Background: The English health inequalities strategy (1999-2010) aimed to reduce health inequalities between the most deprived local authorities and the rest of England. The multifaceted strategy included increased investment in healthcare, the early years, education and neighbourhood renewal. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the strategy was associated with a reduction in geographical inequalities in the infant mortality rate (IMR).
Methods: We used segmented regression analysis to measure inequalities in the IMR between the most deprived local authorities and the rest of England before, during and after the health inequalities strategy period.
Results: Before the strategy was implemented (1983-1998), absolute inequalities in the IMR increased between the most deprived local authorities and the rest of England at a rate of 0.034 annually (95% CI 0.001 to 0.067). Once the strategy had been implemented (1999-2010), absolute inequalities decreased at a rate of -0.116 annually (95% CI -0.178 to -0.053). After the strategy period ended (2011-2017), absolute inequalities increased at a rate of 0.042 annually (95% CI -0.042 to 0.125). Relative inequalities also marginally decreased during the strategy period.
Conclusion: The English health inequalities strategy period was associated with a decline in geographical inequalities in the IMR. This research adds to the evidence base suggesting that the English health inequalities strategy was at least partially effective in reducing health inequalities, and that current austerity policies may undermine these gains.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-211679 | DOI Listing |
Sci Adv
January 2025
Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Poor ambient air quality poses a substantial global health threat. However, accurate measurement remains challenging, particularly in countries such as India where ground monitors are scarce despite high expected exposure and health burdens. This lack of precise measurements impedes understanding of changes in pollution exposure over time and across populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Traditional gendered arrangements-norms, roles, prejudices, and hierarchies-shape every human life. Associated harms are primarily framed as women's issues due to more severe consequences women face. Yet, gendered arrangements also shape 's relationships, career paths, and health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFam Process
March 2025
Couple and Family Therapy Program, Alliant International University, Irvine, California, USA.
The phenomena of father's absence and the disruption of a family unit due to social justice issues like incarceration and mental health/substance misuse challenges are widely documented, and their effects on the whole family are well established in the literature. This paper specifically examines how systemic inequities like racism contribute to destructive entitlements that can occur transgenerationally within families affected by father's absence. The consideration of racial trauma is crucial, as father's absence and family disruption are not limited to any one racial or ethnic group, but the effects are often exacerbated for families of color due to the intersecting impacts of systemic racism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
January 2025
RAND Health, RAND, Boston, Massachusetts.
Importance: Long-term nursing home stay or death (long-term NH stay or death), defined as new long-term residence in a nursing home or death following hospital discharge, is an important patient-centered outcome.
Objective: To examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in long-term NH stay or death among older adults with sepsis, and whether these changes were greater in individuals from racial and ethnic minoritized groups.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used patient-level data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review File, the Master Beneficiary Summary File, and the Minimum Data Set.
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich)
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, USA.
Essential hypertension is one of the most common conditions managed in pediatric cardiology and can result in lasting deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. Pediatric hypertension is so prevalent in the United States that it is often referred to as a public health challenge. Social determinants of health (SDH) are the cultural, economic, educational, healthcare accessibility, and political influences in the environment in which an individual is born or lives, all of which can affect that individual's overall health.
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