Browse Hierarchy IPH6001: Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Health

This module will examine the theories and evidence underpinning social inequalities in health (defined as the unfair and avoidable differences in health status). It will consider structural/material and psychosocial theories, and hypotheses about social drift, self-selection, and genetics. Attention is given to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Sources of data and measurement of scale of inequalities between and within groups are addressed. The module will consider the distribution of wealth, income , resources, and power at global, national, and local levels. Redistributive mechanisms work through either government or market control, and the economic implications for inequalities will be compared and analysed. Policy interventions and their different approaches will be explored including universal and targeted or selective approaches to reducing inequalities by reducing the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources.