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Even if health inequalities has a 'low political value', it is surely still an important issue to be taken seriously by all of us? Why for example should the French people suffer because of the ignorance of the French government? Bagnall, Anne-Marie wrote: > Forwarding to the list > > -----Original Message----- From: François Briatte > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 05 December 2006 > 14:56 To: Bagnall, Anne-Marie Cc: > [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: How to > evaluate whether interventions reduce inequalities? > > Dear all, > > I would like to react to this bit of Anne-Marie's question: > > >> Because health inequalities seem to be increasing so it >> would be useful for decision makers to have some idea, not >> only about whether something is effective, but also >> whether it is in fact likely to increase this gap? > > > If I may, the background assumption that decision makers > actually care about > > (1) the existence of health inequalities (2) the existence of > means to measure them (3) the existence of means to reduce > them > > is valid only in some specific political configurations. It > seems obvious for people who live in the post-1997 UK > political climate where poor health and the gap have been > acknowledged at high levels of government. > > However, health inequalities are still stuck at inferior > levels of political awareness, even in the rest of Europe (in > France, for instance, the policy translation of health > inequalities is limited to differential access to health > services). > > Margaret Whitehead wrote a piece about this in the Milbank Q > some time ago. I can look for the exact reference if needed. > > > FB > > > On 04/12/06, Bagnall, Anne-Marie <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > >> >> >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts about how to evaluate whether >> an intervention reduces inequalities in health? >> >> >> >> It seems to me that we can evaluate whether an intervention >> is effective, and we can go some way towards evaluating >> the reach of an intervention i.e. whether it is used by >> certain disadvantaged groups, but can we actually assess >> reliably whether an intervention is likely to reduce or >> even increase health inequalities? Because health >> inequalities seem to be increasing so it would be useful >> for decision makers to have some idea, not only about >> whether something is effective, but also whether it is in >> fact likely to increase this gap? >> >> >> >> I'm sorry if this is a silly question or too simplistic. >> I've been puzzling over it for a while and thought it was >> time to ask the experts. >> >> >> >> Many thanks in advance, >> >> Anne-Marie >> >> >> >> Anne-Marie Bagnall >> >> Senior Research Fellow School of Health & Community Care >> Leeds Metropolitan University Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 >> 3HE >> >> >> >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> 0113 283 2600 ext. 4337 >> >> >> >> To view the terms under which this email is distributed, >> please go to http://disclaimer.leedsmet.ac.uk/email.htm > > > > -- **************************************************************************** Alex Scott-Samuel EQUAL (Equity in Health Research and Development Unit) Division of Public Health University of Liverpool Whelan Building Quadrangle Liverpool L69 3GB Tel (+44)151-794-5569 Fax (+44)151-794-5588 http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~alexss e-mail [log in to unmask] ****************************************************************************