[EQ] Tackling the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities: Evidence from systematic reviews

Tackling the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities:
Evidence from systematic reviews

 

Bambra C.,1 Gibson M.,2 Petticrew M.,3 Sowden A.,4 Whitehead M.,5 Wright K.4

1. Centre for Public Policy & Health, Durham University

2. MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow

3. Public and Environment Health Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

4. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York

5. Division of Public Health, University of Liverpool.

The Public Health Research Consortium funded by the UK Department of Health Policy Research Programme
University of York, November 2008

 

Available online as PDF file [102p.] at: http://www.york.ac.uk/phrc/D2-06%20Final%20Report.pdf

 

“……We know already that there are few evaluations of “wider public health” interventions, such as policies which affect the social determinants of health and health inequalities. From this project we find some suggestive evidence that certain categories of intervention may impact positively on inequalities, in particular interventions in the fields of housing, and employment, though further evidence is needed.

In the case of employment for example there is evidence that the effects of employment change are experienced differently by employees in different occupational categories, and some evidence about how this may be addressed.

 

This suggests that the workplace may indeed be an important setting in which inequalities may be addressed. Similarly, there is some evidence that housing improvements may positively affect physical health, but the effects may be quite small. The most striking gap in the evidence base however is in relation to interventions to improve access to health and social care.

 

The few reviews that we identified in the “access to healthcare” domain were limited to small-scale interventions to improve the access of very specific groups (and mainly in the US, where the nature of the highly commercialised healthcare system limits generalisability of findings to the rest of the world). No reviews were found that assessed the effects of wider health policies and health systems on access to health and social care for different groups in the population. As we also carried out additional searches to attempt to identify primary studies which would not have been included in the reviews…”

 

CONTENTS
 

Preface: What this study adds to knowledge

1. Executive summary

2. Introduction/background

3. Purpose of the study

4. Design & methods

4.1 Search Strategies

4.2 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

4.3 Data extraction

4.4 Critical Appraisal

5. Main findings

5.1 Housing and regeneration

5.2 The work environment

5.3 Unemployment and Welfare

5.4 Access to health and social care

5. 5 Transport and health

5.6 Agriculture and food

5.7 Water and sanitation

5.8 Education

6. Contribution to PHRC themes

7. Conclusions

8. Dissemination/Outputs

Acknowledgements

References

Appendices

 

Related paper:
The harvest plot: A method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions

David Ogilvie1,4  , Debra Fayter* 2  , Mark Petticrew* 1,5  , Amanda Sowden* 2  , Sian Thomas* 1  , Margaret Whitehead* 3  and Gill Worthy* 2 

¹Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK - ²Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, York, UK -³Department of Public Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK - ⁴Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, UK - ⁵London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

URL: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/8

 

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

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[EQ] IDRC Call for Expressions of Interest: Think Tank Initiative for policy research institutions

Call for Expressions of Interest: Think Tank Initiative

International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada 2009

Website: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-125431-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

 

The Think Tank Initiative invites applications from eligible organizations in Latin America and South Asia that are committed to using research to inform and influence social and economic policy. The Initiative will provide multi-year core funding and technical support to successful think tanks.

 

Deadline: September 28, 2009

Eligibility - The Think Tank Initiative announces the launch of its Call for Expressions of Interest in the following countries in Latin America and South Asia:

Latin America: Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru
South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

The Initiative invites independent policy research institutions in these countries to submit Expressions of Interest that identify long-term strategies to:

·         Develop their own robust research agenda;

·         Increase their ability to inform and influence policy; and,

·         Improve key aspects of their organizational performance.

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:

·         Possess a track record of rigorous research and analysis on national social and economic policy issues related to growth, equity and poverty reduction; this precludes institutions whose work is focused exclusively on one sector or policy issue; and,

·         Be committed to using research to inform national public debate and to create spaces for discussion and new ideas;

·         Be existing non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations legally founded and registered as independent entities in the country of operation.

Funding Available

The Think Tank Initiative will make a series of core grants to cover operating and research costs as well as institutional strengthening activities. Grants will provide up to 30 percent of an institution’s overall budget over the funding period. Initially, core grants will be either a four-year grant or a two-year renewable grant combined with tailored capacity development support to address key weaknesses.

Up to 15 institutions per region are expected to qualify for support as a result of this Call.

Expressions of Interest

Expressions of Interest should be submitted online. Please refer to the application form for further details. Applicants will be requested to answer several questions, and, in general, the review panel will be looking for:

·         A description of the organization, its vision and mission, and its commitment to undertake organizational improvement;

·         A brief description of current research areas, significant achievements and future research agenda;

·         A description of current and future partners, stakeholders and users of their research;

·         An overview of how the institution anticipates making use of support from this Initiative (e.g., kinds of improvements to be introduced).

·         Additional information and documentation is also requested to support the application.

Information

For more information please see the "Call for Expressions of Interest" document
All enquiries should be addressed to: thinktank@idrc.ca.

*      *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.