Dear Colleagues,

We hope you will be interested in attending the next UK Society for Social Medicine one-day meeting, which is a satellite of this year’s SSM Annual Scientific Meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Contemporary health strategies share the twin aims of improving overall health and reducing socio-economic inequalities in health.  Although common sense may suggest that these aims should be achievable in tandem, an intervention that improves the health of a population overall may also increase socio-economic inequalities in health.  There is growing evidence that such ‘intervention-generated inequalities’ (IGIs) can occur at all stages of the planning and delivery of health interventions but, as yet, there is little agreement on what causes them and what can and should be done about them. 

The widespread nature and implications of such IGIs makes them of importance to a variety of policy makers, practitioners and researchers.  Representatives of all these groups will be brought together in this one-day meeting to share experience, develop theory and build consensus concerning next steps in research, policy and practice in this area.  Each of four sessions will focus on a different theme within this topic area, together tracing the ‘story’ of IGIs from observation to prevention.  Speakers include Peter Tugwell, Mark Petticrew, Graham Watt and Sarah Wild.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday 8^th September at Newcastle University.  There are discounts available for booking both events (One day meeting + ASM).  Further details can be found at http://www.ssm2009.org.uk/satellite.html.  Early bird registration closes on 31^st July, after which prices will increase by about 15%, so please register now!

We look forward to welcoming you to Newcastle!

Martin…

Prof Martin White,
Director, Centre for Translational Research in Public Health,
Institute of Health & Society,
Newcastle University.