Equity in health: the importance of different health streams.
This paper develops a conceptual framework in which preferences about the distribution of future health gains depend on differences in four 'health streams'. These are as follows: (1) the amount of health to be gained; (2) the no-treatment profiles; (3) the amount of health experienced thus far: and (4) the amount of health gained previously as a result of public health interventions. This classification puts the well-established concerns for severity (stream 2) and age weights (stream 3) into a more complete analytical framework. Stream 4 has not been discussed to date and the paper suggests some moral arguments about the distributive relevance of this stream of health.
Dolan
P A
PA
Department of Economics, University of Sheffield, UK. p.dolan@sheffield.ac.uk
Olsen
J A
JA
D006302:Health Services Research; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors