Inequalities in Health and Healthcare

• Other Authors: Sheringham, Jessica (Editor), Sowden, Sarah (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: Humanities; Social interaction; COVID-19; health inequalities; general practice; primary care; social determinants of health; social prescribing; remote consulting; marginalised communities; health care inequalities; health/healthcare inequity; child development; childhood education; school; adolescent health; health inequality; adolescent mental health; adolescent weight; health literacy; organization and administration; health care settings; organizational innovation; culture; program development; ethnic inequalities; healthcare use; care quality; multiple long-term conditions; UK; mental disorders; healthcare disparities; primary health care; systematic review; PROGRESS-Plus; social inequalities; young people; qualitative; multimorbidity; comorbidity; housing; household tenure; data linkage; population health management; population health; inequalities; inequities; process evaluation; protocol; early life health; core outcome set; public health interventions; systems approach; intervention; workplace; occupational stress; older workers; inequality; health equity; health services; virtual care; scoping review; HIV; chronic kidney disease; Central and Eastern Europe; serious injury; traumatic brain injury; orthopaedic injury; spinal cord injury; road trauma; access to healthcare; healthcare utilisation; geography; health disparities; data quality; public health; head and neck cancer; routes to diagnosis; socio-demographic inequalities; healthcare inequalities; emergency presentation; refugee; asylum seeker; health access; health information; women; violence; Australia; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; care systems; population groups; risk behavior; perceived tobacco use norms; ethnic groups; academic achievement
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Tackling inequalities in health and healthcare is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly illustrated the disproportional impact of the virus on those who already faced disadvantage and discrimination. Moreover, there is evidence that the public health measures taken to contain the virus are likely to have longstanding differential impacts across populations. Numerous studies have documented avoidable differences in health, within and between populations. Similarly, studies have consistently shown inequalities in access, use, experience and outcomes from healthcare and public health programmes. The focus has often been on individual determinants, such as gender, age and ethnicity. Less attention has been paid to structural or contextual determinants, except for area-level socioeconomic conditions. In addition, to tackle inequalities, there is a need to move beyond measuring; to understand why inequalities arise and how they can be addressed. This Special Issue sought to extend the parameters of inequalities research in health and healthcare beyond measuring and documenting inequalities. Reviews, observational studies, and quasi-experimental and other evaluation designs (using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods), focusing on the following were welcomed: • understanding inequalities across health and care systems; • methodological developments to understand drivers of inequalities; • efforts to reduce inequalities, particularly in evidence-based healthcare or public health policy and practice; • understanding and mitigating the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inequalities.