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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on April 6, 2006
The European Journal of Public Health 2006 16(6):615-616; doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl047
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Health inequalities

When are health inequalities a political problem?

Signild Vallgårda

Department of Health Services Research, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Correspondence: Dr Signild Vallgårda, Department of Health Services Research, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, PO Box 2099, 1014 Copenhagen K, Denmark, tel: +45 35 32 79 68, fax: +45 35 32 76 29, e-mail: s.vallgarda{at}pubhealth.ku.dk

Is it possible to define criteria by which a political decision on which inequities in health should be addressed can be made? It has been suggested that differences which are unnecessary and avoidable and those which are unfair and unjust are inequalities which should lead to political action. In the article it is argued that it is not possible to make a clear distinction between avoidable and unavoidable differences, and that the extent to which differences are considered unfair depends on political and normative standpoints, and generally acceptable criteria can therefore not be established.

Keywords: ideology, inequity, policy


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Health Inequalities
Sarah Al Shoura, et al.
The European Journal of Public Health, 19 Dec 2006 [Full text]

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