Social economic inequalities and mental health. I. Concepts, theories and interpretations

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Bonizzato ◽  
Juan Eduardo Tello

SummaryAims – Reconstructing the models used for approaching the inequalities issues in health, idenfiying the most relevant theoretical and conceptual contributions. Method – Literature electronic-search on Medline, Psyclit, Econlit, Social Science Index and SocioSearch using the key-words inequalities, deprivation, poverty, socio-economic status, social class, occupational class, mental health for the period 1965-2002; integrated with manual search. The material was classified according to the conceptual and theoretical interpretative models or to the analyses of the association 'inequalities-health' where health was expressed as mortality, morbidity or services utilisation. Results – Four different interpretative models about the genesis of inequalities were identified. Further theoretical developments overcome the distinction among conceptuals contrapositions selection versus causation, statistic artefactual versus real differences, individual behaviours versus material context. Since the 80's the concept of material deprivation has been enlarged to include social deprivation to explain health inequalities. The social exclusion is related to material deprivation and to social fragility enlarging the traditional aspects of poverty. The theories that better adapt to the psychiatric field are the social selection and social causation. Conclusions – The social exclusion and the new methodologies for measuring the inequalities seems to be an effective way for understanding of the inexplored aspects of the mental health inequalities.Declaration of Interest: This work was partly funded by the Department of the Public Health Sciences “G. Sanarelli” of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and the Department of Medicine and Public Health of the University of Verona.

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Eduardo Tello ◽  
Paola Bonizzato

SummaryObjective - This study provides a framework for mental health inequalities beginners. It describes the methods used to measure socio economic inequalities and the inter-relations with different aspects of mental health: residence, mental health services organisation and main diagnostic categories. Method - Literature electronic-search on Medline, Psyclit, Econlit, Social Science Index and SocioSearch usingand relating the key-words inequalities, deprivation, poverty, socio-economic status, social class, occupational class, mental health for the period 1965-2002 (June). The articles selected were integrated with manual search (publications of the same authors, cross-references, working documents and reports of international andregional organisations). Results - Inequality is not an absolute concept and, mainly, it has been changing during the last years. For example, the integration and re-definition of variables that capture, in simple indices, a complex reality; the accent on social more than on economic aspects; the geo-validity and time-reference of the inequality's indices. Moreover, the inequalities could be the result of individual preferences, in this case, the social selectionand social causation issues will raise the suitability for a public intervention. Conclusions - Up to now, research has been mainly concentrated in describing and measuring health inequalities. For designing effective interventions, policy makers need to ground decisions on health-socioeconomic inequalities explanatory models.Declaration of Interestthis work was partly funded by the Department of the Public Health Sciences “G. Sanarelli” of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and the Department of Medicine and Public Health of the University of Verona.


Author(s):  
Michal Myck ◽  
Charles Waldegrave ◽  
Lena Dahlberg

AbstractWe contribute to the discussion on social exclusion interrelationships by examining the relationship between material conditions and loneliness, as one potential marker of connections between the social and economic domain. Our analysis focuses on a sample of individuals aged 50+ in the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). In its 5th wave, the survey was extended to include specific items related to economic and social deprivation. We use this extended information on material conditions and examine how it correlates with the level and dynamics of a composite loneliness measure at the time of wave 5 and between wave 5 and 6 of the survey (undertaken in 2013 and 2015, respectively). In order to isolate the effect of material deprivation on loneliness, regression analyses include an extensive set of control variables. The analyses show a strong and significant relationship between material deprivation, and both the level of loneliness and deterioration in the loneliness status.


Author(s):  
Giménez‐Bertomeu ◽  
Domenech‐López ◽  
Mateo‐Pérez ◽  
de‐Alfonseti‐Hartmann

This study examines the social exclusion characteristics of a sample of users of primary care social services in two local entities in Spain. The objective of this study was to identify the intensity and scope of social exclusion in an exploratory way and to look at the typology of existing exclusionary situations to inform policy making and professional practice. Data from 1009 users were collected by primary care social services professionals, completing the Social Exclusion Scale of the University of Alicante (SES-UA). The dimensions with the greatest levels of social exclusion in the study population were those related to work/employment, income and education and training. The dimensions with an intermediate level of exclusion were those related to housing and social isolation. Social acceptance, family and social conflict and health were the dimensions with the lowest levels of exclusion. The analysis also showed the existence of five significantly different groups, that showed five different life trajectories along the continuum between social exclusion and social inclusion. The results show the importance and utility of developing professional and policy intervention protocols based on research evidence, with the objective of improving the quality of life of the users.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelia Chrysikou ◽  
Elefteria Savvopoulou ◽  
Efstathia Kostopoulou ◽  
Mukadam Naaheed ◽  
Ioanna Tsimopoulou ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Copperstone ◽  
M Bonello

Abstract Background Addressing health inequalities is a crucial public health issue. It is thus imperative that health professionals are equipped with explicit competences to recognise and address health inequalities. Methods This is a multi-phase mixed-methods study exploring health inequalities and training within professional health curricula at the University of Malta. Phase One consists of a scoping study which explores whether and how health inequalities feature within the health professions' undergraduate curricula. This involved a systematic search of undergraduate health professional curricula, including competency profiles in each programme of study, using information available in the public domain. Academic year reviewed was 2019-2020. To ensure harmonisation, the two independent reviewers used the following search strategy: a) using a keyword descriptive approach (MeSH terms divided into two levels: direct, level one, and more general keywords, level two) and b) a more subjective approach to assess wider topic elements. Results Preliminary results emanating from mapping of 19 different programmes of study will be presented. A wide range of occurrences, from zero occurrences in some programmes to a maximum of one occurrence for level one and 12 for level two keywords in other programmes, was observed. Conclusions There is a wide disparity between the awareness of and training of inequalities across different professional training programmes. This provides the groundwork for Phase Two of this research during which public health stakeholders' attitudes and perceptions on health professional training and current practices will be explored. Findings from this study will provide the evidence and the impetus for possible interdisciplinary modules and/or continuous professional development programmes in health inequalities. Key messages The need for developing short courses/reviewing health curricula to incorporate health inequalities is encouraged. Public health professionals have a responsibility to address health inequalities in their professional practice.


2019 ◽  
pp. 465-470
Author(s):  
Sandro Galea

This chapter focuses on health education in the university sector. Public health has much to benefit from the responsibility for knowledge translation by universities, the chapter argues. Ultimately, the creation of the social, economic, and political conditions that generate health must involve engagement in the tools of cultural conversation and in a full-throated engagement both in communicating these ideas to those who can make change happen and to the general public who influence them. The chapter looks at the ways that public health further education has been changing in recent years. It ends by looking forward to a time of innovation in education.


Author(s):  
Rhoshel Lenroot

Enormous progress has been made in recognizing the scope of mental health problems for children around the world, and in developing the theoretical framework needed to address decreasing this burden in a systematic fashion. Technological advances in neuroimaging, genetics, and computational biology are providing the tools to start describing the biological processes underlying the complex course of development, and have renewed appreciation of the role of the environment in determining how a genetic heritage is expressed. However, rapid technological change is also altering the environment of children and their families at an unprecedented rate, and what kinds of challenges to public health these changes may present is not yet fully understood. What is becoming clear is that as technological advances increase the range of available health care treatments, along with the potential cost, the choices for societies between spending limited resources on treatment or prevention will have to become increasingly deliberate. A substantial body of work has demonstrated that prevention in mental health can be effective, but those who would benefit the most from preventive interventions are often not those with the political or economic resources to make them a priority. While the potential interventions to prevent mental health disorders in children are constrained by the knowledge and resources available, what is actually done depends upon the social and political values of individual communities and nations. It is to be hoped that as our understanding of these disorders grows, public policies to prevent the development of mental health disorders in children will become as commonplace a responsibility for modern societies as the provision of clean drinking water.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 574-574
Author(s):  
I. Rocha

IntroductionWHO has defined the social determinants of mental health (2008) as “social justice is a matter of life or death. Affects how people live, their propensity for disease and risk of premature death”. Underlies that health is not only determined by biological, but by social factors that can be divided into: Economic, Gender and Cultural.ObjectivesThe author proposes to do a literature review focusing on a consensus on the social determinants of mental health, and the implications on the policies of various countries.Aims and methodsWe performed a literature review using textbooks and research papers (Medline, Pubmed, 1997–2010).ResultsTopics about Social Determinants of Mental Health often establish, the social gradient, situations of stress, childhood development, poverty, drug dependence, conditions at work, unemployment, social support, food, transportation policies, gender and cultural determinants.The Global Movement for Mental Health should play an important role in public health activities, focusing on global mental illness. To do this effectively, the mental health professionals need to confront global poverty, its relationship with the political and economic developments as well as the consequences for common mental illnesses.ConclusionsIn a public health perspective, evidence of the mechanisms of this relationship can be used to consider a variety of primary and secondary preventive strategies with regard to mental health.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily E Cameron ◽  
Kaeley Simpson ◽  
Shayna Pierce ◽  
Kailey Penner ◽  
Alanna Beyak ◽  
...  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, new parents were disproportionately affected due to public health restrictions that changed service accessibility and increased stressors. Yet, minimal research to date has examined specific pandemic-related stressors and experiences of perinatal fathers in naturalistic anonymous settings. An important and relatively novel way parents seek connection and information is through online forum use, which increased during the social isolation of the pandemic. The current study qualitatively analyzed the experiences of perinatal fathers from September to December 2020 (792 posts, 8011 comments) through Framework Analytic Approach to identify unmet support needs during COVID-19 using the online subforum, predaddit. Five main themes emergent in the thematic framework included forum use, COVID-19, psychosocial distress, family functioning, and child health and development, each of which contained related subthemes. Findings highlight the utility of predaddit as a source of information for and interactions of fathers to inform mental health services.


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