ABSTRACT
Health inequalities exist between and within nations. Most of these inequalities are avoidable and therefore can be termed health inequities, i.e., unfair and unjust differences in health outcomes. This chapter defines health inequalities and health inequities and identifies their sources as the living and working conditions – the social determinants of health – experienced by individuals. The quality of these social determinants of health and their distribution are themselves determined by public policy decisions made by governments. The package of these public policies can be termed the welfare state, and the form of the welfare state is an important determinant of health. Identifying health inequalities and responding to them should be a moral imperative, but governmental concern and commitment to doing so is complicated by the presence of a variety of explanations for their sources, which are themselves shaped by dominant ideological tendencies within and between nations. It is imperative that these ideological tendencies be identified and appropriate means of countering them in the service of health-promoting public policy be developed.
