Reducing the cost of inequality

Hancock cites that the health care system struggles daily to manage a large and growing burden of disease. It is the role of public health to reduce that burden, which is why investment in public health is so valuable. But public health is also committed to reducing health inequalities. There are, o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2018-01, Vol.190 (3), p.E92-E92
Main Author: Hancock, Trevor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Canada
CODA
Cost control
Economic aspects
Equality
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Health Care Costs - statistics & numerical data
Health disparities
Health Services, Indigenous
Healthcare Disparities - economics
Humans
Income
Inequality
Inuit
Life expectancy
Life Expectancy - trends
Management
Medical economics
Mens health
Native North Americans
Native peoples
Pickett, Kate
Poverty
Public health
Social aspects
Womens health
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Summary:Hancock cites that the health care system struggles daily to manage a large and growing burden of disease. It is the role of public health to reduce that burden, which is why investment in public health is so valuable. But public health is also committed to reducing health inequalities. There are, of course, good ethical reasons to do so -- as a country, we believe in fairness and justice. But there are also good pragmatic reasons: the health costs of poverty are very large. There are many forms of inequality in health, but I will focus on two that are of fundamental importance: health inequalities rooted in poverty and health inequalities experienced by Canada's Indigenous people.
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.171508