Social determinants of health / edited by Michael Marmot and Richard G. Wilkinson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Marmot, Michael, 1945- editor.

Wilkinson, Richard G., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public health--Social aspects.

Public health.

Social medicine.

Medical policy--Social aspects.

Medical policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (389 pages) : illustrations, graphs

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, England ; New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2006]

Summary:

Social Determinants of Health, 2E gives an authoritative overview of the social and economic factors which are known to be the most powerful determinants of population health in modern societies. Written by acknowledged experts in each field, it provides accessible summaries of the scientific justification for isolating different aspects of social and economic life as the primary determinants of a population's health. The new edition takes account of the most recent research and also includes additional chapters on ethnicity and health, sexual behaviors, the elderly, housing and neighborhoods. Recognition of the power of socioeconomic factors as determinants of health came initially from research on health inequalities. This has led to a view of health as not simply about individual behavior or exposure to risk, but how the socially and economically structured way of life of a population shapes its health. Thus exercise and accidents as as much about a society's transport system as about individual decisions; and the nation's diet involves agriculture, food manufacture, retailing, and personal incomes as much as individual choice. But a major new element in the picture we have developed is the importance of the social, or psycho-social, environment to health. For example, health in the workplace for most employees - certainly for office workers - is less a matter of exposure to physical health hazards as of the social envrionment, of how supportive it is, whether people have control over their work, whether their jobs are secure. A similar picture emerges in other areas ranging from the health importance of the emotional envrionment in early childhood to the need for more socially cohesive communities. Social Determinants of Health, 2E should be read by those interested in the wellbeing of modern societies. It is a must for public health professionals, for health promotion specialists, and for people working in the many fields of public policy which we now know make such an important contribution to health.

Contents:

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of contributors

1 Introduction

2 Social organization, stress, and health

3 Early life

4 The life course, the social gradient, and health

5 Health and labour market disadvantage: unemployment, non-employment, and job insecurity

6 Health and the psychosocial environment at work

7 Transport and health

8 Social support and social cohesion

9 Food is a political issue

10 Poverty, social exclusion, and minorities

11 Social patterning of individual health behaviours: the case of cigarette smoking

12 The social determination of ethnic/racial inequalities in health

13 Social determinants of health in older age

14 Neighbourhoods, housing, and health

15 Social determinants, sexual behaviour, and sexual health

16 Ourselves and others-for better or worse: social vulnerability and inequality

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780191723988

9780191045691

0191045691

9780191578489

0191578487