Philip Broadbent, David Walsh, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Christine Gallagher, Ruth Dundas, Gerry McCartney
{"title":"Is Austerity Responsible for the Stalled Mortality Trends Across Many High-Income Countries? A Systematic Review.","authors":"Philip Broadbent, David Walsh, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Christine Gallagher, Ruth Dundas, Gerry McCartney","doi":"10.1177/27551938241255041","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241255041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article systematically reviews evidence evaluating whether macroeconomic austerity policies impact mortality, reviewing high-income country data compiled through systematic searches of nine databases and gray literature using pre-specified methods (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020226609). Eligible studies were quantitatively assessed to determine austerity's impact on mortality. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and risk of bias using ROBINS-I. Synthesis without meta-analysis was conducted due to heterogeneity. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE framework. Of 5,720 studies screened, seven were included, with harmful effects of austerity policies demonstrated in six, and no effect in one. Consistent harmful impacts of austerity were demonstrated for all-cause mortality, life expectancy, and cause-specific mortality across studies and different austerity measures. Excess mortality was higher in countries with greater exposure to austerity. Certainty of evidence was low. Risk of bias was moderate to critical. A typical austerity dose was associated with 74,090 [-40,632, 188,792] and 115,385 [26,324, 204,446] additional deaths per year. Austerity policies are consistently associated with adverse mortality outcomes, but the magnitude of this effect remains uncertain and may depend on how austerity is implemented (e.g., balance between public spending reductions or tax rises, and distributional consequences). Policymakers should be aware of potential harmful health effects of austerity policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"362-379"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11437704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141066263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Locations of Palestine and the U.S. in the Global Map of Homelessness: Part I.","authors":"Osama Tanous, Amy Hagopian","doi":"10.1177/27551938241261051","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241261051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It's now well appreciated that social determinants of health are the strongest predictors of our health and well-being. A good argument could be made that housing is at the top of the pyramid of these determinants. And, surprisingly, housing is also the social determinant that could rapidly turn on a dime-that is, with sufficient political will, creating access to housing could be radically expanded in short order. (Unfortunately, of course, it's true one can also become suddenly homeless, since few protections exist in policy or capitalist economies to prevent it). That alone sets it apart from social factors such as education and racism-conditions that take a long time to change. In contrast to long-term interventions (education) or culturally stubborn and historically rooted problems (racism), housing is rapidly malleable. In this article, we describe the social condition of homelessness in two settings, comparing and contrasting the concepts, causes, and consequences, along with how people are mobilizing to challenge the conditions that create their housing insecurity. As we review the factors that create housing conditions in each setting, we propose some universal international principles for a new approach to the human right of decent and secure housing.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"352-361"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141319088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Right to Healthcare Must Include the Right to Ease of Physical Access: Exploring Geography-Health Nexus in GIDA Communities in the Philippines.","authors":"Zaldy C Collado","doi":"10.1177/27551938241265673","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241265673","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Using the United Nations' 'leave no one behind' framework for the achievement of sustainable development goals, this article underscores the key role of geography as one of the core factors why certain people are left behind, deprived, and continue to experience inequality in terms of access to (quality) health care facilities and services. This article specifically examines the consequences of physical inaccessibility to health outcomes and health-seeking behavior in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) in the Philippines. This article illustrates that physical accessibility is an ignored aspect of the public health paradigm. For that reason, public health facilities, no matter how critical the facility is to a person's care, are not an immediate option for GIDA residents who seek medical aid. Responsive policy measures are vital to address this seemingly paradigmatic error. Subsidizing transportation costs and allocating funds for road improvements are called for, among other changes. The government must act on the people's right to ease of access as part of fulfilling fundamental health-related state obligations. But for the government to act, it will be crucial for claimants to health rights to proactively demand these changes. The latter is key for the fulfillment of the affected people's right to get easier access to meaningful health care.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"436-440"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141763037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Neil Howard, Grace Gregory, Elliott A Johnson, Cleo Goodman, Jonathan Coates, Kate E Pickett, Matthew T Johnson
{"title":"Prospective Health Impacts of a Universal Basic Income: Evidence from Community Engagement in South Tyneside, United Kingdom.","authors":"Neil Howard, Grace Gregory, Elliott A Johnson, Cleo Goodman, Jonathan Coates, Kate E Pickett, Matthew T Johnson","doi":"10.1177/27551938241265928","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241265928","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Studies have suggested that universal basic income (UBI) has the capacity to have substantial health benefits across the population at national level. Multiple impact pathways have recently been theorized and there are calls for trials to explore these pathways empirically. However, very limited research has taken place at local levels to explore potential context-specific effects, or how these effects could play out in economic, social, and behavioral changes. In order to examine these effects and to think through potential issues and unintended consequences, we brought together citizen engagement groups in Jarrow, South Tyneside, in the northeast of England to explore local people's expectations and positions on the development of UBI policies and pilots prior to their implementation. We found that people's expectations regarding the potential beneficial health impacts of UBI on their communities mapped strongly onto academically theorized impact pathways. They also extended understanding of these pathways in meaningful ways. Our findings add to the literature about UBI and health and provide important insights for the future development of empirical, health focused, UBI research.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"396-404"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11430184/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zachary N Goldberg, Yash B Shah, Erika D Harness, David B Nash
{"title":"The Social Determinants of Health Industry: Two Years On.","authors":"Zachary N Goldberg, Yash B Shah, Erika D Harness, David B Nash","doi":"10.1177/27551938241257041","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241257041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social determinants of health (SDOH) have been insufficiently addressed by payers and providers despite increased prioritization at the national level. This led to the development of a separate, for-profit \"SDOH industry\" found to have a valuation of $18.5 billion (all dollar amounts in U.S. dollars) with $2.4 billion in funding as of July 2021. The purpose of this article is to determine the growth of the industry from 2021 to 2023 and provide a multifaceted explanation for this development. The authors conducted an analysis of 57 SDOH industry companies using a third-party market research platform. Over the previous two-year period, 10 out of 57 (18%) companies were acquired, and the industry gained an additional $1.1 billion (46% increase) in funding and $13.7 billion (74% increase) in valuation. The authors propose four contributing factors to explain the nature of this industry's evolution. They include developments in national health care policy favoring SDOH, standardization of SDOH information as actionable claims data, multi-source investment in SDOH, and improved methods of industry intervention measurement. These trends appear likely to continue, requiring additional scrutiny by all relevant stakeholders to ensure maximum improvement of rampant SDOH disparities that impact millions of individuals daily.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"344-351"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141163078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Theorizing epidemiology, the stories bodies tell, and embodied truths: a status update on contending 21<sup>st</sup> c CE epidemiological theories of disease distribution.","authors":"Nancy Krieger","doi":"10.1177/27551938241269188","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241269188","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This critical review considers the status of 21st-century epidemiological theories of disease distribution, updating to 2024 prior analyses published up through 2014, and discusses the implications of these theories for research, practice, and pedagogy. Three key trends stand out: (<i>a</i>) the continued dominance of individualistic biomedical and lifestyle theories; (<i>b</i>) growth and elaboration of social epidemiological alternatives; and (<i>c</i>) the ongoing inattention to epidemiologic theories of disease distribution in the training of epidemiologists and public health professionals and in current efforts to improve the rigor of epidemiological research and causal inference. In a context of growing global political polarization, climate crisis, broader environmental and ecological crises, and stubbornly persistent health inequities within and between nations, producing actionable knowledge relevant to improving the people's health and advancing health justice will require much greater engagement with social epidemiologic theories of disease distribution in research, pedagogy, and practice. At issue is critically engaging with the embodied truths manifested in the stories bodies tell in population patterns of health, disease, and well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"331-342"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11457435/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141989660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Austerity Measures and the Resilience of Zimbabwe's Healthcare System: Challenges and Solutions.","authors":"Option Takunda Chiwaridzo","doi":"10.1177/27551938241269118","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241269118","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Austerity measures have become a contentious topic, shaping the landscape of health care systems around the world. As governments grapple with economic challenges, the impact of austerity on health care has emerged as a critical concern. This study focuses on the consequences of austerity actions adopted by the Zimbabwean government under the Transitional Stabilization Program (TSP) from August 2018 to December 2025. This research examines the impact of austerity measures on Zimbabwe's health care sector, exploring its connections with health infrastructure and resources, accessibility and affordability of health care, health funding, health care inequalities, and the health care workforce. Using a quantitative approach and data from 970 participants, including the general populace, health care providers, and government officials, significant positive correlations between austerity measures and these health care variables were identified. The findings indicated a noteworthy positive correlation between the independent variable \"austerity measures\" and five dependent variables: health care accessibility and affordability, health care inequalities, infrastructure and resources, health care funding, and health care workforce. The <i>t</i>-statistics values exceeded the threshold of 1.96, with values of 5.085, 3.120, 6.459, 8.517, and 3.830, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of considering the effects of austerity on health care access, health funding, health care inequalities, health workforce, health infrastructure and resources development. Policymakers should prioritize equitable resource allocation and targeted investments to strengthen the resilience of the health care system during economic challenges. Understanding these associations is crucial for evidence-based policy decisions and fostering a more equitable and resilient health care system in Zimbabwe.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"380-395"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141908568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a Sociology of Plasma Products.","authors":"Kelly Holloway, Quinn Grundy","doi":"10.1177/27551938241269136","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241269136","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over the past 20 years, plasma has become a medical treatment characterized as \"liquid gold\" to signal its lifesaving potential. Through a manufacturing process termed fractionation, plasma, collected through blood donation, is turned into Plasma Derived Medical Products (PDMPs). The World Health Organization (WHO) has underlined the importance of PDMPs for global health care, including a number of PDMPs on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. The process of collecting plasma from a donor, manufacturing plasma derived treatments, and distributing those treatments globally requires the coordination of multiple social actors operating in different social, political and economic contexts, but has received little attention in scholarly literature on public policy or the social sciences. This paper will introduce a set of analytic questions and concepts that can direct a sociology of plasma products. We build on the behavioral turn in the policy sciences to identify relevant policy questions emerging from this field and offer the analytic tools necessary to investigate how different social actors in this space make meaning of plasma. To do this, we will draw on key concepts in the sociology of health and illness.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"412-422"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11457463/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141977362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Erratum to \"Theorizing epidemiology, the stories bodies tell, and embodied truths: a status update on contending 21<sup>st</sup> c CE epidemiological theories of disease distribution\".","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/27551938241281636","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241281636","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"343"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11532928/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142094270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum to \"Mortality in the USA, the UK and Other Western Countries, 1989-2015: What Is Wrong With the US?\"","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/27551938241262096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27551938241262096","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"27551938241262096"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141790217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}