Health inequalities: introduction

Health inequalities are ‘systematic differences in the health of people occupying unequal positions in society’ (Graham, 2009). These differences are primarily ‘unjust and avoidable’ (Beeston et al 2013). The causes are complex: health inequalities are observed in relation to many different, often overlapping, social dimensions, including income, social class, geography, ethnicity, disability, gender and more.

Scotland has high and growing socioeconomic inequalities

Scotland has wide socioeconomic inequalities in comparison to other Western European countries. Socioeconomic inequalities are a major driver of the high and growing health inequalities (as measured by indicators such as life expectancy and mortality rates) in Scotland. The how health inequalities in Scotland on some measures are continuing to widen.

The continued high and rising socioeconomic and health inequalities in Scotland prompted several major reports focusing on health inequalities in Scotland. See Rfor a list of the most recent ones.

Causes of inequalities – inequalities in income, wealth and power

Although there have been many different theories for how health inequalities arise and are maintained (see References section), there is growing consensus that the underlying ‘fundamental causes’ (Link et al 2002; Scott et al 2013) of health inequalities are the societal inequalities in income, wealth and power. There are clear political dimensions to the development of inequalities in society.

See References section for details of all works cited above.