Synopses & Reviews
This book offers a unique multi-disciplinary perspective on tackling health inequalities in a rich country, examining the New Labour policy agenda for tackling health inequalities and its inherent challenges.The book presents an overview of progress since the publication of the seminal and ambitious 1998 Acheson Inquiry into health inequalities, and the theoretical and methodological issues underpinning health inequalities. The contributors consider the determinants of inequality - for example, early childhood experience and ethnicity - the factors that mediate the relationship between determinants and health - nutrition, housing and health behaviour - and the sectoral policy interventions in user involvement, local area partnership working and social work.Challenging health inequalities offers a combination of broad analysis of progress from differing perspectives and will be key reading to academics, students and policy makers.
Review
For any doubters that health inequalities are widening after 10 years of a government committed to reducing them, Challenging Health Inequalities provides the evidence. Notwithstanding some modest successes, the key to reducing health inequalities - income redistribution - has worsened over the decade. As New Labour struggles to renew itself under a new Prime Minister, this book is a timely reminder of the enormity of the challenge confronting it. David J Hunter, Durham University
Review
..adds further depth and breadth to our understanding of health inequalities and policies to address them... Sociology of Health & Illness, Vol 30:3, 2009
Review
the book benefits from bringing together a wide range of professional and academic experiences that make a valuable contribution to addressing these issues in a contemporary society ... I would recommend this book as a valuable reference resource for departments, teams or organisations www.pcx.nhs.uk - NHS Patient-Citizen Exchange Newsletter, December 2007
Review
An excellent, much needed textbook that provides a critical overview of the health inequalities agenda today and what progress has/has not been made. Dr Anne Confopoutos, Liverpool Hope University
Synopsis
Soon after coming to power, the UK's New Labour commissioned the Acheson Inquiry into health inequalities. The Inquiry's recommendations were broadly accepted by the government which instituted a number of policy initiatives to address inequalities. These cut across sectors and levels of government, and represented innovative attempts at 'joining up' different departments to rise to the challenges of continuing poverty. This book provides a timely assessment of government policy and progress in tackling health inequalities in the UK over the decade since 1997.
Synopsis
This book offers a unique multi-disciplinary perspective on tackling health inequalities in a rich country, examining the New Labour policy agenda for tackling health inequalities and its inherent challenges.
About the Author
Elizabeth Dowler, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick and Nick J. Spencer, Health and Social Studies Department, University of Warwick
Table of Contents
Challenging health inequalities: introduction ~ Nick Spencer and Elizabeth Dowler
Progress in tackling health inequalities: a policy maker's perspective ~ Ray Earwicker
Inequalities in mortality rates under New Labour ~ Danny Dorling, Mary Shaw and George Davey Smith
Explaining inequalities in health: theoretical, conceptual and methodological agendas ~ Simon Williams, Michael Calnan and Alan Dolan
Inequalities in pregnancy and early years and the impact across the lifecourse: progress and future challenges ~ Nick Spencer and Catherine Law
Inequalities and ethnicity: evidence and intervention ~ Hannah Bradby and Tarani Chandola
Housing conditions and health ~ David Ormandy
Inequalities in food and nutrition: challenging 'lifestyles' ~ Elizabeth Dowler, Martin Caraher and Paul Lincoln
Behaving badly? Smoking and the role of behaviour change in tackling health inequalities ~ Nick Spencer
Health inequalities and user involvement ~ Jonathan Tritter and Helen Lester
Gilding the ghetto again? Community development approaches to tackling health inequalities ~ Mick Carpenter
A new agenda for social work: tackling health inequalities in physical health ~ Eileen McLeod, Paul Bywaters, Peter Beresford, Suzy Croft and Mark Drakeford
Challenging health inequalities: themes and issues ~ Elizabeth Dowler and Nick Spencer