Where do we stand? Research and policy issues concerning inequalities in health and in healthcare.

There are signs that the seriousness of the challenge posed by social inequalities in health and in healthcare is filtering through to governments in an increasing number of countries. The problem includes a large, and in some cases widening, gap between the health of the rich and the poor within countries, coupled with serious social and economic inequalities across society in general. Healthcare reforms are posing further dilemmas in relation to equity. The first part of this paper outlines some of the latest evidence on the scale and nature of the problem and the key research questions selected for future study in the national research programmes set up on the subject. The second part considers unemployment and health in more detail, illustrating some of the policy issues which this raises. The last part focuses on practical strategies for the health sector to adopt to build a more equitable policy response.