Do differences in health make a difference? A review for health policymakers.
While many societies have made remarkable progress in population health improvements, health inequalities remain as a central concern to health policy. There is substantial evidence to show that differences in health achievements and access to health care are increasing both within and among societies. Socio-economic and environmental health determinants are strongly associated to population health status regardless of what risk factor or technological advance is in vogue. Understanding the fundamental causes underlying the existence of health inequalities is useful for guiding health policy as it provides a direction to guide resource allocation and the targeting of policy interventions. The purpose of this paper is to review current perspectives and methods in the assessment of health inequalities with particular relevance to public health policymakers and practitioners.
Rainham
Daniel
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Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, One Stewart Street, Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5. drain067@uottawa.ca
D006291:Health Policy; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D009864:Ontario; D011050:Policy Making