement for Sure Start children's centres to evaluate the services that they provided, to ensure they were responsive to the needs of the most disadvantaged groups; and a new requirement for every centre to run a home visiting and outreach programme for parents of all new babies.
Source: Press release 5 October 2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: DfES press release | NCH press release | Daycare Trust press release | 4Children press release | Children Now report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report by the disability rights watchdog examined the experience of people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities of primary care services in England and Wales. Such people were more likely to experience major illness, to develop serious health conditions at an earlier age, and to die of them sooner, than other people. Yet they were also less likely to receive some of the important evidence-based treatments and health checks than others with the same condition but without a mental health condition or learning disability. They also faced real barriers to accessing services.
Source: Equal Treatment: Closing the Gap - A formal investigation into physical health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and/or mental health problems, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report | DRC press release | SCMH press release | Mencap press release | Rethink press release | MHF press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined the extent to which time and place affected people's health. There was modest evidence of clustering of poor general health within areas, and stronger support for within-household similarities in general health, which increased over time. Individual, household, and area-level deprivation accounted for almost all the area-level variability, but had little effect on household variance.
Source: Amanda Sacker, Richard Wiggins and Mel Bartley, 'Time and place: putting individual health into context - a multilevel analysis of the British Household Panel Survey, 1991 2001', Health and Place, Volume 12 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined the findings from the reports of the National Evaluation of Sure Start, published in November 2005. It said that the research evaluation had been well conducted, but that the findings were inconclusive.
Source: Michael Rutter, 'Is Sure Start an effective preventive intervention?', Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Volume 11 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
An article examined the theory that social inequalities in health disappeared, or were attenuated, in early adolescence - possibly due to changing risk exposures. Social equalization in youth was noted for some health outcomes, and by some measures of socio-economic status: but not for others. Inequalities in parent-rated health status and long-standing illness persisted among young people in workless households and those experiencing severe material hardship.
Source: Nick Spencer, 'Social equalization in youth: evidence from a cross-sectional British survey', European Journal of Public Health, Volume 16 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Aug
An article examined the longitudinal association between socio-economic position and common mental disorders in a general population sample. None of the socio-economic indicators studied was significantly associated with an episode of common mental disorder at follow-up after adjusting for baseline psychiatric morbidity.
Source: Petros Skapinakis, Scott Weich, Glyn Lewis, Nicola Singleton and Ricardo Araya, 'Socio-economic position and common mental disorders: longitudinal study in the general population in the UK', British Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 189, Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Aug
An article described how 'Carstairs scores' were calculated for England and Wales based on data from the 2001 Census, and also presented the resulting geographical patterns of deprivation. (Carstairs scores were first calculated in the 1980s based on data from the 1981 Census, and were designed as a summary measure of relative deprivation within small populations. They were based on four indicators from the Census which were considered to represent material disadvantage, and are widely used to examine the relationship between deprivation and health.)
Source: Oliver Morgan and Allan Baker, 'Measuring deprivation in England and Wales using 2001 Carstairs scores', Health Statistics Quarterly 31, Autumn 2006, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2006-Aug
The number of people with private medical insurance policies, or enrolled in medical schemes self-insured by employers, fell marginally (by 0.4 per cent) in 2005.
Source: Health and Care Cover: UK Market Report 2006, Laing & Buisson (020 7833 9123)
Links: Summary | L&B press release
Date: 2006-Aug
A think-tank report said that despite extensive government activity, health inequalities had actually widened since 1997. Too often, the government had provided only short-term responses to long-term problems, not allowing reforms to bed in before changing direction. Its health inequalities targets were arbitrary, and they did not convey the full extent of the problem.
Source: Alasdair Murray and Edward Seed, Keeping Up With the Pack: Can government reduce health inequalities?, CentreForum (020 7340 1160)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined socio-economic inequalities in rates of death from injury in children in England and Wales. Overall rates of death from injury and poisoning in children had fallen in England and Wales over the previous 20 years, except for rates in children in families in which no adult was in paid employment. Serious inequalities in injury death rates remained, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists, house fires, and deaths of undetermined intent.
Source: Phil Edwards, Ian Roberts, Judith Green and Suzanne Lutchmun, 'Deaths from injury in children and employment status in family: analysis of trends in class specific death rates', British Medical Journal, 15 July 2006
Links: Abstract | LSHTM press release
Date: 2006-Jul
An article sought to identify English local authorities that "overachieved" and "underachieved" in health terms, given their level of deprivation, socio-demographic context, and region. Life expectancy in English local authorities was strongly associated not only with material deprivation, but with the local socio-demographic context and the region where the authority was located. Some authorities defied their contexts, however, and overachieved in health terms - while others, including some in affluent areas, underachieved.
