Improving Health and Tackling Health Inequities Through the Non-health Sector

Introduction: Health Inequities in India—The Larger Dimensions

Equity and Access ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199482160.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Purendra Prasad

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Medical Anthropology ◽

Medical Sociology ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Inequities ◽

Global Market ◽

New Paradigm ◽

Health Inequities In India ◽

Epidemiology And Public Health

This chapter provides a narrative that explains the politics of access (distribution, utilization, outcomes) as well as the context in which health inequalities are produced in India. While fields such as medical sociology, medical anthropology, health economics, community health, social medicine, epidemiology, and public health, among others, with their own theories, methods, and approaches are able to contribute distinctive dimensions, it becomes essential to engage across the boundaries in a collective manner to understand the complexity of health care that is increasingly shaped by the global market forces and ideologies. This volume thus opens up the possibility of constructing a new paradigm for understanding health sector as well as signalling a new field ‘health care studies’.

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Glossary of health equity in the context of environmental public health practice

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2018-210843 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 (9) ◽

pp. 806-809 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Karen Rideout ◽

Dianne Oickle

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Equity ◽

Public Health Practice ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Inequities ◽

Environmental Public Health ◽

The Social ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

Canadian Context ◽

Public Health Practitioners

Health equity is increasingly present as an overarching goal in public health policy frameworks across the globe. Public health actions to support health equity are challenging because solutions to the root causes of health inequities often lie outside of the health sector, and a specific role for environmental public health practitioners has not been clearly articulated. The regulatory nature of the environmental public health profession means that their role is particularly ambiguous. Still, environmental public health practitioners are well situated to identify and respond to factors that contribute to health inequities because of their role as front-line professionals who interact with a wide cross-sector of the population. This Glossary, rooted primarily in the Canadian context but drawing on lessons from elsewhere, describes environmental public health regulatory practice in relation to health equity, including approaches that practitioners can use to contribute to addressing the social determinants of health.

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Medical Tourism in Guatemala: Qualitatively Exploring How Existing Health System Inequities Facilitate Sector Development

International Journal of Health Services ◽

10.1177/0020731419866085 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 754-772

Author(s):

Alejandro Cerón ◽

Valorie A. Crooks ◽

Ronald Labonté ◽

Jeremy Snyder ◽

Walter Flores

Keyword(s):

Health System ◽

Medical Tourism ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Inequities ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Private Health Sector ◽

Regulatory Capacity ◽

Multiple Challenges

This article explores how existing health inequities in the Guatemalan health system facilitate the emergence of its medical tourism industry. We report on our thematic analysis of 50 key informant interviews conducted with 4 groups of stakeholders in the local medical tourism sector. Participants frequently discussed the interplay between the country’s longstanding health inequities and the promotion of medical tourism, characterized by 4 thematic viewpoints: the private health sector is already flourishing; the highly fragmented health system already faces multiple challenges; the underfunded public health sector has a weak regulatory capacity; and the commodification of health care has already advanced. Medical tourism and health inequities shape each other in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to the potential for medical tourism to exacerbate health inequities, previously existing health inequities create opportunities for the industry’s growth. Although regulation of the medical tourism industry is necessary, it needs to be implemented both at the domestic and supranational levels for it to be effective in preventing greater health inequities, and it needs to address the political and economic drivers that make health systems generate health disparities.

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Perceptions of co-designing health promotion interventions with Indigenous communities in New Zealand

Health Promotion International ◽

10.1093/heapro/daaa128 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Truely Harding ◽

John G Oetzel ◽

Jeff Foote ◽

Maria Hepi

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

New Zealand ◽

Health Sector ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Health Inequities ◽

Research Literature ◽

Community Voice ◽

Kaupapa Māori ◽

Facilitators And Barriers ◽

Health Promotion Interventions

Summary Health inequities among Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities are well documented and the research literature includes robust discussions about innovative ways to reduce inequities including co-design. Co-designing health promotion interventions with Indigenous communities presents many benefits and challenges for researchers, health professionals and communities involved in the process. The purpose of this study was to identify the facilitators and barriers of co-designing a health promotion intervention with Māori communities. Additionally, this study considers a specific Māori co-design framework, He Pikinga Waiora (HPW). HPW is a participatory approach to creating interventions emphasizing community engagement, systems thinking and centred on Kaupapa Māori (an approach grounded in Māori worldviews). The research design for this study was Kaupapa Māori. Participants (n = 19) in this study were stakeholders in the New Zealand health sector. Participants were interviewed using an in-depth, semi-structured protocol. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Facilitators for co-designing health promotion interventions with Māori communities were collaboration and community voice. Barriers identified were mismanaged expectations and research constraints. Finally, facilitators for the HPW framework included providing clear guidelines and being grounded in Māori perspectives, while barriers included limited concrete case studies, jargon and questions about sustainability. Collaboration and inclusion of community voice supports the development of more effective co-design health promotion interventions within Māori communities which may address health inequities. The HPW framework offers clear guidelines and Māori perspectives which may assist in the development of effective co-design health promotion interventions, although areas for improvement were suggested.

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