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AbstractTo reduce health inequities, Chile´s Ministry of Health embarked on an ambitious process to implement policy redesign involving six public health programs that used a system‐level theory of change. The process brought together a large and diverse group of national and local actors from within and outside the health sector organized in a network of program nodes, who worked together on well‐defined tasks over the course of a year with high‐level political and technical support. The tasks were part of a coconstructed stepwise assessment methodology, based on understanding and testing program theory and uncovering theories of inequities, drawing on realistic evaluation approaches, the social determinants of health framework, and models of effective program coverage. Almost simultaneously, the program nodes proposed new program theories to address equities with an implementation strategy, which necessarily engaged other sectors and community actors. This chapter highlights some of the lessons to explain the success of Chile´s redesign process: (a) the diversity of knowledge and experiences across nodes enriched and enabled system‐level change, (b) the key distinction between theory of change and theory of inequities required to address inequities, and (c) the long‐lasting transformative capital for institutional change of training a network of agents for change.

This article describes an innovative knowledge translation project involving researchers and key stakeholders commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). The project aimed to develop 'cameo' reports of evidence-based policies and interventions addressing social determinants of health, intended for use by leaders and advocates, as well as policy and programme decision makers, to advance global action. The iterative process of developing the framework and content of the cameos, in the context of a limited evidence base, is described, and a number of issues related to the integration of multiple sources of evidence for knowledge translation action are identified.

The current economic recession has caused striking levels of unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity globally. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that the number of unemployed people was 212 million in 2009, and it projects the global unemployment rate in 2010 to be 6.5%, with a confidence interval ranging from 6.1% to 7%. In rich countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development more than 57 million people, or 10%, are unemployed in 2010, the current unemployment rate in Spain is 20%, and in the United States the rate is around 10% using conservative estimates. The ILO has predicted that the impact of the economic crisis on vulnerable employment is likely to have increased the number of working poor—those living on $1.25 (£0.80; €0.90) a day—by 215 million workers between 2008 and 2009, and that in 2009 there were between 1.48 and 1.59 billion vulnerable workers worldwide. These developments will increase global health inequalities, and inequalities between social classes within countries, because unemployment and underemployment cluster among lower income countries and workers. In this article we explore the relation between unemployment, poor working conditions, and health, and argue that governments and public health agencies should recognise that fair employment conditions should be regarded as a human right.

The current economic recession has caused striking levels of unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity globally. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that the number of unemployed people was 212 million in 2009, and it projects the global unemployment rate in 2010 to be 6.5%, with a confidence interval ranging from 6.1% to 7%. In rich countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development more than 57 million people, or 10%, are unemployed in 2010, the current unemployment rate in Spain is 20%, and in the United States the rate is around 10% using conservative estimates. The ILO has predicted that the impact of the economic crisis on vulnerable employment is likely to have increased the number of working poor—those living on $1.25 (£0.80; €0.90) a day—by 215 million workers between 2008 and 2009, and that in 2009 there were between 1.48 and 1.59 billion vulnerable workers worldwide. These developments will increase global health inequalities, and inequalities between social classes within countries, because unemployment and underemployment cluster among lower income countries and workers. In this article we explore the relation between unemployment, poor working conditions, and health, and argue that governments and public health agencies should recognise that fair employment conditions should be regarded as a human right.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) are policy tools used to include health considerations in decision-making processes across sectors such as transportation, education, and criminal justice that can play a role in improving health and equity. This article summarizes proceedings from an international convening of HIA and HiAP experts held in July 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The presentations and panel discussions included different models, best practices, and lessons learned, including from government, international banks, think tanks, and academia. Participants discussed ideas from around the world for cross-sector collaboration to advance health. The convening covered the following topics: community engagement, building greater understanding of and support for HiAP, and exploring how mandates for HIA and HiAP approaches may advance health and equity.

BackgroundLife expectancy initially improves rapidly with economic development but then tails off. Yet, at any level of economic development, some countries do better, and some worse, than expected - they either punch above or below their weight. Why this is the case has been previously researched but no full explanation of the complexity of this phenomenon is available.New research networkIn order to advance understanding, the newly formed Punching Above Their Weight Research Network has developed a model to frame future research. It provides for consideration of the following influences within a country: political and institutional context and history; economic and social policies; scope for democratic participation; extent of health promoting policies affecting socio-economic inequities; gender roles and power dynamics; the extent of civil society activity and disease burdens.ConclusionFurther research using this framework has considerable potential to advance effective policies to advance health and equity.

BACKGROUND: Life expectancy initially improves rapidly with economic development but then tails off. Yet, at any level of economic development, some countries do better, and some worse, than expected - they either punch above or below their weight. Why this is the case has been previously researched but no full explanation of the complexity of this phenomenon is available. NEW RESEARCH NETWORK: In order to advance understanding, the newly formed Punching Above Their Weight Research Network has developed a model to frame future research. It provides for consideration of the following influences within a country: political and institutional context and history; economic and social policies; scope for democratic participation; extent of health promoting policies affecting socio-economic inequities; gender roles and power dynamics; the extent of civil society activity and disease burdens. CONCLUSION: Further research using this framework has considerable potential to advance effective policies to advance health and equity.