Health Equity: 06/14/11

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

[EQ] Fair London, Healthy Londoners?

Fair London, Healthy Londoners?

The London Health Commission, 2011

Available online at: http://bit.ly/murzlo

“……..The measurement of health outcomes is central to assessing the success of the strategy….

“……………. The outcomes need to reflect improvement in both the quality and length of life across the social gradient….”

“………….The report provides an overview of current health inequalities in London, both in terms of health outcomes and also in relation to key indicators for the wider social determinants of health. It is intended to illustrate the current situation and to stimulate and inform discussion on the focus for future action across London.

The emphasis in this report on indicators of the social determinants of health reflects the priority given to the “causes of the causes” in Fair Society, Healthy Lives, the report of the strategic review of health inequalities in England post-2010, undertaken by Professor Sir Michael Marmot.

The indicators selected and developed for this report are based on the aspirational national high level indicators proposed in the Marmot Review and relevant links to the Review’s policy recommendations are provided in the Executive Summary and Key Findings to inform discussion on future action.

In looking at these indicators for London, the report provides a range of information about health inequalities in London in terms of place, population groups, health and wellbeing outcomes, children and young people and income. It has been designed to be useful to a wide range of stakeholders in health in London, including individuals, organisations, agencies and partnerships at local, regional and national level.

The data are intended to inform local assessment of need and draw attention to areas where action may be most needed. Summary profile charts for all London boroughs are included in Section 3 of this report, allowing local areas to compare their position to London and England as a whole.

The report fulfils a commitment in the London Health Commission’s (LHC) Prospectus 2009-2012 to propose a new set of high level indicators of determinants of health and wellbeing, and health inequalities…………”

Contents

Executive Summary and Key Findings

With links to relevant Marmot Review policy recommendations

Introduction

Fair Society, Healthy Lives – The Marmot Review of Health Inequalities in England

Healthy Lives, Healthy People

– The Public Health White Paper

The London Health Inequalities Strategy

Choice of Indicators and Data

Indicator 1 Life Expectancy at Birth

Indicator 2 Health Expectancy

Indicator 3 Wellbeing

Indicator 4 Readiness for School

Indicator 5 Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training

Indicator 6 Income Status

Bibliography and Further Resources

Appendix

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[EQ] Aging populations mean countries have to find new ways to support their elderly

The Price of Maturity

Finance & Development, June 2011, Vol. 48, No. 2

Ronald Lee is a Professor of Demography and Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Chair of the Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging.
Andrew Mason is a Professor of Economics at the University of Hawaii and a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center.

Aging populations mean countries have to find new ways to support their elderly

Available online at: http://bit.ly/jZ3DS5

“…..THE WORLD’S POPULATION will reach 7 billion this year and is projected to exceed 9 billion in 2050. But despite the overall increase, hidden behind these headline numbers are important changes in the age distribution of the population. In the rich industrial nations as well as some middle- and lower-income countries, populations will age as the proportion of elderly people within the mix rises dramatically.

Surprisingly, this population aging is driven more by low fertility than by longer life. Low fertility means fewer children to grow up and enter the workforce, while the number of elderly keeps rising. But people are also living longer, which reinforces the effects of low fertility. Between now and 2050, about 1 billion working-age adults and 1.25 billion members of the age 60+ population will be added to the global population, while the number of people younger than 25 is projected to hold steady at 3 billion (UN, 2009).

These changes have worrisome implications for both policymakers and individuals, since most elderly people are no longer part of the labor force and their consumption must be funded by their younger family members, by public or private pensions, or by their accumulated asset holdings. As the ratio of elderly to working-age people rises, it becomes more difficult to fund them through public or private transfers, and asset accumulation is often inadequate.

We examine how the elderly are supported in different countries and discuss how these support systems will be affected by population aging…”

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