The Health Gap

The Challenge of an Unequal World

Business & Finance, Industries & Professions, Insurance, Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Reference, Health Policy, Public Health
Cover of the book The Health Gap by Michael Marmot, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Marmot ISBN: 9781632860798
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: November 3, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press Language: English
Author: Michael Marmot
ISBN: 9781632860798
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: November 3, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press
Language: English

In Baltimore's inner-city neighborhood of Upton/Druid Heights, a man's life expectancy is sixty-three; not far away, in the Greater Roland Park/Poplar neighborhood, life expectancy is eighty-three. The same twenty-year avoidable disparity exists in the Calton and Lenzie neighborhoods of Glasgow, and in other cities around the world.

In Sierra Leone, one in 21 fifteen-year-old women will die in her fertile years of a maternal-related cause; in Italy, the figure is one in 17,100; but in the United States, which spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world, it is one in 1,800 (and now, with the new administration chipping away at Obamacare, the statistics stand to grow even more devastating). Why?

Dramatic differences in health are not a simple matter of rich and poor; poverty alone doesn't drive ill health, but inequality does. Indeed, suicide, heart disease, lung disease, obesity, and diabetes, for example, are all linked to social disadvantage. In every country, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage and shorter lives. Within countries, the higher the social status of individuals, the better their health. These health inequalities defy the usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasized access to technical solutions and changes in the behavior of individuals, but these methods only go so far. What really makes a difference is creating the conditions for people to have control over their lives, to have the power to live as they want. Empowerment is the key to reducing health inequality and thereby improving the health of everyone. Marmot emphasizes that the rate of illness of a society as a whole determines how well it functions; the greater the health inequity, the greater the dysfunction.

Marmot underscores that we have the tools and resources materially to improve levels of health for individuals and societies around the world, and that to not do so would be a form of injustice. Citing powerful examples and startling statistics ("young men in the U.S. have less chance of surviving to sixty than young men in forty-nine other countries†?), The Health Gap presents compelling evidence for a radical change in the way we think about health and indeed society, and inspires us to address the societal imbalances in power, money, and resources that work against health equity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Baltimore's inner-city neighborhood of Upton/Druid Heights, a man's life expectancy is sixty-three; not far away, in the Greater Roland Park/Poplar neighborhood, life expectancy is eighty-three. The same twenty-year avoidable disparity exists in the Calton and Lenzie neighborhoods of Glasgow, and in other cities around the world.

In Sierra Leone, one in 21 fifteen-year-old women will die in her fertile years of a maternal-related cause; in Italy, the figure is one in 17,100; but in the United States, which spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world, it is one in 1,800 (and now, with the new administration chipping away at Obamacare, the statistics stand to grow even more devastating). Why?

Dramatic differences in health are not a simple matter of rich and poor; poverty alone doesn't drive ill health, but inequality does. Indeed, suicide, heart disease, lung disease, obesity, and diabetes, for example, are all linked to social disadvantage. In every country, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage and shorter lives. Within countries, the higher the social status of individuals, the better their health. These health inequalities defy the usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasized access to technical solutions and changes in the behavior of individuals, but these methods only go so far. What really makes a difference is creating the conditions for people to have control over their lives, to have the power to live as they want. Empowerment is the key to reducing health inequality and thereby improving the health of everyone. Marmot emphasizes that the rate of illness of a society as a whole determines how well it functions; the greater the health inequity, the greater the dysfunction.

Marmot underscores that we have the tools and resources materially to improve levels of health for individuals and societies around the world, and that to not do so would be a form of injustice. Citing powerful examples and startling statistics ("young men in the U.S. have less chance of surviving to sixty than young men in forty-nine other countries†?), The Health Gap presents compelling evidence for a radical change in the way we think about health and indeed society, and inspires us to address the societal imbalances in power, money, and resources that work against health equity.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Delusions of Invulnerability by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book US Naval Aviator by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Psychoanalytic Film Theory and The Rules of the Game by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Unity in Adversity by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Advanced English Grammar by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Shakespeare Tales: Twelfth Night by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book This Is Not Forgiveness by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Magic Animal Rescue 4: Maggie and the Flying Pigs by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book A Short History of the Italian Renaissance by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book US Army Rangers & LRRP Units 1942–87 by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Upgrading Your Boat's Interior by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Ethics and Aesthetics in Contemporary African Cinema by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book The Brand Called You by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Women Making Shakespeare by Michael Marmot
Cover of the book Total Foam Rolling Techniques by Michael Marmot
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy