Journals / Sosyal Güvence / 2014 / Sayı: 5
ARE ALL HEALTH INEQUALITIES REALLY UNJUST?
- Journal
- Sosyal Güvence
- Issue
- 2014 · Sayı: 5
- Pages
- —
- DOI
- —
Abstract
It is well known that health outcomes are not allotted evenly among countries, between regions in a country, and even among people living in the same neighborhood. For example, while a Japanese person enjoys living 83.1 years in 2009 on average, life expectancy at birth for a Zambian person is only 47.9 years, pointing out that there are notable disparities in the health of differing groups. Lifestyle factors, biological factors, and social gradients lead to most health inequalities. Health inequalities are unjust and avoidable when they arise due to the unfair distribution of the social gradients such as education, income, and social status. However, some are not unjust and hence acceptable if they are derived completely from free choices fully informed adults make such as smoking, alcohol, risky hobbies. Therefore, governments should provide equal and fair opportunity for health and improve health status of the worst off, but they have to keep in mind that even with the best policies, unequal but just health outcomes may still persist as a residual
Özet
It is well known that health outcomes are not allotted evenly among countries,between regions in a country, and even among people living in the same neighborhood.For example, while a Japanese person enjoys living 83.1 years in 2009 onaverage, life expectancy at birth for a Zambian person is only 47.9 years, pointingout that there are notable disparities in the health of differing groups. Lifestyle factors,biological factors, and social gradients lead to most health inequalities. Healthinequalities are unjust and avoidable when they arise due to the unfair distributionof the social gradients such as education, income, and social status. However, someare not unjust and hence acceptable if they are derived completely from free choicesfully informed adults make such as smoking, alcohol, risky hobbies. Therefore,governments should provide equal and fair opportunity for health and improvehealth status of the worst off, but they have to keep in mind that even with the bestpolicies, unequal but just health outcomes may still persist as a residual.