Full Description
Informed by a wealth of available research, between 1997 and 2010, the UK Labour government introduced a raft of policies to reduce health inequalities. Despite this, by most measures, the UK's health inequalities have continued to widen. This failure has prompted calls for new approaches to health inequalities research and some consensus that public health researchers ought to be more actively involved in 'public health advocacy'. Yet there is currently no agreement as to what these new research agendas should be and despite multiple commentaries reflecting on recent UK efforts to reduce health inequalities, there has so far been little attempt to map future directions for research or to examine what more egalitarian policies means in practical terms.
Health Inequalities: Critical Perspectives addresses these concerns. It takes stock of the UK's experiences of health inequalities research and policy to date, reflecting on the lessons that have been learnt from these experiences, both within the UK and internationally. The book identifies emergent research and policy topics, exploring the perspectives of actors working in a range of professional settings on these agendas. Finally, the book considers potential ways of improving the links between health inequalities research, policy and practice, including via advocacy.
With contributions from established, international health inequalities experts and newer, up-and-coming researchers in the field, as well as individuals working on health inequalities in policy, practice and civil society settings, Health Inequalities: Critical Perspectives is a 'must buy' for researchers, postgraduate students, policymakers, practitioners, and research funders.
Contents
1: Katherine Smith, Clare Bambra and Sarah Hill: Background and introduction: UK experiences of health inequalities
2: Mel Bartley and David Blane: Reflections on the legacy of British health inequalities research
3: Espen Dahl and Kjetil A. van der Wel): Nordic health inequalities: patterns, trends and polices
4: Dennis Raphael and Toba Bryant: Reflections on the UK's Legacy of Health Inequalities Research and Policy from a North American Perspective
5: Johanna Hanefeld: Reflections on the UK legacy of health inequities research, from the perspective of low and middle income settings (LMICs)
6: Katherine E. Smith and Kayleigh Garthwaite: Contrasting views on ways forward for health inequalities research
7: Sarah Hill: Axes of health inequalities and intersectionality
8: Margaret Douglas: Beyond 'health': why don't we tackle the cause of health inequalities?
9: Chik Collins, Gerry McCartney and Lisa Garnham: Neoliberalism and Health Inequalities
10: David J. Hunter and Linda Marks: Health Inequalities in England's Changing Public Health System
11: Mark Hellowell and Maximilian Ralston: The Equity Implications of Health System Change in the UK
12: Clare Bambra, Kayleigh Garthwaite, Alison Copeland and Ben Barr: All in it together? Health Inequalities, Welfare Austerity and the 'Great Recession
13: Sarah Hill and Jeff Collin: Industrial epidemics and inequalities: The commercial sector as a structural driver of inequalities in non-communicable diseases
14: Jamie Pearce, Rich Mitchell and Niamh Shortt: Place, space and health inequalities
15: Lynne Friedli: The politics of tackling inequalities: the rise of psychological fundamentalism in public health and welfare reform
16: Eva Elliott, Jennie Popay and Gareth Williams): Knowledge of the everyday: confronting the causes of health inequalities
17: Jane Jones and Cathy McCormack: Socio-structural violence against the poor
18: Ben Barr, Clare Bambra and Katherine Smith: For the good of the cause: generating evidence to inform social policies that reduce health inequalities
19: Katherine Smith, Ellen Stewart, Peter Donnelly and Ben McKendrick: Influencing Policy with Research - Public Health Advocacy and Health Inequalities
20: Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson: The Spirit Level: A Case Study of the Public Dissemination of Health Inequalities Research
21: Katherine Smith, Sarah Hill and Clare Bambra: Conclusion DS where next for advocates, researchers and policymakers trying to tackle health inequalities?
