From the 11th issue of EV Healthcare (05.02.2015):
Pressure mounts for added focus on how social context impacts on health outcomes
An ambitious call to improve Europeans' health by major shifts in social spending marked the conclusion of the EU-funded "Drivers for health equality" project in early February. "It is time to break the link between disadvantage and poor outcomes", UK epidemiologist Michael Marmot told a meeting in Brussels organised by EuroHealthNet, the project coordinator. Outlining the findings that early childhood, employment, and income and social protection were crucial factors in health, he said the evidence was clear, "but a lot of policymakers couldn't care less about evidence-based policies". Marmot, who will take over as president of the World Medical Association this year, made clear that he intends to take the message to colleagues: "Doctors should think about real health determinants", he said.
The project's recommendations include the familiar call for coherent policy responses across governments, ranging from wider access to welfare and education to interventions in the workplace and deeper research. Marmot argued that this project could have an effect. "Can we do anything about it? Yes we can!", he said. Despite the powerful "countervailing forces" – he cited increased inequality and the record levels of concentration of wealth – "people are listening ", he insisted, and at the most senior levels of government the recognition is growing that extreme inequalities are unacceptable. But the consequences could be a realignment of where power over health policy lies, he suggested. The actions of finance ministers in redistribution of wealth through social protection initiatives could have a more dramatic positive impact on citizens' health than many classic health-focused policies.
Reproduced with permission. Copyright 2014 by European Voice SA.
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