title: Disadvantage, inequality, and social policy.
abstract: Eliminating disparities in health is a primary goal of the federal government and many states. Our overarching objective should be to improve population health for all groups to the maximum extent. Ironically, enhancing population health and even the health of the disadvantaged can conflict with efforts to reduce disparities. This paper presents data showing that interventions that offer some of the largest possible gains for the disadvantaged may also increase disparities, and it examines policies that offer the potential to decrease disparities while improving population health. Enhancement of educational attainment and access to health services and income support for those in greatest need appear to be particularly important pathways to improved population health.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mechanic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003467:Cultural Deprivation; D004522:Educational Status; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology; D011632:Public Assistance; D012923:Social Class; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology