The new National Health Service Commissioning Board published guidelines on the incentives and levers that would be used to improve services in England from April 2013. Local poverty rates would no longer be taken into account in the allocation of funding.
Source: Everyone Counts: Planning for patients 2013/14, NHS Commissioning Board
Links: Guidelines | CB press release | Hansard | BMA press release | Kings Fund press release | Labour Party press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCGP press release | RCN press release | RCOG press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Dec
An audit report in Scotland said that there were 'major differences' in the health and life expectancy of different groups of people in Scotland. The problem was complex, and addressing it required a range of public bodies working together effectively, not just the health services.
Source: Health Inequalities in Scotland, Audit Scotland
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | BMA press release | Cosla press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Dec
An article said that local authorities in England that had seen the greatest rise in prosperity between 1998 and 2007 had also experienced the largest rises in life expectancy. Both decreasing unemployment and increasing household income were significantly associated with increasing male and female life expectancy.
Source: Ben Barr, David Taylor-Robinson, and Margaret Whitehead, 'Impact on health inequalities of rising prosperity in England 1998–2007, and implications for performance incentives: longitudinal ecological study', British Medical Journal, 4 December 2012
Links: Article | Liverpool University press release
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper presented a cross-country estimate of inequalities in the use of preventive healthcare treatments in 13 European countries. In many European countries strong 'pro-rich' and educational inequalities existed with respect to certain treatments.
Source: Vincenzo Carrieri and Ansgar Wubker, Assessing Inequalities in Preventive Care Use in Europe, Ruhr Economic Papers 371, Universities of Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, and Essen (Germany)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined how population and service characteristics influenced population mortality variations. Age and poverty were among the biggest factors that accounted for the variations: but effective delivery of healthcare could also lessen the impact of these health inequalities.
Source: Louis Levene, John Bankart, Kamlesh Khunti, and Richard Baker, 'Association of primary care characteristics with variations in mortality rates in England: an observational study', PLoS ONE, Volume 7 Number 10
Links: Article | Leicester University press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined the extent to which health inequalities in Europe could realistically be reduced by policies and interventions on socio-economic determinants as well as on specific risk factors.
Source: Johan Mackenbach and Terje Andreas Eikemo (eds), Final Report, EURO-GBD-SE project (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between poverty and mortality across 26 developed countries over time, focusing on three groups – infants, children, and working-age adults.
Source: Johan Fritzell, Olli Kangas, Jennie Bacchus Hertzman, Jenni Blomgren, and Heikki Hiilamo, Cross-Temporal and Cross-National Poverty and Mortality Rates among Developed Countries, Discussion Paper 64, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between obesity and life expectancy, and whether or not this relationship varied by socio-economic status (SES). Obesity was found to be negatively associated with survival, and SES was positively associated with survival, in both men and women. There was no evidence of interactions between obesity and SES in predicting survival in men: but these interactions were present in women. Obesity was associated with lower survival in women, except for older women in higher SES groups, who had a longer predicted survival than women of normal weight in this group.
Source: Jonas Minet Kinge and Stephen Morris, Socioeconomic Variation in the Relationship between Obesity and Life Expectancy, Discussion Paper 712, Statistics Norway
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that urgent action was needed to reduce social inequalities in children's exposure to second-hand smoke (based on a study in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
Source: Graham Moore, Dorothy Currie, Gillian Gilmore, Jo Holliday, and Laurence Moore , 'Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood exposure to secondhand smoke before and after smoke-free legislation in three UK countries', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that the persistence of a social divide in health might be related to interactions between personality, mental well-being, and the adoption of good health behaviours in deprived areas. The effectiveness of health messages might be enhanced by accommodating the observed variation in the levels of extraversion, neuroticism, hopelessness, and sense of coherence.
Source: Chris Packard et al., 'Interaction of personality traits with social deprivation in determining mental wellbeing and health behaviours', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A report made a set of policy recommendations on child poverty, health, and well-being in Europe, aimed at preventing and tackling child poverty by addressing health promotion and disease in the child population.
Source: Recommendation on Child Poverty, Health and Well-Being, European Public Health Alliance
Links: Report | EPHA press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that non-emergency surgery rates declined steadily as people aged, suggesting that many older people were being denies potentially life-saving treatment.
Source: Access All Ages: Assessing the impact of age on access to surgical treatment, Age UK/Royal College of Surgeons
Links: Report | Age UK press release | Labour Party press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the challenges of providing healthcare in England to men and women with learning disabilities.
Source: Marcus Redley, Carys Banks, Karen Foody, and Anthony Holland, 'Healthcare for men and women with learning disabilities: understanding inequalities in access', Disability & Society, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper compared inequalities in the use of preventative healthcare treatments in 13 European countries. In many countries there were strong 'pro-rich' and educational inequalities with respect to treatments. Poor and less educated people were more likely to use preventive care late. Access to treatments within a specialist setting was generally less equal than access to treatments provided within a family doctor setting.
Source: Vincenzo Carrieri and Ansgar Wuebker, Assessing Inequalities in Preventative Care Use in Europe: A special case of health-care inequalities?, Working Paper 12/25, Health Economics Resource Centre (University of York)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the incidence of antenatal and postpartum depression and other mental health problems among women. The poorest patients, particularly those aged over 35, were almost 3 times as likely to develop depression as women from affluent backgrounds.
Source: Lu Ban, Jack Gibson, Joe West, Lind Fiaschi, Margaret Oates, and Laila Tata, 'Impact of socioeconomic deprivation on maternal perinatal mental illnesses presenting to UK general practice', British Journal of General Practice, Volume 62 Number 603
Links: Abstract | RCGP press release
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the findings from the World Health Organization report on the social determinants of health (in 2008), and the subsequent strategic review of health inequalities in England. It highlighted the need for action on the social determinants of health in order to address health inequalities and the social gradient in health outcomes.
Source: Michael Marmot and Ruth Bell, 'Fair society, healthy lives', Public Health, Volume 126 Supplement 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the prospects for success of 'Health 2020', a new health policy framework and strategy for Europe launched by the World Health Organization in September 2012.
Source: David Hunter, 'Tackling the health divide in Europe: the role of the World Health Organization', Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Volume 37 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper examined the issue of health inequalities in Northern Ireland.
Source: Janice Thompson, Health Inequalities – Review by Committee for HSSPS, Briefing Paper 140/12, Northern Ireland Assembly
Links: Briefing
Date: 2012-Sep
A report by a committee of MSPs said that the Scottish Government should do more to address the huge difference in heart disease rates between rich and poor areas. It said that their 'most disturbing' finding was that people in the poorest areas adopted a fatalistic attitude to health problems such as heart disease.
Source: Cardiology Services, 3rd Report 2012, SP Paper 183, Scottish Parliament Public Audit Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Sep
A think-tank report said that the proportion of people engaging in multiple unhealthy lifestyle behaviours had fallen significantly. But almost all the improvement had been among higher socio-economic and better-educated groups, exacerbating health inequalities.
Source: David Buck and Francesca Frosini, Clustering of Unhealthy Behaviours over Time: Implications for policy and practice, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined how social and economic conditions related to the health status of children using a retrospective survey for western Europe. Being born during a boom and growing up during a boom were detrimental for childhood health. The socio-economic status of the parents was positively associated with the health status of the child. Experiencing hunger, living without the father, and growing up with a parent who drank heavily were all negatively associated with childhood health.
Source: Viola Angelini and Jochen Mierau, Social and Economic Aspects of Childhood Health: Evidence from western-Europe, Paper 12002-EEF, Research Institute SOM, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Groningen
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Aug
An article reported a study that developed a method for measuring change in socio-economic equity in healthcare utilization using small-area level administrative data. Associations between deprivation and disease prevalence in England changed little during the period examined (2001–2008), indicating that observed need had not grown faster in more deprived areas than elsewhere.
Source: Richard Cookson, Mauro Laudicella, and Paolo Li Donni, 'Measuring change in health care equity using small-area administrative data: evidence from the English NHS 2001–2008', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article said that smoking rates were four times higher among the most disadvantaged groups than the most affluent. Smoking prevalence had declined between 2001 and 2008 except among those who were multiply disadvantaged.
Source: Rosemary Hiscock, Linda Bauld, Amanda Amos, and Stephen Platt, 'Smoking and socioeconomic status in England: the rise of the never smoker and the disadvantaged smoker', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined whether deprivation inequality at small-area level in England was associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates, and whether this provided evidence of an association between area-level and individual-level risk. Rich wards surrounded by poor areas had higher CHD mortality rates than rich wards surrounded by rich areas, and poor wards surrounded by rich areas had worse CHD mortality rates than poor wards surrounded by poor areas. Local deprivation inequality had a similar adverse impact on both rich and poor areas, supporting the hypothesis that the income inequality of an area had an impact on individual-level health outcomes.
Source: Steven Allender, Peter Scarborough, Thomas Keegan, and Mike Rayner, 'Relative deprivation between neighbouring wards is predictive of coronary heart disease mortality after adjustment for absolute deprivation of wards', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 66 Number 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A survey highlighted 'a picture of resilience and creativity' among children's centres – despite significant cuts within local authority budgets and the removal of the dedicated Sure Start grant. Local authorities had seen children's centres as a positive investment and sought to retain them where possible. Nonetheless, the number of children's centres had fallen by 281 (7.7 per cent) between 2010 and 2011, to 3,350.
Source: Sure Start Children s Centres Census 2012: Developments, trends and analysis of Sure Start children s centres over the last year and the implications for the future, 4Children
Links: Report | 4Children press release | Labour Party press release | Nursery World report
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper by the children's watchdog for England examined inequalities in health service outcomes for children, and made a series of recommendations for tackling them.
Source: Maggie Atkinson, Inequalities in Health Outcomes and How they Might Be Addressed, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
The first report was published from a six-year study designed to evaluate children s centres in England. 40 per cent of centres reported that cuts had been made in Session 2010–11.
Source: Emily Tanner, Maya Agur, David Hussey, and James Hall (with Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva, Teresa Smith, Maria Evangelou, and A Flint), Evaluation of Children s Centres in England (ECCE) Strand 1: First Survey of Children s Centre Leaders in the Most Deprived Areas, Research Report RR230, Department for Education
Date: 2012-Jul
A report identified the most important outcomes that children s centres should be striving for in order to give all children positive early years experiences. It called for a renewed focus on parenting and improving parents lives.
Source: Anne Pordes Bowers and Jason Strelitz (with Jessica Allen and Angela Donkin), An Equal Start: Improving outcomes in children s centres – An evidence review, UCL Institute of Health Equity
Links: Report | Summary | IHE press release | 4Children press release | NLT press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the association between area and individual measures of social disadvantage and infant health. The magnitude of effects was similar across a range of area and individual deprivation measures and birth and mortality outcomes.
Source: Alison Weightman, Helen Morgan, Michael Shepherd, Hilary Kitcher, Chris Roberts, and Frank Dunstan, 'Social inequality and infant health in the UK: systematic review and meta-analyses', British Medical Journal Open, Volume 2 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Jun
A report said that there was a clear north-south divide in estimates of life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy. For a man living in the north east, from the age of 16 the average expected disability-free years were 45.3, whereas for a man in the south east it was 51.5 years. The impending increase in the state pension age was therefore likely to have different implications for the length of retirement that was spent disability-free in different regions.
Source: Disability-Free Life Expectancy, Sub-National Estimates for England, 2007-09, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined time trends in socio-economic inequalities and stillbirth rates in England. Rates were twice as high in the most deprived tenth of areas compared with the least, with no evidence of a change over time.
Source: Sarah Seaton, David Field, Elizabeth Draper, Bradley Manktelow, Gordon Smith, Anna Springett, and Lucy Smith, 'Socioeconomic inequalities in the rate of stillbirths by cause: a population-based study', British Medical Journal Open, Volume 2 Issue 3
Links: Article | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined the links between education, income, smoking, and mortality for people aged 65 and over. The effect of smoking on mortality was found to be large compared with that of income. Policies designed to reduce mortality by discouraging smoking were much more powerful than policies designed to influence living standards.
Source: Silvia Lui and Martin Weale, The Trade-Off Between Income and Smoking As Influences on Mortality: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey for men and women aged sixty-five and over, Discussion Paper 395, National Institute for Economic and Social Research
Links: Discussion Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that policy analysis aiming at curbing inequalities in health called for a better understanding of its measurement pathways. It was unclear what the evidence suggested about the reasons for health inequalities as well as the best possible instruments to measure both inequality and socio-economic health gradients.
Source: Joan Costa-Font and Cristina Hernandez-Quevedo, 'Measuring inequalities in health: what do we know? What do we need to know?', Health Policy, Volume 106 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined the impact of income inequality on infant mortality in developed (OECD) countries. In a model without country fixed effects, a one-point increase in the Gini coefficient was associated with a 7 per cent increase in the infant mortality rate. After controlling for differences across countries in a country fixed effects model, however, income inequality was no longer associated with infant mortality. A possible interpretation of this discrepancy was that social policies that reduced infant mortality clustered in countries with low income inequality.
Source: Mauricio Avendano, 'Correlation or causation? Income inequality and infant mortality in fixed effects models in the period 1960-2008 in 34 OECD countries', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined how the existence of income-related inequalities in unhealthy behaviours (obesity, alcohol intake, and smoking) might explain the persistence of health inequalities in England and Spain. Persistent income inequalities were found in obesity and tobacco use, which were disproportionately concentrated among those in relative poverty. But inequalities in alcohol consumption over time tended to concentrate among relatively wealthy individuals in both countries.
Source: Joan Costa-i-Font, Cristina Hernandez-Quevedo, and Dolores Jimenez-Rubio, Do Income Gradients in Unhealthy Behaviours Explain Patterns of Health Inequalities?, Working Paper 29/2012, LSE Health (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
Date: 2012-Jun
Researchers examined the impact of Sure Start local programmes on child and family functioning over time, by following up over 5,000 7-year-olds and their families who had initially been studied when the children were aged 9 months, 3 years, and 5 years. The results provided 'some support' for the view that government efforts to support children/families via the original area-based approach to Sure Start paid off to some degree in terms of parent outcomes, though not with regard to child outcomes. Children's centres had been found to be immensely popular with parents, and had been successful in reaching the parents who were likely to be the most disadvantaged. The beneficial effects for parents persisted at least two years after their last contact with Sure Start programmes.
Source: National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS) Team, The Impact of Sure Start Local Programmes on Seven Year Olds and their Families, Research Report RR220, Department for Education
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that three circumstances might help to explain the persistence of health inequalities in developed countries despite the attenuation of material inequalities by the welfare state:
• Inequalities in access to material and immaterial resources had not been eliminated by the welfare state, and were still substantial.
• Due to greater intergenerational mobility, the composition of lower socio-economic groups had became more homogeneous with regard to personal characteristics associated with ill-health.
• Due to a change in epidemiological regime, in which consumption behaviour became the most important determinant of ill-health, the marginal benefits of the immaterial resources to which a higher social position gave access had increased.
Source: Johan Mackenbach, 'The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: the explanation of a paradox', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article set out a research agenda for tackling health inequalities related to migration and ethnicity in Europe.
Source: Raj Bhopal, 'Research agenda for tackling inequalities related to migration and ethnicity in Europe', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A report examined the views of leaders in the National Health Service (commissioners, service providers, and local authorities) on the barriers to improving access, experience, and outcomes for black and minority-ethnic users of mental health services.
Source: Hari Sewell and Sue Waterhouse, Making Progress on Race Equality in Mental Health, Mental Health Network/NHS Confederation
Date: 2012-May
A report said that widespread inequalities meant that many young people in Europe were not as healthy as they could be. Health depended on age, gender, geography, and family affluence. Health promotion programmes needed to be sensitive to socio-economic and other differences, and should aim to create a fair situation for all young people.
Source: Candace Currie, Cara Zanotti, Antony Morgan, Dorothy Currie, Margaretha de Looze, Chris Roberts, Oddrun Samdal, Otto Smith, and Vivian Barnekow (eds.), Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being Among Young People: Health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) study – International report from the 2009/2010 survey, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report | WHO press release
Date: 2012-May
The coalition government published a discussion paper on increasing parental and community involvement in Sure Start children's centres.
Source: Increasing Parental and Community Involvement in Sure Start Children s Centres, Department for Education
Links: Paper | 4Children press release
Date: 2012-May
An article said that the concept of 'hard to reach' was ill-defined and contested. Drawing on a case-study of a Scottish health improvement programme that explicitly aimed to reach and engage 'the hard to reach , it found that a lack of conceptual clarity led to ambiguous policy and practice.
Source: Mhairi Mackenzie , Maggie Reid, Fiona Turner, Yingying Wang, Julia Clarke, Sanjeev Sridharan, Stephen Platt, and Catherine O'Donnell, 'Reaching the hard-to-reach: conceptual puzzles and challenges for policy and practice', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the degree of variation in socio-demographic factors among deprivation deciles, and how variables associated with deaths differed among the most deprived areas. Understanding variations in death rates between deprived areas required greater consideration of their socio-demographic diversity – including their population density, ethnicity, and migration.
Source: Helena Tunstall, Richard Mitchell, Julia Gibbs, Stephen Platt, and Danny Dorling, 'Socio-demographic diversity and unexplained variation in death rates among the most deprived parliamentary constituencies in Britain', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined whether adverse relations between social class, health, and economic activity observed between 1973 and 1993 were still apparent between 1994 and 2009 despite improvements in the general economic climate and overall population health. Between 1973 and 2009, the relation between good health and securing and sustaining employment had strengthened for both men and women. For men, this had been due to employment rates decreasing and economic inactivity rates increasing among men with poor health. For women, this had largely been due to a general trend of increased employment and reduced economic inactivity occurring among healthier women, but not in women of poorer health. Some evidence suggested that, since 2005, the relation between health, employment, and economic inactivity for women in the top two occupational groups had became more like that for men, with poor health becoming associated with reducing employment rates.
Source: Jonathan William Minton, Kate Pickett, and Danny Dorling, 'Health, employment, and economic change, 1973-2009: repeated cross sectional study', British Medical Journal, 8 May 2012
Links: Article | York University press release
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the role of childhood conditions and social inequality in older Europeans' propensity to age successfully, controlling for later-life risk factors. Unfavourable childhood conditions exhibited a harmful influence on individuals' chances to age well across all European welfare states considered in the study. Policy interventions should thus aim at improving the conditions for successful ageing throughout the entire life course.
Source: Martina Brandt, Christian Deindl, and Karsten Hank, 'Tracing the origins of successful aging: the role of childhood conditions and social inequality in explaining later life health', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 74 Issue 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined and assessed empirical studies that explicitly used a welfare regime typology in comparative health research. Just under one-half of studies comparing outcomes by regime found at least some evidence that health inequalities were lowest, or population health was the best, in social democratic countries. Studies analyzing the relationship between health (mortality) and the political determinants or policies of welfare states were more likely to report results consistent with welfare regime theory. But health differences by regime were not always consistent with welfare regime theory: measurement of policy instruments or outcomes of welfare regimes might be more promising for public health research than the use of typologies alone.
Source: Sarah Brennenstuhl, Amelie Quesnel-Vallee, and Peggy McDonough, 'Welfare regimes, population health and health inequalities: a research synthesis', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 66 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined socio-economic inequalities in hospital waiting times in England by education and income. Education and income deprivation had distinct effects on waiting times. Most inequalities occurred within hospitals. Inequalities occurred over most of the distribution – type and number of diagnoses did not explain the gradient.
Source: Mauro Laudicella Luigi Siciliani, and Richard Cookson, 'Waiting times and socioeconomic status: evidence from England', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 74 Issue 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A report highlighted the extent to which certain sections of society, particularly undocumented migrants, were excluded from healthcare systems in the European Union.
Source: Access to Health Care for Vulnerable Groups in the European Union in 2012: An overview of the condition of persons excluded from healthcare systems in the EU, Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the associations between deprivation and rates of childhood overweight and obesity in England, from 2007 to 2010. Childhood obesity rates in England were found to be strongly associated with deprivation. Given the enormous public health implications of overweight and obesity in the population, a significant effort was required to tackle unhealthy weight in children in all local authorities, and this should be a priority in areas with high levels of deprivation.
Source: David Conrad and Simon Capewell, 'Associations between deprivation and rates of childhood overweight and obesity in England, 2007-2010: An ecological study', British Medical Journal Open, Volume 2 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Apr
A study (for an official advisory body) examined evidence on the relationship between aspects of spatial planning, the built environment, health, and health inequalities. It said that it was vital that planners, developers, and design professionals were aware of the health equity impact of their work and pro-actively addressed environmental disadvantage through their practice. The main components for addressing health inequalities through spatial planning were: addressing the gradient in environmental disadvantage; establishing a benchmark for area assessment analysis that included an equity component; and addressing the elements of the built environment that affected health across the social gradient according to an area's needs.
Source: Ilaria Geddes, Jessica Allen, Matilda Allen, and Lucy Morrisey, The Marmot Review: Implications for Spatial Planning, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined the choice of income-related health inequality measures in comparative studies. Relative indices of inequality in health attainments and shortfalls embodied distinct vertical equity judgments, where each might represent ethically defensible positions in specific contexts. Further research was needed to explore people's preferences over distributions of income and health.
Source: Paul Allanson and Dennis Petrie, Understanding the Vertical Equity Judgements Underpinning Health Inequality Measures, Working Paper 264, Department of Economic Studies, University of Dundee
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined whether user financial incentives to encourage health-related behaviour change could be used to reduce health inequalities, in the contexts of the United Kingdom and the United States. Many practical, political, ethical, and ideological objections could be raised against user financial incentives: but the justifiability of, and limits, to them required more academic and public discussion, so as to gain a better understanding of the circumstances in which they could legitimately be used.
Source: Adam Oliver and Lawrence Brown, 'A consideration of user financial incentives to address health inequalities', Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Volume 37 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined what factors people considered when deciding whether or not to pay for a costly healthcare treatment for a non-fatal condition. Decisions to pay for private healthcare treatments were not simply determined by price. They were mediated by: the perceived 'status' of the healthcare treatment as either functional or aesthetic; how the individual determined and valued their 'need' for the treatment; and the impact the expenditure might have on themselves and others.
Source: Catherine Exley, Nikki Rousseau, Cam Donaldson, and James Steele, 'Beyond price: individuals' accounts of deciding to pay for private healthcare treatment in the UK', BMC Health Services Research, Volume 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
The inspectorate for healthcare and social care said that access to health care services for disabled children and young people in England was 'variable'. Five primary care trusts claimed that there were no disabled children living in their area.
Source: Health Care for Disabled Children and Young People: A review of how the health care needs of disabled children and young people are met by the commissioners and providers of health care in England, Care Quality Commission
Links: Report | CQC press release | ADCS press release | Community Care report
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined the extent of the problem of substandard housing for Roma people in Europe, and in particular the situation of Traveller groups, who often had difficulties finding a place in halting sites. Problems faced by the Roma included high overcrowding rates, lack of access to improved forms of sanitation, and high levels of urban segregation thus limiting access to healthcare services. These issues reinforced existing health inequalities among Roma people, including an increased risk of disability, chronic illness, and obesity.
Source: Daniel Molinuevo, Maarten Koomen, and Klara Foti, Living Conditions of the Roma: Substandard housing and health, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2012-Mar
An article compared the health and socio-demographic characteristics of residentially mobile families with young children in England with those of families that did not move; and assessed the impact of their moves upon inequalities in health between neighbourhoods. Mobile families moved disproportionately toward less deprived areas, but had disadvantaged socio-economic characteristics and poor outcomes for infant's birth weight/accidents, mother's self-rated health, limiting long-standing illness, and mental health. Health outcomes were worst among the minority moving to more deprived neighbourhoods. Families' moves moderately increased health inequalities between neighbourhoods with high and low deprivation.
Source: Helena Tunstall, Baltica Cabieses, and Richard Shaw, 'The characteristics of mobile families with young children in England and the impact of their moves on neighbourhood inequalities in maternal and child health', Health and Place, Volume 18 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined how clinicians working in independent sector treatment centres perceived the differences between public and private sectors. Although the centres offered some advantages, there remained doubts about the commercialization of services, the motives of managers, and the impact of clinical roles and capabilities. Clinicians would not automatically embrace a move between sectors.
Source: Justin Waring and Simon Bishop, 'Going private: clinicians experience of working in UK independent sector treatment centres', Health Policy, Volume 104 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined whether, over a 20-year period, the self-reported health of people living in deprived areas became poorer faster compared with those living in more affluent areas. There was a 40 per cent probability of reporting poor health among residents of more deprived areas at an earlier age (66) compared with those living in more affluent areas (83). Wider area differences were seen for men than for women.
Source: Anne Ellaway, Michaela Benzeval, Michael Green, Alastair Leyland, and Sally Macintyre, ' Getting sicker quicker : does living in a more deprived neighbourhood mean your health deteriorates faster?', Health and Place, Volume 18 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
New data was published on health inequalities and the social determinants of health for the 150 'upper tier' local authority areas in England. Although life expectancy had improved between 2007-2009 and 2008-2010 for most areas, inequalities within them had also increased. The amount by which the gap in life expectancy varied between the wealthiest neighbourhoods and the most deprived had risen in the majority of the local authorities, for both men (104/150) and women (92/150).
Source: Press release 15 February 2012, Institute of Health Equity (University College, London)
Links: IHE press release | Statistical table | Guide to indicators | 4Children press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the association between rurality and health in Scotland. No consistent pattern of better or poorer health in people living in rural areas was found, compared with primary cities. However, individuals living in remote small towns had a lower risk of a hospital admission for coronary heart disease, and those in very remote rural areas had lower mortality, compared with those living in primary cities.
Source: Paulos Teckle, Phil Hannaford, and Matthew Sutton, 'Is the health of people living in rural areas different from those in cities? Evidence from routine data linked with the Scottish Health Survey', BMC Health Services Research, Volume 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report said that 61 per cent of deaths among people living in the poorest 20 per cent of areas in England occurred in hospital – compared with 54 per cent among the least deprived areas. This gap was not solely accounted for by factors such as differences in the causes of death between the social groups.
Source: Andy Pring and Julia Verne, Deprivation and Death: Variation in place and cause of death, National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (National Health Service)
Links: Report | NHS press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined whether the association between area deprivation and poor self-rated health differed as between white British people and people from minority-ethnic groups. The association was found to be of greater magnitude and stronger for white British people than for minority-ethnic people.
Source: Laia Becares, James Nazroo, Christo Albor, Tarani Chandola, and Mai Stafford, 'Examining the differential association between self-rated health and area deprivation among white British and ethnic minority people in England', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 74 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined methods for linking area socio-economic conditions (place of residence at major life periods) to health in mid-life.
Source: Emily Murray, Humphrey Southall, Paula Aucott, Kate Tilling, Diana Kuh, Rebecca Hardy, and Yoav Ben-Shlomo, 'Challenges in examining area effects across the life course on physical capability in mid-life: findings from the 1946 British Birth Cohort', Health and Place, Volume 18 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A baseline assessment was published of the magnitude of environmental health inequality in Europe, based on a core set of 14 inequality indicators. Socio-economic and demographic inequalities in risk exposure were present in all countries in varying degrees. The report reviewed inequalities related to housing, injuries, and the environment; identified gaps in evidence that still needed to be filled; and suggested priority action to be taken at both sub-regional and national levels.
Source: Environmental Health Inequalities in Europe. Assessment report, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined how health inequalities were 'constructed' as an object for policy intervention. Politics dominated how health inequalities were framed for intervention, affecting their prioritization in practice and how audit, evidence, and treatment were described as deployed in local strategies.
Source: Tim Blackman, Barbara Harrington, Eva Elliott, Alex Greene, David Hunter, Linda Marks, Lorna McKee, and Gareth Williams, 'Framing health inequalities for local intervention: comparative case studies ', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the debate on smoking and stigma. Class provided an essential analytic lens through which to understand the stigma of smoking and the stigmatizing impacts of tobacco control policies.
Source: Hilary Graham, 'Smoking, stigma and social class', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 41 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the nature and extent of health inequalities, focusing on: associations between socio-economic classification and health and longevity; and on the notion of a 'social gradient'. It considered the various explanatory 'models' that had been developed by sociologists and their allies – most conspicuously social epidemiologists.
Source: Graham Scambler, 'Health inequalities', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article used Sure Start as a case study to explore the reasons why large-scale, complex, national initiatives often failed to adequately evidence the impact of their work. It explored a range of structural, cultural, methodological, and practical factors that had acted to inhibit effective evaluation of the impact of the initiative.
Source: Nigel Lloyd and Louise Harrington, 'The challenges to effective outcome evaluation of a national, multi-agency initiative: the experience of Sure Start', Evaluation: The International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, Volume 18 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined a literature review on the prevalence and determinants of health conditions and impairments among children and young people with intellectual disability. There was an increased prevalence of a number of health conditions and impairments among those concerned, and evidence that these health inequalities were associated with several preventable environmental determinants.
Source: Lindsay Allerton, Vicki Welch, and Eric Emerson, 'Health inequalities experienced by children and young people with intellectual disabilities: a review of literature from the United Kingdom', Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Volume 15 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
