[General practitioners facing social inequalities in health: which power to act?].
The link between social inequalities and health has been known for many years, as attested by Villermé's work on the "mental and physical status of the working class" (1840). We have more and more insight into the nature of this relationship, which embraces not only material deprivation, but also psychological mechanisms related to social and interpersonal problems. Defining our possible role as physicians to fight against these inequalities has become a public health priority. Instruments and leads, which are now available to help us in our daily practice, are presented here.
Institut universitaire de médecine sociale et préventive, Faculté de biologie et médecine, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne. sophia.chatelard@chuv.ch
S
S
Chatelard
P
P
Vaucher
H
H
Wolff
T
T
Bischoff
L
L
Herzig
F
F
Panese
F
F
Vu
B
B
Burnand
P
P
Bodenmann
D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D035862:Vulnerable Populations