November 2006 marked the 20-year anniversary of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and Canada's Epp Report. Encapsulating the tenets of health promotion (HP), these publications articulated a vision for reducing health inequities, and described a policy framework for achieving this vision, respectively. These documents also triggered the launch of the population health (PH) field, focused ...

Persistent and widespread inequities in health occur across the WHO European region. Health as a key and unique resource for human and societal development has undoubtedly improved overall, yet health inequities remain substantial and in many instances are worsening. These inequities are unnecessary and unjust, and tackling them should be a high priority at all levels of governance in the WHO E...

BACKGROUND Health inequalities have been extensively documented, internationally and in New Zealand. The cost of reducing health inequities is often perceived as high; however, recent international studies suggest the cost of "doing nothing" is itself significant. This study aimed to develop a preliminary estimate of the economic cost of health inequities between Māori (indigenous) and non-Māor...

BACKGROUND With the date for achieving the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaching fast, there is a heightened concern about equity, as inequities hamper progress towards the MDGs. Equity-focused approaches have the potential to accelerate the progress towards achieving the health-related MDGs faster than the current pace in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner. G...

In the context of the design of working hours inequities in health associated with biological, psychological, social, and socioeconomic diversities can be observed. The paper first tries to set up a frame of reference for a discussion of this topic, relating to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and some recent discussions on equity in health and then goes into some factors that produce ...

BACKGROUND Debates exist over whether health inequities are bound to rise as population health improves, due to health improving more quickly among the better off, with most analyses focused on mortality data. METHODS We analysed 50 years of socioeconomic inequities in measured health status among US-born Black and White Americans, using data from the National Health Examination Surveys (NHES...

ISSUE ADDRESSED Planned actions by governments can play an important part in addressing the social determinants of health and health inequities. We assess the extent to which Australian health departments are committed to health equity as a core value, and the extent to which strategic directions and policies show evidence of action and achievement in reducing health inequities and attention to...