Articles

Income-related health inequalities across regions in Korea

In addition to economic inequalities, there has been growing concern over socioeconomic inequalities in health across income levels and/or regions. This study measures income-related health inequalities within...

Authors: Eunju Hong and Byung Chul Ahn

Gender, sexuality and the discursive representation of access and equity in health services literature: implications for LGBT communities

This article considers how health services access and equity documents represent the problem of access to health services and what the effects of that representation might be for lesbian, gay, bisexual and tra...

Authors: Andrea E Daley and Judith A MacDonnell

Geographic distribution of need and access to health care in rural population: an ecological study in Iran

Equity in access to and utilization of health services is a common goal of policy-makers in most countries. The current study aimed to evaluate the distribution of need and access to health care services among...

Authors: Aliasghar Ahmad Kiadaliri, Behzad Najafi and Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli

Enhancing measurement of primary health care indicators using an equity lens: An ethnographic study

One important goal of strengthening and renewal in primary healthcare (PHC) is achieving health equity, particularly for vulnerable populations. There has been a flurry of international activity toward the est...

Authors: Sabrina T Wong, Annette J Browne, Colleen Varcoe, Josée Lavoie, Victoria Smye, Olive Godwin, Doreen Littlejohn and David Tu

Gender equality in couples and self-rated health - A survey study evaluating measurements of gender equality and its impact on health

Men and women have different patterns of health. These differences between the sexes present a challenge to the field of public health. The question why women experience more health problems than men despite t...

Authors: Ann Sörlin, Lars Lindholm, Nawi Ng and Ann Öhman

Reduction of social inequalities in life expectancy in a city of Southeastern Brazil

Around the world the life expectancy at birth has risen steadily over time. However, this increase in life years is not equally distributed among different social segments of the population. Studies have demon...

Authors: Ana Paula Belon and Marilisa BA Barros

Comparison between two race/skin color classifications in relation to health-related outcomes in Brazil

This paper aims to compare the classification of race/skin color based on the discrete categories used by the Demographic Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and a skin color s...

Authors: Claudia Travassos, Josué Laguardia, Priscilla M Marques, Jurema C Mota and Celia L Szwarcwald

Health status convergence at the local level: empirical evidence from Austria

Health is an important dimension of welfare comparisons across individuals, regions and states. Particularly from a long-term perspective, within-country convergence of the health status has rarely been invest...

Authors: Martin Gächter and Engelbert Theurl

Effect of an expansion in private sector provision of contraceptive supplies on horizontal inequity in modern contraceptive use: evidence from Africa and Asia

One strategic approach available to policy makers to improve the availability of reproductive and child health care supplies and services as well as the sustainability of programs is to expand the role of the ...

Authors: David R Hotchkiss, Deepali Godha and Mai Do

Seasonal variations of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by age, gender, and socioeconomic condition in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh

Mortality exhibits seasonal variations, which to a certain extent can be considered as mid-to long-term influences of meteorological conditions. In addition to atmospheric effects, the seasonal pattern of mort...

Authors: Katrin Burkart, Mobarak H Khan, Alexander Krämer, Susanne Breitner, Alexandra Schneider and Wilfried R Endlicher

Determinants of institutional delivery in rural Jhang, Pakistan

There is expert consensus that delivery at a health facility substantially reduces the risk of maternal death. By increasing the use of antenatal (ANC), postnatal care (PNC) and family planning, the risk of ma...

Authors: Sohail Agha and Thomas W Carton

The wider determinants of inequalities in health: a decomposition analysis

The common starting point of many studies scrutinizing the factors underlying health inequalities is that material, cultural-behavioural, and psycho-social factors affect the distribution of health systematica...

Authors: Leonie Sundmacher, David Scheller-Kreinsen and Reinhard Busse

Equity implications of coverage and use of insecticide treated nets distributed for free or with co-payment in two districts in Tanzania: A cross-sectional comparative household survey

In Tanzania, the distribution and coverage of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is inequitable. Arguments about the most effective and equitable approach to distributing ITNs centre around whether to provide ITN...

Authors: George M Ruhago, Phares GM Mujinja and Ole F Norheim

Do enhancements to the urban built environment improve physical activity levels among socially disadvantaged populations?

There is growing recognition that the urban built environment influences physical activity at the population level, although the effects on disadvantaged groups are less well understood. Using the examples of ...

Authors: Jamie R Pearce and Ralph Maddison

Global challenges of implementing human papillomavirus vaccines

Human Papillomavirus vaccines are widely hailed as a sweeping pharmaceutical innovation for the universal benefit of all women. The implementation of the vaccines, however, is far from universal or equitable. ...

Authors: Janice E Graham and Amrita Mishra

Who pays for health care in Ghana?

Financial protection against the cost of unforeseen ill health has become a global concern as expressed in the 2005 World Health Assembly resolution (WHA58.33), which urges its member states to "plan the transiti...

Authors: James Akazili, John Gyapong and Diane McIntyre

Inequity in the use of physician services in Norway before and after introducing patient lists in primary care

Inequity in use of physician services has been detected even within health care systems with universal coverage of the population through public insurance schemes. In this study we analyse and compare inequity...

Authors: Astrid L Grasdal and Karin Monstad

Occupational segregation, gender essentialism and male primacy as major barriers to equity in HIV/AIDS caregiving: Findings from Lesotho

Gender segregation of occupations, which typically assigns caring/nurturing jobs to women and technical/managerial jobs to men, has been recognized as a major source of inequality worldwide with implications f...

Authors: Constance J Newman, Linda Fogarty, Lucia Nthabiseng Makoae and Erik Reavely

Social inequalities, regional disparities and health inequity in North African countries

During the last decades, North African countries have substantially improved economic, social and health conditions of their populations in average. In all countries, human development in general and life expe...

Authors: Abdesslam Boutayeb and Uwe Helmert

Viewing the Kenyan health system through an equity lens: implications for universal coverage

Equity and universal coverage currently dominate policy debates worldwide. Health financing approaches are central to universal coverage. The way funds are collected, pooled, and used to purchase or provide se...

Authors: Jane Chuma and Vincent Okungu

Changes in health-related quality of life following imprisonment in 92 women in England: a three month follow-up study

Despite the considerable changes in the provision of health care to prisoners in the UK there is little published literature that attempts to examine broader aspects of health and the impact of imprisonment on...

Authors: Emma Plugge, Nick Douglas and Ray Fitzpatrick

Factors associated with female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso and its policy implications

Female genital mutilation (FGM) usually undertaken between the ages of 1-9 years and is widely practised in some part of Africa and by migrants from African countries in other parts of the world. Laws prohibit...

Authors: Bue Karmaker, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Donna Chung and Aileen Clarke

Association of Household and Community Characteristics with Adult and Child Food Insecurity among Mexican-Origin Households in Colonias along the Texas-Mexico Border

Food insecurity is a critical problem in the United States and throughout the world. There is little published data that provides insights regarding the extent and severity of food insecurity among the hard-to...

Authors: Joseph R Sharkey, Wesley R Dean and Cassandra M Johnson

Barriers to gender-equitable HIV testing: going beyond routine screening for pregnant women in Nova Scotia, Canada

Women and men face different gender-based health inequities in relation to HIV, including HIV testing as well as different challenges in accessing HIV care, treatment and support programs and services when tes...

Authors: Jacqueline C Gahagan, Janice L Fuller, E Michelle Proctor-Simms, Todd F Hatchette and Larry N Baxter

Carework and caring: A path to gender equitable practices among men in South Africa?

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between men who engage in carework and commitment to gender equity. The context of the study was that gender inequitable masculinities create vulnerabi...

Authors: Robert Morrell and Rachel Jewkes

Do place of residence and ethnicity affect health services utilization? evidence from greece

Equal utilization of health services for equal need, is one of the main targets for public health systems. Given the public-private structure of the Greek NHS, the main aim of the study was to investigate the ...

