Suchergebnisse

There are differing interpretations among health researchers about how income inequality leads to health inequalities, but there is consensus that income inequality is cause for concern. Alarms have also been sounded by public policy researchers and institutes, which see income inequality as having a corrosive effect on society by hindering economic growth, dampening political participation, and eroding quality of life. This article examines how various public policy models explain and promote policy change to reduce income inequality. The focus of this article is on income inequality, but its raison d'être is the assumption that income inequality is an important driver of the health inequalities that both diminish and prematurely end life.

Research has identified a wide range of factors that influence the health of children and their health as adults. Key among these are early childhood conditions, care, and education, housing security and income security. A number of indicators have been developed to measure the health of children such as the incidences of infant mortality and low birth weight. In international comparisons with other rich countries, Canada ranks poorly. These health outcomes are not inevitable but are shaped by the quality and distribution of a wide range of social determinants. Public policies shape access to and quality of the social determinants of children's health (SDCH). Because the SDCH are amenable to public policy, it is important to understand public policy and the public policy development process in order to promote policy change. Yet few health practitioners who work with children consider or understand how the public policy development process works. This article examines three models of public policy development: pluralism, policy paradigms, and political economy. It will be argued that of the three models, political economy, with its focus on the role of political ideology and power distribution, provides the most compelling explanation of the public policy development process and provides means to bring about policy change to improve the health of children.

Social inequalities are a key issue for modern welfare states in the post-industrial globalized economy. The extent of social inequalities within nations is directly related to the size and nature of the welfare state. The welfare state was the mechanism by which governments in developed economies intervened in health and social public policy areas to ensure access to health care and social services. Public policy has a significant impact on social and health inequalities. The specific public policies that influence these are government provision of income and housing security, program support for individuals and families, and poverty reduction. Much of this involves governmental transfers of national wealth among the citizenry. This paper presents and discusses some of the key differences among advanced nations in terms of governmental transfers in broad policy areas as well as the specific areas of health care, old age, incapacity, and families. These issues tie into the political ideology of governments, the nature of the political and electoral systems of countries, and how public policies can reduce inequalities between different groups.

Front cover -- Half-title page -- Title page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Introduction to the Politics of Health Series -- Preface -- Chapter 1 How the Politics of the Welfare State Shapes Our Health -- Chapter 2 The Canadian Welfare State and Public Policy -- Chapter 3 The Canadian Welfare State and the Health of Canadians -- Chapter 4 Promoting the Health of Canadians within the Liberal Welfare State -- Chapter 5 Moving toward the Future -- Epilogue: The Social Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic -- Index -- Back cover.

PART I -- PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH, ILLNESS, AND HEALTH CARE -- Chapter 1. Epidemiological approaches to population health / Stephen Bezruchka -- Chapter 2. Sociological perspectives on health and health care / Ivy Lynn Bourgeault -- Chapter 3. Political economy perspectives on health and health care / Dennis Raphael and Toba Bryant -- Chapter 4. The right to health: human rights approaches to health / Marcia Rioux -- Chapter 5. Researching health: knowledge perspectives, methodologies, and methods / Toba Bryant, Dennis Raphael, and Marcia Rioux.

A political economy approach to children's health considers how the economic and political systems of a jurisdiction influence the public policies that shape children's health. It moves beyond the concrete and observable to look at the societal structures and processes that distribute the material and social resources to families and children that can either support or threaten children's health. This special issue presents a number of articles from Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States that show how profoundly important these issues are to understanding and acting to improve children's health. As such, these articles provide a useful counterpoint to prevailing notions of children's health, which all too often are focused solely on the creation and delivery of services and attempts to change health-related behaviours. While these other issues are important, it is essential to identify and act to modify the too-frequently neglected structures and processes of society that create the public policies that shape the essential social determinants of children's health.