Books
MARMOT, Michael (reprinted 2005) The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, New York: Owl Books
This book is written by the Chair of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH).
LEMA, Claudia et al. (2005) Global health watch 2005-2006: an alternative world health report, London: Zed Books Ltd
This report is the result of a collaboration of leading popular movements, NGOs, activists, academics and health workers. It provides an evidence-based analysis of the political economy of health and health care and challenges policies and initiatives of global organisations including the World Bank, the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Many key issues relevant to health are covered, including health care services and systems, health of vulnerable groups, climate change, food and water, education, armed conflicts.
http://www.ghwatch.org/2005report/ghw.pdf
PEOPLE’S HEALTH MOVEMENT, MEDACT & GLOBAL EQUITY GUAGE ALLIANCE (2008) Global health watch 2: an alternative world health report, London & New York: Zed Books Ltd
This second edition of Global Health Watch covers a comprehensive range of topics, including access to medicines, mental health, water and sanitation, nutrition, and war and conflict. It also draws attention to the politics of global health and the policies and actions of key actors.
http://www.ghwatch.org/ghw2/ghw2pdf/ghw2.pdf
Articles, reports, reviews and papers
Global Health Promotion (Mar 2009; vol. 16): Special Supplement 1, Saint Denis Cedex: International Union for Health Promotion and Education
This supplement is dedicated to the November 2008 international conference based on the work of the CSDH. It collects articles and interviews from everyone who spoke at the conference, including the CSDH Commissioners. Article abstracts are available at: http://ped.sagepub.com/content/vol16/1_suppl/
World Health Organization (WHO) (2008) Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Final Report of the Commission for the Social Determinants of Health, Geneva: WHO
This is the final report of the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2005-2008). The report gives three main recommendations: 1. improve daily living conditions; 2. tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources; 3. measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action.
The report is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf
WATTS, Susan & SIDDIQI, Sameen (2008) Social determinants of health in countries in conflict: a perspective from the Eastern Mediterranean region, Cairo: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO)
This review assesses the impact of conflict on the health of people in affected countries of the Region; documents how conflict affects social determinants, and thus results in adverse health outcomes; presents the results of an innovative qualitative study that captures civilian suffering and resilience in a conflict setting, through collaboration with civil society organisations; identifies some examples of activities and interventions that may help to mitigate the impact of these conflicts on the health and well-being of affected populations; and identifies policy implications.
http://www.emro.who.int/dsaf/dsa955.pdf
IRWIN, Lori G, SIDDIQI, Arjumand & HERTZMAN, Clyde (June 2007) Early childhood development: a powerful equalizer. Vancouver: Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia and Geneva: WHO Commission for Social Determinants of Health
This report sees an indivisible link between early childhood development and improved rates of child survival and child health, and considers that this lays the basis for adults who can make a positive contribution to the community – both socially and economically. While it acknowledges that early childhood development is of global importance it stresses its value in resource-poor countries. It gathers evidence which shows priority associations between social determinants for health and health inequalities across different country contexts.
http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/ecd_kn_report_07_2007.pdf
LABONTÉ, Ronald & SCHRECKER, Ted (June 2007) Globalization and social determinants of health: introduction and methodological background (part 1 of 3). In:Globalization and Health 2007, 3:5, London: BioMed Central
This article is the first in a series of three that together describe research strategies to address the relation between contemporary globalisation and the social determinants of health (SDH) through an ‘equity lens’.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/pdf/1744-8603-3-5.pdf
LABONTÉ, Ronald & SCHRECKER, Ted (2007) Globalization and social determinants of health: the role of the global marketplace (part 2 of 3). In:Globalization and Health 2007, 3:6, London: BioMed Central
In this second article, several, often interacting clusters of pathways leading from globalisation to changes in social determinants of health that are relevant to health equity, are identified and described. These involve: trade liberalisation; the global reorganisation of production and labour markets; debt crises and economic restructuring; financial liberalisation; urban settings; influences that operate by way of the physical environment; and health systems changed by the global marketplace.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/3/1/6
LABONTÉ, Ronald & SCHRECKER, Ted (2007) Globalization and social determinants of health: Promoting health equity in global governance (part 3 of 3). In:Globalization and Health 2007, 3:7, London: BioMed Central
Interventions to reduce health inequities by way of social determinants of health are inextricably linked with social protection, economic management and development strategy.
Reflecting this insight, and against the background of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this article focuses on the asymmetrical distribution of gains, losses and power that is characteristic of globalisation in its current form and identifies a number of areas for innovation on the part of the international community.
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/3/1/7
HARPHAM, Trudy et al (2006) Maternal social capital and child wellbeing in comparative perspective. Working Paper No 31 London and Oxford: Young Lives
This paper looks at how social capital may help mothers to know, think, do and feel more or differently, and how this, as a result, could impact positively on children’s welfare. Young Lives have been involved in a cross-country review and measurement of social capital manifestations and this paper draws on some of the findings, reviewing current debates, describing Young Lives methodology and providing a comparative analysis of social capital in relation to various aspects of child wellbeing, including nutritional status, health performance and educational attainments.
http://www.younglives.org.uk/pdf/wp31.pdf
FERGUSON, Kristin M (2004) Social capital and children’s wellbeing: a critical synthesis of the international social capital literature. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, October 2004, vol. 15, p 2-18. Wiley-Blackwell
This literature review looks at main international studies on social capital and children’s and youth’s wellbeing, presents a critical analysis of the concept and discusses its relevance as a reliable predictor of positive future outcomes for children and young people. It outlines both family social capital indicators – including family structure, quality of parent-child relations, adult’s interest in the child, parent’s monitoring of the child and extended family exchange and support – and community social capital indicators – which comprise social support networks, civic engagement in local institutions, trust and safety, degree of religiosity, quality of school and quality of neighbourhood. The article calls for further empirical scrutiny of social capital predictors, while accepting that the impact of social capital on children’s future attainments is second only to poverty.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2006.00575.x
NARYAN, Ravi & UNNIKRISHNAN PV (Eds) (2003) Health for all! Revive Alma Ata now, Bangalore: People’s Health Movement
A collection of papers, statements, reflections and campaign material to celebrate and promote the principles of Alma Ata and health for all, and the People’s Charter for Health. Contributors are activists and allies of the People’s Health Movement seeking to revitalise and reinvigorate the ideas and momentum of Alma Ata and the primary health care movement.
http://www.phmovement.org/files/phm%20publication%20-%20health%20for%20all%20now.pdf
HARPHAM, Trudy (2002) Measuring child poverty and health: a new international study London: Save the Children UK: and: Oxford: Young Lives.
This paper describes the early work of the Young Lives project and how the research is changing the way various factors behind child poverty are understood. “Measures of poverty are rarely applied in a child-centric fashion and have solely focused on income. Increasingly, however, poverty is being recognised as encompassing low achievement in education and health, vulnerability and exposure to risk. Both subjective and objective measures of well-being need to be used to create a multi-dimensional picture of childhood poverty”
http://www.younglives.org.uk/pdf/publication-section-pdfs/working-paper-pdfs/wp2.pdf
World Health Organization Websites
Social Determinants of Health
Commission on Social Determinants of Health
WHO Regional Office for Europe. EURO Office for Investment for Health and Development
Other websites
UK Department of Health. Health inequalities
Public Health Agency of Canada. Canada’s response to WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
National Social Marketing Centre (UK). Social Determinants of Health
European Public Health Alliance
Action for Global Health. WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health – final report
Compiled by Deepthi Wickremasinghe, co-ordinator SOURCE International Information Support Centre www.asksource.info
Source is designed to meet the information needs of individuals and organisations working in health, disability and development worldwide. These include health workers, researchers and students, nongovernmental and governmental organisations, and disabled people’s organisations. With both a resource centre, based in London, and electronic databases, this is a unique collection of around 25,000 health and disability information resources. These include books, journals, manuals, report, posters, CD-ROMs, websites and organisations. Many materials are from developing countries and include both published and unpublished literature not readily available elsewhere in the UK.
Filed under: social determinants of health
