Social Determinants of Health, 2E gives an authoritative overview of the social and economic factors which are known to be the most powerful determinants of population health in modern societies. Written by acknowledged experts in each field, it provides accessible summaries of the scientific justification for isolating different aspects of social and economic life as the primary determinants of a population's health.

The new edition takes account of the most recent research and also includes additional chapters on ethnicity and health, sexual behaviors, the elderly, housing and neighborhoods.

Recognition of the power of socioeconomic factors as determinants of health came initially from research on health inequalities. This has led to a view of health as not simply about individual behavior or exposure to risk, but how the socially and economically structured way of life of a population shapes its health. Thus exercise and accidents as as much about a society's transport system as about individual decisions; and the nation's diet involves agriculture, food manufacture, retailing, and personal incomes as much as individual choice. But a major new element in the picture we have developed is the importance of the social, or psycho-social, environment to health. For example, health in the workplace for most employees - certainly for office workers - is less a matter of exposure to physical health hazards as of the social envrionment, of how supportive it is, whether people have control over their work, whether their jobs are secure. A similar picture emerges in other areas ranging from the health importance of the emotional envrionment in early childhood to the need for more socially cohesive communities.

Social Determinants of Health, 2E should be read by those interested in the wellbeing of modern societies. It is a must for public health professionals, for health promotion specialists, and for people working in the many fields of public policy which we now know make such an important contribution to health.

Review from the previous edition

"Excellent...[a] wide-ranging review of empirical evidence and discussion of its implications."--Chronic Diseases in Canada

"MarmotandWilkinson have made a timely addition to the maturing field of health and health policy research. This volume should be relevant to anyone interested in health determinants, given its clear organization and concise writing."--Social ScienceandMedicine

"It is a dense, fascinating and wide-ranging collection...an excellent primer for those who wish to engage in the debate about how this policy can be taken forward to make a real difference to the lives of the people whose deprivations are analyses in its pages."--Health Matters

"The book surveys the effects of social inequality on health and offers a forum in which these can be linked with more obvious influences."--Times Higher Education Supplement

"At the core of The Social Determinants of Health is the groudbreaking Whitehall study...it found that wealth and status are the crucial factors in health and longevity."--The Guardian

This groundbreaking book, which brings together information in a singular way, provides an authoritative overview of the social and economic factors which are seen as the most powerful determinants of population health in modern societies. Written to link closely with the WHO Centre for Urban Health initiative on social determinants of health, it will provide the scientific justification for isolating different aspects of social and economic life as the primary determinants of health. Providing the background to ten 'key messages' which form the basis of the WHO campaign, the book will have a broad audience amongst public health professionals, health promotion specialists and health policy makers.

Gives an authoritative overview of the social and economic factors known to be the most powerful determinants of population health in modern societies.

1. Introduction, Michael Marmot

2. Social Organissation, Stress and Health, Eric Brunner and Michael Marmot

3. Early Life, Michael Wadsworth

4. The Life-course, the social gradient and health, David Blane

5. Living in a High Unemployment Economy: understanding the health consequences, Mel Bartley, Jane Ferrie and Scott M. Montgomery

6. Health and the Psychosocial Environment at Work, Michael Marmot, Johannes Siegrist, Tores Theorell and Amanda Feeney

7. Transport and Health, Mark McCarthy

8. Social Support and Social Cohesion, Stephen A. Stansfield

9. Food as a Political Issue, Aileen Robertson, Eric Brunner and Aubrey Sheiham

10. Poverty, Social Exclusion and Minorities, Mary Shaw, Danny Dorling and George Davey Smith

11. Social Patterning of Individual Health Behavior: the case of cigarete smoking, Martin J. Jarvis and Jane Wardle

12. Putting the Picture Together: prosperity, redistribution, health and welfare, Richard G. Wilkinson

Epilogue: WHO's social determinants campaign and the Healthy Cities project, Agis D. Tsouros and Jill L. Farrington

Index