Source: Tim Doran, Frances Drever and Margaret Whitehead, 'Health underachievement and overachievement in English local authorities', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
An article said that most of the substantial social inequalities in adult male mortality during the 1990s were due to the effects of smoking. Widespread cessation of smoking could eventually halve the absolute differences between these social strata in the risk of premature death.
Source: Prabhat Jha et al., 'Social inequalities in male mortality, and in male mortality from smoking: indirect estimation from national death rates in England and Wales, Poland, and North America', The Lancet, 29 July 2006
Links: Abstract | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
A report said that people aged 50 59 from the poorest fifth of the population were over 10 times more likely to die than their peers from the richest fifth.
Source: James Banks, Elizabeth Breeze, Carli Lessof and James Nazroo (eds.), Retirement, Health and Relationships in the Older Population in England: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2004 (wave 2), Institute for Fiscal Studies (020 7291 4800)
Links: Report | IFS press release | UCL press release | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined mortality and morbidity in the 1990s in a region in the north of England. Although mortality decreased between 1990-92 and 1996-98, only a few districts and wards improved relative to England and Wales. Inequalities between wards sorted by deprivation quintiles increased over the period.
Source: Dominic Brown and Philip Rees, 'Trends in local and small area mortality and morbidity in Yorkshire and the Humber: monitoring health inequalities', Regional Studies, Volume 40 Number 5
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined whether factors promoting further health inequalities were at play within the English National Health Service, and whether existing policy to extend patient choice of provider was likely to reduce or increase these inequities. It proposed a package of supported choice whereby individuals from lower socio-economic groups would receive assistance in making choices, including an identified key worker to act as patient care adviser and help with transport costs. Extending patient choice could enhance equity - so long as it was properly designed.
Source: Anna Dixon and Julian Le Grand, 'Is greater patient choice consistent with equity? The case of the English NHS', Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, Volume 11 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined the range of gender issues in health outcomes in Scotland, and the relationship between gender and health inequalities.
Source: Rona Fitzgerald, Fair for All Gender Research, Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland (0845 601 5904)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined changes in 260 Sure Start Local Programme areas between 2000-01 and 2003-04. There were fewer children aged 0-3 living in homes completely dependent on benefits in SSLP areas (down 3.8 per cent to 40.4 per cent) - this was a significantly greater drop than in England as a whole (where the figure fell by 1.2 per cent to 22 per cent). There was also a greater reduction in relation to children aged 0-17 living in households in receipt of income support.
Source: Jacqueline Barnes et al., Changes in the Characteristics of SSLP Areas between 2000/01 and 2003/04, Research Report NESS/2006/FR/016, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined various measures in healthcare and in lifestyle which might reduce the problem of health inequality.
Source: Martin Rathfelder, 'Health inequality: an intractable problem', Benefits, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined how health inequalities had persisted over the centuries, despite changes in major causes of death. It discussed the social determinants of socio-economic inequalities in health, presenting a framework through which to understand how social inequality exerted its influence on individual health.
Source: Hilary Graham, 'Socioeconomic inequalities in health: evidence on patterns and determinants', Benefits, Volume 14 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined health-related non-response in the first 11 waves of the British Household Panel Survey (and the full 8 waves of the European Community Household Panel), and explored its consequences for models of the association between socio-economic status and self-assessed health.
Source: Andrew Jones, Xander Koolman and Nigel Rice, 'Health-related non-response in the British Household Panel Survey and European Community Household Panel: using inverse-probability-weighted estimators in non-linear models', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, Volume 169 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2006-Jul
A new book reported and analyzed the findings of a five-year research programme into social variations in health across Europe. People born into poor socio-economic conditions had double the death rate between 26 and 54 years than people in the best socio-economic conditions, regardless of any later improvement in their personal situation.
Source: Michael Marmot and Johannnes Siegrist (eds.), Social Inequalities in Health: New evidence and policy implications, Oxford University Press (01536 741727)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jul
An article reported previously published research which found that although the Sure Start programme was benefiting some poor families, the most deprived families did worse in areas covered by the scheme.
Source: Jay Belsky, Edward Melhuish, Jacqueline Barnes, Alastair Leyland and Helena Romaniuk, 'Effects of Sure Start local programmes on children and families: early findings from a quasi-experimental, cross sectional study', British Medical Journal, 24 June 2006
Links: Article | Abstract | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jun
The financial services watchdog said that firms selling critical illness cover were making efforts to meet required standards: but they needed to do more to show they were treating customers fairly and helping them to have a better understanding of the product.
Source: The Sale of Critical Illness Cover: Results of thematic work, Financial Services Authority (0845 608 2372)
Links: Report | FSA press release
Date: 2006-Jun
An article examined the role of strategy in supporting effective partnership working in public services, focusing on the 'health action zones' initiative.
Source: Helen Sullivan, Marian Barnes and Elizabeth Matka, 'Collaborative capacity and strategies in area-based initiatives', Public Administration, Volume 84 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jun
An article used data from the ONS Longitudinal Study to examine socio-demographic factors associated with low birthweight in England and Wales. For births in the 1990s the factor most strongly associated with low birthweight was being born outside marriage and registered by the mother alone ? even after taking into account the mother?s socio-economic status.
Source: Aleks Collingwood Bakeo and Lynda Clarke, 'Risk factors for low birthweight based on birth registration and census information, England and Wales, 1981?2000', Health Statistics Quarterly 30, Summer 2006, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2006-May
An article reported a study which found that people from low-income groups conversed in a way to suggested that socio-economic inequalities deeply affected their health and well-being.
Source: Rosemary Davidson, Jenny Kitzinger and Kate Hunt, 'The wealthy get healthy, the poor get poorly? Lay perceptions of health inequalities', Social Science & Medicine Volume 62 Issue 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
An article examined how local decision-makers tackled inequalities in health, and how this issue was reflected in local strategies. Evidence of effective interventions played a relatively small part in decision-making at a local level.
Source: Linda Marks, 'An evidence base for tackling inequalities in health: distraction or necessity?', Critical Public Health, Volume 16 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
A study examined whether a number of factors argued to have led to a rise in the incidence of childhood asthma might also explain the social gradient observed in it. Child?s diet, local deprivation, and maternal smoking were generally found to be the most important mediating factors.
Source: Carol Propper and John Rigg, Understanding Socio-economic Inequalities in Childhood Respiratory Health, CASEpaper 109, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Date: 2006-May
The Prime Minister reportedly said that both the Sure Start scheme for children under 5, and policies for children in care, had failed socially excluded groups. He said that the government had "not yet found a way of bringing the shut-out into mainstream society".
Source: The Guardian, 16 May 2006
Links: Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2006-May
A think-tank report said that increasing patient choice over where to go for surgery could lead to a widening of health inequalities. People with formal education qualifications were likely to choose the best hospitals, while those without them often opted for the local hospital.
Source: Peter Burge et al., Understanding Patients? Choices at the Point of Referral, King?s Fund (020 7307 2591), RAND Europe and City University
Links: Report | King's Fund press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-May
A survey found that 3,677,000 private medical insurance policies were sold in 2005, up 0.3 per cent on the year before.
Source: Press release 26 May 2006, Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333)
Links: ABI press release
Date: 2006-May
An annual survey focused on the health of people from ethnic minorities.
Source: Kerry Sproston and Jennifer Mindell (eds.), Health Survey for England: Volume 1 - The health of minority ethnic groups, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | Methodology report | Summary
Date: 2006-Apr
The government announced that it had exceeded its target agreed in the 2002 spending review for Sure Start children's centres to provide services to at least 650,000 children under five and their families by 31 March 2006. On that day there were 836 Sure Start children's centres offering integrated services to around 657,000 children.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 18 April 2006, columns 2-3WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2006-Apr
An article said that, compared with the proportion of black mental health patients in the general population in their region of origin, a much higher proportion of black patients were admitted to high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, and fewer of their needs were met.
Source: Morven Leese et al., 'Ethnic differences among patients in high-security psychiatric hospitals in England', British Journal of Psychiatry, April 2006
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
An article said that the government should amend the way it measured changes in health inequalities, in order to give a truer picture of trends. The Department of Health set targets, and measured gaps in indicators of health equality, in several different ways - which could give rise to confusion, and to the false conclusion that health inequalities had narrowed when they had not.
Source: Allan Low, 'Importance of relative measures in policy on health inequalities', British Medical Journal, 22 April 2006
Links: Table of contents | BBC report
Date: 2006-Apr
An article examined whether the scale of a society's income inequality was a determinant of population health. Most studies suggested that health was less good in societies where income differences were bigger.
Source: Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, 'Income inequality and population health: a review and explanation of the evidence', Social Science & Medicine Volume 62 Issue 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
A report (by an official advisory body) examined the influence of a range of social indicators on the health and health-related behaviour of children in England aged 11-15. It explored the relative importance of school, family, and neighbourhood across a number of health indicators in order to improve understanding of how best to promote the healthy development of young people.
Source: Antony Morgan, Sally Malam, Jim Muir and Rhiannon Barker, Health and Social Inequalities in English Adolescents: Exploring the importance of school, family and neighbourhood, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (0870 121 4194)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
A new book identified the key targets for intervention through a detailed exploration of the pathways and processes that gave rise to health inequalities across the lifecourse.
Source: Sheena Asthana and Joyce Halliday, What Works in Tackling Health Inequalities?: Pathways, policies and practice through the lifecourse, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
An article said that IQ scores were a significant factor in explaining socio-economic gradients in health.
Source: David Batty, Geoff Der, Sally Macintyre and Ian Deary, 'Does IQ explain socioeconomic inequalities in health? Evidence from a population based cohort study in the west of Scotland', British Medical Journal, 11 March 2006
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
The government announced that the cost of a National Health Service prescription in England would rise by 15p to 6.65 from the start of April 2006 - the eighth consecutive year the increase had been below or around the level of inflation.
Source: Press release 13 March 2006, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
An article examined changes in socio-economic inequalities in Census measures of health in England and Wales between 1991 and 2001. There was evidence that socio-economic inequalities in self-reported morbidity decreased.
Source: Jean Adams, Laura Holland and Martin White, 'Changes in socioeconomic inequalities in Census measures of health in England and Wales, 1991 2001', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
An article said that the prevalence of coronary heart disease was associated with deprivation: but no evidence was found of socio-economic inequality in care. This finding was in contrast to that from previous studies.
Source: Mark Strong, Ravi Maheswaran and John Radford, 'Socioeconomic deprivation, coronary heart disease prevalence and quality of care: a practice-level analysis in Rotherham using data from the new UK general practitioner quality and outcomes framework', Journal of Public Health, Volume 28 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Feb
Researchers found that adults who had flourished at secondary school enjoyed better health and well-being than those who had not.
Source: Cathie Hammond and Leon Feinstein, Are Those Who Flourished at School Healthier Adults? What Role for Adult Education?, Research Report RCB02, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Brief
Date: 2006-Feb
A report examined the level of resources spent by Sure Start local programmes from 1999-2000 to 2003-04, and the way in which those resources were spent. There were large differences in expenditure per child between different local programmes, even when they were fully operational. There was strong evidence of economies of scale: small programmes spent more per head overall, more on non-service costs, and more on each key service than did medium-sized and larger programmes.
Source: National Evaluation of Sure Start, Cost Effectiveness of Implementing SSLPs: An interim report, Research Report NESS2006FR015, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Feb
A survey found that the proportion of elective hospital activity that was privately funded had fallen from 14.6 per cent in 1997-98, at the outset of the Labour government, to 10.6 per cent in 2008.
Source: Laing's Healthcare Market Review 2009/10, Laing & Buisson (020 7833 9123)
Links: Link removed
Date: 2006-Jan
The Scottish Executive began consultation on the system of National Health Service prescription charging. Proposals included extending prescription charge exemption to a greater number of people on low incomes.
Source: Review of NHS Prescription Charges and Exemption Arrangements in Scotland, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Consultation document | SE press release
Date: 2006-Jan
An article reported a systematic review of qualitative literature on lesbian/gay/bisexual patients' experiences of healthcare provision. There was evidence that these patients had poorer experiences of healthcare compared with the general population, but the causes were not entirely clear.
Source: Mary Pennant, Sue Bayliss and Catherine Meads, 'Improving lesbian, gay and bisexual healthcare: a systematic review of qualitative literature from the UK', Diversity in Health and Care, Volume 6 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
An article said that evidence did not support the hypothesis that low socio-economic status in young Scottish children was associated with lower habitual physical activity or higher engagement in sedentary behaviour.
Source: L. Kelly et al., 'Effect of socioeconomic status on objectively measured physical activity', Archives of Disease in Childhood, Volume 91 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
An article said that inequalities in adverse perinatal outcomes increased in Scotland during the 1990s in all strata defined by maternal characteristics.
Source: Lesley Fairley and A. Leyland, 'Social class inequalities in perinatal outcomes: Scotland 1980-2000', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 60 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
A paper discussed from an economic perspective how government policy could influence health inequalities, particularly focusing on the outcome of performance targets in England, and the role of sectors of the economy outside the health service – the 'social determinants' of health – in delivering these targets.
Source: David Epstein, Dolores Jimenez-Rubio, Peter Smith and Marc Suhrcke, An Economic Framework for Analysing the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequalities, Research Paper 52, Centre for Health Economics/University of York (01904 433648)
Links: Paper
Date: 2006-Jan
