The Health Gap The Challenge of an Unequal World

ILLNESS & ADDICTION: SOCIAL ASPECTS. There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor, for it depends on each society's particular social gradient. In all countries, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage, dramatically so; the higher the social status of individuals, the better their health. Even within an individual life, changing social position directly affects health. The issue is clearly not poverty alone, but inequality. Going against conventional approaches to improving health--which have emphasized access to technical solutions and changes in behavior--Marmot argues persuasively and passionately that the key to reducing this health inequality is empowerment; we need to create the conditions for people to have control over their lives.