Inequalities in Health

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Do health inequalities still exist? This essay will show how patterns of health and disease have changed in the last three centuries, cover the major findings of inequality reports, provide two theoretical explanations for the existence of health inequalities and finally the essay will show the relationship between theoretical perspectives and the development of health policies and initiatives that have been brought forward to combat inequalities. In the 19th century the population of the United Kingdom (UK) mainly died from acute diseases, these were largely waterborne disease, parasitic infection and infection, caused by poor living and sanitary conditions and poverty. To abolish these diseases the government implemented various legislations and acts, the most significant are the 1848-1875 public health acts this act implemented sanitary systems and defined overcrowding making it illegal in places of public residency, and this dealt mainly with waterborne illness and parasitic infection. The education acts 1906 provided free school meals for children to combat malnutrition disorders, the 1911 national health insurance act was a precursor for the National Health Service (NHS) providing health care services for nearly half of the population, aiding them to regain health and to reduce the risk of slipping into poverty. The 1945 welfare state aimed to raise standards in society by providing compulsory education, social security, employment offices and the NHS which provided free access to health care for all regardless of ability to pay. As the NHS generally improved people’s health, since the 1970’s the population were no longer suffering from acute diseases due to these social reforms. (Class notes, Rosen, 1993, Porter, 1999 Ham, 1999, Haralambos and Holborn, 2008, Webster, 2001) Although the population is now living longer, chronic degenerative diseases, such as

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