2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Achieving Health Equity in Societies of Growing Inequalities: A Comparative Policy Study
| Project/Area Number |
16390154
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Medical sociology
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| Research Institution | Ritsumeikan University |
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Principal Investigator |
MATSUDA Ryozo Ritsumeikan University, College of Social Sciences, Professor (20260812)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAKAYAMA Kazuo Kyoto Tachibana University, Department of Contemporary Management, Associate Professor (90313741)
AOKI Ikuo Hannan University, Faculty of Economics, Professor (80184026)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2007
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| Keywords | Health Policy / Health Inequalities / Quality of Health Care / Health Care Delivery / Sweden / United States of America / United Kingdome / Comparative Policies |
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| Research Abstract |
This research projects overviews definitions and methods of measurements on equity in health, equity in health care finance, and equity in health care delivery, which have been vigorously discussed in the last decade. It analyzed relevant theories such as Amartya Sen's capability approach, Rawlsian theory of justice, and the rights to health.
Literature reviews reveals that many OECD counties have developed policies of tackling health inequalities as well as policies towards equity in health care delivery. Although the two policy areas has interconnected, they have different logics and approaches. In the UK, health inequalities between classes, income groups, and populations living in different places have been a political issues. The Government has involved the NHS, local governments and the voluntary sector with a comprehensive strategy for tackling health inequalities. On the other hand, equity in health care delivery have been discussed in terms of geographical resource allocation, free services at the point of services, and choice of patients. Health disparities between races have been paid most attention in the US. While uninsurance has been a prominent issue, disparities in quality of care has been problematized as well. Sweden, famous as a model of welfare states, also has faced with increased health gaps between income groups. The Swedish government developed a public health strategy for decreasing them. National and Local governments have discussed equity in access to health.
Policies for challenging health inequities are essentially connected to wider politics between social groups and political institutions in each country. The countries, studied in this project, have developed unique sets of policies, which reflects their social division that had developed in their history.
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