Authors: Eleni Lahana, Evelina Pappa and Dimitris Niakas

The hidden inequity in health care

Authors: Barbara Starfield

Equity in dental care among Canadian households

Changes in third party financing, whether public or private, are linked to a household's ability to access dental care. By removing costs at point of purchase, changes in financing influence the need to reach ...

Authors: Carlos Quiñonez and Paul Grootendorst

Explaining household socio-economic related child health inequalities using multiple methods in three diverse settings in South Africa

Despite free healthcare to pregnant women and children under the age of six, access to healthcare has failed to secure better child health outcomes amongst all children of the country. There is growing evidenc...

Authors: Lungiswa L Nkonki, Mickey Chopra, Tanya M Doherty, Debra Jackson and Bjarne Robberstad

Income inequities in end-of-life health care spending in British Columbia, Canada: A cross-sectional analysis, 2004-2006

This study aimed to measure the income-related inequalities and inequities - the inequalities that remain after accounting for differences in health need - in expenditure on fully publicly covered (hospital an...

Authors: Colleen M Cunningham, Gillian E Hanley and Steven G Morgan

An International Society and Journal for Equity in Health: 10 years on

Authors: John Furler, Elizabeth Harris, Fran Baum, Jane Dixon, Angela Lawless, Daniel Maceira, Lexi B Nolen and Barbara Starfield

Equalisation of alcohol participation among socioeconomic groups over time: an analysis based on the total differential approach and longitudinal data from Sweden

Health inequality and its social determinants are well-studied, but the determinants of inequality of alcohol consumption are less well-investigated.

Authors: Jean-Baptiste Combes, Ulf-Göran Gerdtham and Johan Jarl

Socioeconomic status and mortality after acute myocardial infarction: a study from Iran

Studies have shown an inverse relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality due to coronary heart disease (CHD). Little is known about this association in Iran. This study aimed to investigate ...

Authors: Tahereh Donyavi, Kourosh Holakouie Naieni, Saharnaz Nedjat, Mariam Vahdaninia, Mahdi Najafi and Ali Montazeri

Urban-rural inequities in knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis in two districts of Pakistan's Punjab province

The aim of this study was to explore inequities in knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tuberculosis (TB) among the urban and rural populations.

Authors: Muhammad Umair Mushtaq, Ubeera Shahid, Hussain Muhammad Abdullah, Anum Saeed, Fatima Omer, Mushtaq Ahmad Shad, Arif Mahmood Siddiqui and Javed Akram

Does the socioeconomic context explain both mortality and income inequality? Prospective register-based study of Norwegian regions

Studies from various countries have observed worse population health in geographical areas with more income inequality. The psychosocial interpretation of this association is that large income disparities are ...

Authors: Jon Ivar Elstad

A rapid equity focused health impact assessment of a policy implementation plan: An Australian case study and impact evaluation

Equity focused health impact assessments (EFHIAs), or health equity impact assessments, are being increasingly promoted internationally as a mechanism for enhancing the consideration of health equity in the de...

Authors: Ben F Harris-Roxas, Patrick J Harris, Elizabeth Harris and Lynn A Kemp

Self-rated health, ethnicity and social position in a deprived neighbourhood in Denmark

In recent years the close connection between SES and differences in health between ethnic groups have been subject to growing interest among researchers, and some studies have found an association between ethn...

Authors: Pernille T Andersen, Carsten K Bak, Susanne Vangsgaard, Unni Dokkedal and Pia V Larsen

The financial protection effect of Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme: evidence from a study in two rural districts

One of the key functions of health insurance is to provide financial protection against high costs of health care, yet evidence of such protection from developing countries has been inconsistent. The current s...

Authors: Ha TH Nguyen, Yogesh Rajkotia and Hong Wang

Race, gender, class, and sexual orientation: intersecting axes of inequality and self-rated health in Canada

Intersectionality theory, a way of understanding social inequalities by race, gender, class, and sexuality that emphasizes their mutually constitutive natures, possesses potential to uncover and explicate prev...

Authors: Gerry Veenstra

The relationship between (stigmatizing) views and lay public preferences regarding tuberculosis treatment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Tuberculosis (TB) and human immune virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) stigmas affect public attitudes toward TB treatment and policy. This study examined 'stigmatizing' ideas and the view tha...

Authors: Jane M Cramm and Anna P Nieboer

Social class related inequalities in household health expenditure and economic burden: evidence from Kerala, south India

In the Indian context, a household's caste characteristics are most relevant for identifying its poverty and vulnerability status. Inadequate provision of public health care, the near-absence of health insuran...

Authors: Subrata Mukherjee, Slim Haddad and Delampady Narayana

Targeting accuracy and impact of a community-identified waiver card scheme for primary care user fees in Afghanistan

User fees are a known common barrier to using health services, particularly among the poor. When fees are present, many facilities have waiver systems for poor patients to exempt them from paying. Targeting wa...

Authors: Laura C Steinhardt and David H Peters

Immigration as pathogenic: a systematic review of the health of immigrants to Canada

This review investigates the health of immigrants to Canada by critically examining differences in health status between immigrants and the native-born population and by tracing how the health of immigrants ch...

Authors: Fernando G De Maio

Sex, drugs and gender roles: mapping the use of sex and gender based analysis in pharmaceutical policy research

Sex and gender sensitive inquiry is critical in pharmaceutical policy due to the sector's historical connection with women's health issues and due to the confluence of biological, social, political, and econom...

Authors: Devon L Greyson, Annelies RE Becu and Steven G Morgan

"We can move forward": challenging historical inequity in public health research in Solomon Islands

In resource-poor countries, such as Solomon Islands, the research agenda on health is often dominated by researchers from resource-rich countries. New strategies are needed to empower local researchers to set ...

Authors: Michelle L Redman-MacLaren, David J MacLaren, Rowena Asugeni, Chillion E Fa'anuabae, Humpress Harrington, Alwin Muse, Richard Speare and Alan R Clough

What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries? A scoping review

Medical tourism involves patients intentionally leaving their home country to access non-emergency health care services abroad. Growth in the popularity of this practice has resulted in a significant amount of...

Authors: Rory Johnston, Valorie A Crooks, Jeremy Snyder and Paul Kingsbury

Health financing reform in Uganda: How equitable is the proposed National Health Insurance scheme?

Uganda is proposing introduction of the National Health Insurance scheme (NHIS) in a phased manner with the view to obtaining additional funding for the health sector and promoting financial risk protection. I...

Authors: Juliet Nabyonga Orem and Charlotte Muheki Zikusooka

Improving quality of malaria treatment services: assessing inequities in consumers' perceptions and providers' behaviour in Nigeria

Information about quality of malaria treatment services of different healthcare providers is needed to know how to improve the treatment of malaria since inappropriate service provision leads to increased burd...

Authors: Obinna Onwujekwe, Eric Obikeze, Benjamin Uzochukwu, Ijeoma Okoronkwo and Ogochukwu C Onwujekwe

Sub-national assessment of inequality trends in neonatal and child mortality in Brazil

Brazil's large socioeconomic inequalities together with the increase in neonatal mortality jeopardize the MDG-4 child mortality target by 2015. We measured inequality trends in neonatal and under five mortalit...

Authors: Angelica Sousa, Kenneth Hill and Mario R Dal Poz

Nutritional status of children in India: household socio-economic condition as the contextual determinant

Despite recent achievement in economic progress in India, the fruit of development has failed to secure a better nutritional status among all children of the country. Growing evidence suggest there exists a so...

Authors: Barun Kanjilal, Papiya Guha Mazumdar, Moumita Mukherjee and M Hafizur Rahman