This study explores the experiences of General Practitioners (GPs) and patients in the management of type 2 diabetes in contemporary Australia. I focus on the way the socioeconomic position of patients is a factor in that experience as my underlying interest is in exploring how health inequalities are understood, approached and handled in general practice. The study is thus a practical and grounded exploration of a widely debated theoretical issue in the study of social life, namely the relationship between the micro day-to-day interactions and events in the lives of individuals and the broad macro structure of society and the position of the individual within that. There is now wide acceptance and evidence that people’s social and economic circumstances impact on their health status and their experiences in the health system. However, there is considerable debate about the role played by primary medical care. Nevertheless, better theoretical understanding of the importance of psychosocial processes in generating social inequalities in health suggests medical care may well be important, as such processes are crucial in the care of chronic illnesses such as diabetes which are now such a large part of general practice work. I approach this study through an exploration of patient centred clinical practice. Patient centredness is a pragmatic, idealised prescriptive framework for clinical practice, particularly general practice. Patient centredness developed in part in response to critiques of biomedicine, and is premised on a notion of a more equal relationship between GP and patient, and one that places importance on the context of patients’ lives. It contains an implicit promise that it will help GP and patient engage with and confront social disadvantage.

Background: Many adults do not take recommended amounts of physical activity (PA). This is associated with adverse health outcomes such as obesity, overweight, diabetes and heart disease. Moreover, physical inactivity is socially patterned. People with lower socioeconomic status or who live in more deprived areas do less PA which may in turn contribute to inequalities in health outcomes. Identifying the causes and possible pathways for increasing PA and addressing health inequalities is a pressing national and international priority. There is increasing evidence that features of the built environment (BE) can support physical activities such as walking. The built environment may also ameliorate health inequalities by providing a supportive context for walking across diverse sections of the population. However, there is little evidence relating to the UK and Scottish context or about inequalities in these associations for different groups such as people with different demographic characteristics or people living in areas with different levels of deprivation. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap, examining associations between built environments and walking in urban Scotland. It considered individual and spatial inequalities in these relationships. Methods: This study had a quantitative cross-sectional design. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was used to create neighbourhood level BE measures of Area Walking Potential (AWP) across urban Scotland. These were destination accessibility, street connectivity, residential density and walkability (a composite measure of the former three measures). An examination of the distribution of AWP across Scotland and in relation to area deprivation was made. The measures were then appended to individual level walking data for adults aged 19+ years from the 2010 Scottish Health Survey. Regression analysis tested for associations between the AWP measures with four different walking outcomes: any walking, frequency of walking, achieving 30 minutes of walking per day and total minutes walked in the previous week. Individual and area level confounders were controlled for. Associations were examined using two sizes of neighbourhood area: 500m and 1000m zones around residential centres. Interactions with individual demographic, socioeconomic, household characteristics and area deprivation were evaluated. Results: There was modest evidence of positive associations between AWP and walking. After controlling for covariates, destination accessibility showed the strongest associations with frequency of walking. There were limited associations for street connectivity and walkability and no associations between residential density and walking. Positive associations remained for some groups less likely to walk, such as older adults. However, there were also interaction effects showing inequalities in associations between AWP and walking. In particular, people with lower educational attainment were less influenced by AWP. The spatial analysis showed areas with lowest deprivation had lowest AWP although people in more deprived areas walked less overall. Conclusions: There is some evidence that the BE supports some types of walking in Scotland. The BE may also enhance walking opportunities for certain groups who generally walk less, and therefore could potentially reduce inequalities in health outcomes. However, the socioeconomic inequalities in outcomes suggest multifaceted approaches to increasing walking are more likely to reach all sections of the population. The evidence that there are geographic inequalities in levels of AWP can be used to inform geographically targeted interventions aimed at improving walking environments. This research has generated original evidence in the Scottish context, highlighting the importance of context specific research.

Available data from the quinquennial Infant Feeding Surveys (IFS) show that breastfeeding rates in Great Britain (GB) rose steadily between 1985 and 2010. However, the rates of breastfeeding continuation and exclusivity remain relatively low, and there is evidence that breastfeeding in public may still be considered unacceptable by many in GB. To date, no study has examined the reasons behind the increase in breastfeeding rates between 1985 and 2010, and the factors which influence women's practice of breastfeeding in public in GB remain under-researched. Therefore, this DPhil research aimed to investigate whether the increase in breastfeeding rates in the first six weeks after childbirth in GB between 1985 and 2010 were driven by changes in the distribution of population characteristics, or changes in the differences in breastfeeding behaviours between subgroups of women. It also aimed to investigate the factors which influenced the practice of breastfeeding in public in GB in 1995 to 2010. Data from the IFS surveys in 1985 to 2010 were analysed to, firstly, describe and summarise the distribution of selected explanatory factors among the childbearing population of GB from 1985 to 2010. This was followed by an estimation of the independent effects of these explanatory factors on breastfeeding initiation, breastfeeding continuation at one week and at six weeks, and breastfeeding in public, in each survey year. There was an assessment of the changes over time in the effects of each factor on breastfeeding initiation, and on breastfeeding continuation at one week and at six weeks. This was followed by an examination of the extent to which changes in the distribution of factors among the childbearing population contributed to the increase in breastfeeding rates in the first six weeks in GB between 1985 and 2010. This DPhil research found no evidence of changes in the effects of factors on breastfeeding in the first six weeks between 1985 and 2010. This suggests that breastfeeding behaviours had not improved over time. At the same time, there were increases in the distribution of those factors which positively influence breastfeeding, suggesting that the increase in breastfeeding rates in the first six weeks between 1985 and 2010 were indeed attributable to population changes rather than improved breastfeeding behaviours. Additionally, breastfeeding in public was seemingly most influenced by women's perceptions of the normality and acceptability of breastfeeding in GB. There is a clear need for more equitable interventions to target the needs and perceptions of those women in GB who remain characteristically less likely to breastfeed.

The diploma thesis deals with the issue of health inequality in the selected population group, which is focused on the elderly. The main objective of the thesis was to examine the characteristics of health inequalities in the selected group of seniors from 60 to 74 years and to identify the existing inequalities in the individual groups as well as the differences between the groups. In the theoretical part was described the issue concerning age inequalities, its causes and consequences. In the practical part of the thesis, this phenomenon was specifically examined on a selected set of respondents at Senior Otrokovice - Seniors Home and in their own homes in Otrokovice. To obtain the data to achieve the goals and verify the hypotheses, a quantitative research survey was used using the anonymous questionnaire method. These were standardized rates of ADL and IADL (Barthel index), then the VAS scale to measure pain intensity was used. Five hypotheses were identified for the research. Quantitative research was evaluated using the statistical program. Research has shown that gender is not a significant change in the perception of one's own health, and also the physical self-sufficiency does not differ according to gender. It has been found that perception of one's own health and physical self-sufficiency depends on whether the person resides in the residential care or in their own household. It was also found that the amount of retirement pension is not gender-based or age-dependent.

Background: there is limited research to show that a social intervention such as increasing income improves health, especially as this relates to older people. It is known that poverty is a real problem for many older people in Northern Ireland. One reason for this is that older people often do not claim the financial benefits for which they are entitled. This is a randomised controlled study that sought to investigate the health effects of an increased uptake of social security benefits. Methods: The aims of this study were to find out if an increase in income through the take up of unclaimed financial benefits lead to a significant improvement in the health status of older people and discover if this was maintained over a reasonable period of time. This was a randomised control trial based in the community. Patients were recruited from 11 general practices in South Down, Craigavon, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The intervention consisted of a benefit assessment followed by assistance completing the benefit application. The control group received the assessment but were not give assistance with the application. Instead they were given a list of agencies where help with the application could be found. A range of health, psycho-social and financial outcome was measured. Results: Of the 2180 patients who were sent invitation letters 300 agreed to a benefits assessment. 189 enrolled in the study and 149 were followed up at six months. A total of 89 patients received additional weekly benefits amounting to approximately £3277.19 per annum (£63 per week). A further 13 patients received one off payments totaling £5,731.01. All but two patients received their benefits within three months of assessment. While analysis showed trends suggesting greater improvements in social support and depression scores for the intervention group when compared with the controls the difference were not statistically significant. This is probably due to the following factors. The sample size in this study was small because of problems with the recruitment and screening of patients. More patients in the control group claimed benefits than had been anticipated and as a result it was difficult to detect differences between the two groups. Discussion: Valuable lessons have been leant and modifications to the study methodology have been suggested that will be of use to other researchers attempting to undertake similar studies in the UK.

This is an inter-disciplinary argument for a moral entitlement to a capability to be healthy. Motivated by the goal to make a human right to health intelligible and justifiable, the thesis extends the capability approach, advocated by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, to the theory and practice of the human health sciences. Moral claims related to human health are considered at the level of ethical theory, or a level of abstraction where principles of social justice that determine the purpose, form, and scope of basic social institutions are proposed, evaluated, and justified. The argument includes 1) a conception of health as capability, 2) a theory of causation and distribution of health capability as well as 3) an argument for the moral entitlement to a sufficient and equitable capability to be healthy grounded in the respect for human dignity. Moreover, the entitlement to the capability to be healthy is defended against alternative ethical approaches that focus on welfare or resources in evaluating and satisfying health claims. In specific, it is argued that human health is best understood as a capability to be healthy - a meta-capability to achieve a cluster of basic and inter-related capabilities and functionings. Such a cluster of capabilities and functionings is in line with Martha Nussbaum's central human capabilities. A theory of causation and distribution of health capability is put forward that integrates the 'classic' biomedical factors of disease (genetic endowment, exposure to hazardous materials, behaviour), social determinants of disease, and Drèze and Sen's econometric analysis of the causation and distribution of acute and endemic malnutrition. Furthermore, the argument critiques Norman Daniels's revised Rawlsian theory of health justice, and advocates for the capability approach to recognize group capabilities in light of 'population health' phenomena. Lastly, the thesis also argues that a coherent, capability conception of health as a species-wide conception will tend to make any theory of justice recognizing health claims a cosmopolitan theory of justice.

Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) are new local government (LG) sub-committees tasked with assessing local health and social care needs, and developing strategies for promoting integration and tackling health inequalities; yet they have no statutory authority to compel action. This research explored how they approached tackling health inequalities, focussing on the role of environmental health (EH), the LG public health occupation, in the pre-shadow and shadow stages and as they went live in April 2013. Four case study sites (based around individual HWBs) were purposively sampled to ensure that a variety of HWBs were included, including unitary and two-tier authorities and urban, suburban and rural areas. Data collection at each case study site included semi-structured interviews, observation of HWB meetings, and documentary analysis and extended for 18 months from early 2012. In addition, EH practitioners and managers were interviewed from each of the English regions to provide a wider context. The data was analysed thematically both inductively and deductively using Atlas.ti. and conclusions drawn. HWBs were varied in their structures, practices and intentions and some changed considerably during the research, as would be expected at a time of new policy development and implementation. There was evident commitment and enthusiasm from HWB members to improve the health of local populations. However it is unclear what ‘success’ will be or how it will be measured and attributed to the work of the HWB, and there were some tensions between the various parties involved. There was an espoused commitment to the principles of Marmot, in particular to children, however much of the focus during HWB meetings was on integrating health and social care. Taking action on many of the social determinants of health is outside the core sphere of HWB control, however they did not generally appear to be utilising some of the readily available tools, such as EH work to improve local living and working conditions. EH was found to be largely ‘invisible’ within its own public health community and does not have a tradition of evidence based practice needed to secure funding in the new system. This, along with the decline of the regulatory role, has led to a period of reflection and adaptation. The research findings are linked by the policy approaches of ‘doodle’ and localism, including the shrinking of the state, and in particular the retreat of statutory and regulatory roles and the introduction of overt political values in policy making; shifting the focus to relationships, partnership-building, integration and the impact of individuals. The contexts in which the research has taken place, both at local and national levels, including financial austerity, major health restructuring, and high national and local expectations are all significant factors which have shaped the findings.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-14T15:01:41Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação IRLA MEDEIROS 04-08-2016 FINAL.pdf: 816920 bytes, checksum: 456a7711d5c83ace40c171e4edeb3bad (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-14T15:01:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação IRLA MEDEIROS 04-08-2016 FINAL.pdf: 816920 bytes, checksum: 456a7711d5c83ace40c171e4edeb3bad (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / O Brasil vem experimentando, desde a criação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), mudanças importantes no seu sistema público, incorporando princípios importantes, tais como a universalidade do acesso, a integralidade da atenção e a equidade. O país é um dos poucos em que o acesso gratuito a medicamentos essenciais é direito dos cidadãos, o que se concretiza por meio de políticas e estratégias, como a Relação Nacional de Medicamentos Essenciais (RENAME) e a Relação Municipal de Medicamentos Essenciais (REMUME). Porém, análises realizadas nos municípios brasileiros mostram a ocorrência de desabastecimento, descontinuidade da oferta e baixa disponibilidade de medicamentos, o que dificulta o acesso e a continuidade do tratamento. Dessa forma, o gasto com remédios impacta fortemente o orçamento familiar, principalmente das famílias mais pobres. Dessa forma, esse estudo tem como objetivo descrever as desigualdades socioeconômicas no gasto privado com medicamentos no Estado de Pernambuco, através da análise dos gastos das famílias. O estudo traz uma perspectiva inovadora por fazer uma análise da carga tributária, além de descrever os gastos segundo categorias de medicamentos e apresentar a análise de desigualdades nos dispêndios. Este estudo teve como base os microdados da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF) 2008/2009 tratando-se de um estudo descritivo e estatístico que analisa o comportamento dos domicílios Pernambucanos, em um determinado período de tempo, quanto ao gasto privado com remédios. A análise principal se efetua classificando os domicílios a partir de quintis de renda. A identificação de determinantes do gasto privado e a probabilidade de incorrer em gasto catastrófico em saúde, segue a metodologia da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). Os principais resultados mostram que há desigualdade no gasto com medicamentos em Pernambuco e que a tributação é regressiva, chegando, no Brasil, a comprometer 25% do gasto no primeiro quintil e apenas 11% no último quintil. O índice de Gini calculado para o gasto per capita com medicamentos foi de 0,93%, mostrando uma desigualdade quase que extrema no Brasil. / Brazil has been experiencing since the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS) major changes in its public system, incorporating important principles such as the universality of access to comprehensive care and equity. The country is one of the few where free access to essential medicines is citizen´s right, which is realized through policies and strategies such as the National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME) and the Municipal Register of Essential Medicines (REMUME). However, analyzes conducted in Brazilian cities show the occurrence of shortages, supply disruption and low availability of drugs, making it difficult to access and care continuity. Thus, spending on medicines strongly impacts the family budget, especially the poorest families. Thus, this study aims to describe socioeconomic inequalities in private spending on drugs in the state of Pernambuco, through the analysis of household spending. The study brings a new perspective to make an analysis of the tax burden, as well as to describe spending according to categories of medicines and present the analysis of inequalities in expenditures. This study was based on the microdata from the Household Budget Survey (HBS) 2008/2009, being a descriptive and statistical study that analyzes the behavior of Pernambuco households in a given period of time, as private spending on drugs. The main analysis is accomplished by classifying households from quintiles of household gross income and determinants analysis of private spending and the probability of incurring catastrophic health expenditure follows the methodology of the World Health Organization (WHO). The main results show that there is inequality in spending on drugs in Pernambuco and that taxation is regressive, compromising, in Brazil, 25% of expenditure in the first quintile and only 11% in the last quintile. The Gini index calculated for per capita expending on drugs was 0.93%, showing almost an extreme inequality in Brazil and the probability of incurring catastrophic health expenditure follows the methodology of the World Health Organization (WHO). The main results show that there is inequality in spending on drugs in Pernambuco and that taxation is regressive, compromising, in Brazil, 25% of expenditure in the first quintile and only 11% in the last quintile. The Gini index calculated for per capita expenditure on drugs was 0.93%, showing almost an extreme inequality in Brazil.

Antecedentes: La investigación en salud e inmigración internacional sigue siendo un reto, con gran impacto en Salud Pública, en los países de destino y en los de origen. Tras el estallido de la crisis financiera de 2008, los estudios han sido poco frecuentes. La evidencia científica, una vez que los inmigrantes han dejado de ser "recién llegados", y que el “efecto inmigrante sano” ha dejado de actuar, es muy escasa. Objetivos: Los cuatro objetivos de esta tesis son: 1) Examinar las diferencias entre trabajadores por estatus migratorio, la salud general percibida y la salud mental, y su relación con condiciones laborales, nivel educativo y clase social ocupacional, estratificando por sexo; 2) Evaluar la relación entre jornadas laborales en horas y salud general percibida por estatus migratorio en trabajadores en Estados Unidos y España; 3) Describir el trabajo de campo basal y las principales características socio-demográficas de las familias incorporadas a las sub-cohortes de Alicante y Barcelona del “Proyecto de Estudios Longitudinales de Familias Inmigrantes (PELFI)”; y por último 4) Evaluar la relación entre jornadas laborales en horas y la mala salud general percibida al inicio de una cohorte de trabajadores inmigrantes y nativos en España. Metodología: Tesis por compendio de publicaciones. Se divide en tres publicaciones y un manuscrito enviado. Como fuente de datos se han utilizado bases de datos secundarias para responder los dos primeros objetivos (Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2012; VII Encuesta de Condiciones de Trabajo junto con 2009-2010 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), y datos primarios para el tercer y cuarto objetivo, procedentes de las sub-cohortes de Alicante y Barcelona del proyecto PELFI. Estudio observacional y transversal en población trabajadora, con inmigrantes asentados para el primer objetivo (n=7880 autóctonos; n=711 inmigrantes), y con inmigrantes de origen latinoamericano para el segundo objetivo (n=9985 autóctonos; n=947 inmigrantes). Estudio observacional transversal del trabajo de campo para el tercer objetivo (n=57 familias autóctonas; n=193 familias inmigrantes), y con población trabajadora incluyendo inmigrantes de origen latinoamericano para el cuarto objetivo (n=89 autóctonos; n=217 inmigrantes). En el análisis estadístico, se calcularon prevalencias en todos los trabajos y Odds Ratios ajustados y crudos para los objetivos 1, 2 y 4. Para el primer objetivo, se calcularon fracciones explicativas de las prevalencias. Resultados: Los principales hallazgos en esta tesis han sido: ser mujer trabajadora e inmigrante, asentada en España, se asocia a mala salud general percibida y a mala salud mental, siendo la clase social ocupacional, el factor que más contribuyó en estas asociaciones (Artículo 1). Las largas jornadas laborales se asocian a mala salud general percibida en tres grupos: mujeres inmigrantes, mujeres autóctonas, y hombres autóctonos, pero solo en población trabajadora en España y no en población trabajadora de Estados Unidos (Artículo 2). La aproximación comunitaria y de confianza con la población de estudio, en combinación con las técnicas de muestreo no probabilísticas (sistema de conveniencia, sistema de bola de nieve y captación en lugares diana) resultan en una alta tasa de cooperación, clave para el éxito para el reclutamiento en de cohortes de inmigrantes (Artículo 3). Los trabajadores inmigrantes que residen en familias monoparentales, tienen la mayor probabilidad de mala salud general percibida, especialmente para aquellos que reportaron largas jornadas laborales. (Manuscrito 4). Conclusiones: Las principales conclusiones de esta tesis han sido: Las mujeres trabajadoras inmigrantes asentadas en España son un grupo de trabajadores especialmente vulnerable. Se debe tener en cuenta la sobrerrepresentación de este grupo en la rama de actividad de servicio doméstico (Artículo 1). Las largas jornadas laborales afectan la salud de mujeres inmigrantes, mujeres autóctonas, y hombres autóctonos en España y no en Estados Unidos, posiblemente debido al contexto de post-crisis financiera (Artículo 2). Para la formación de cohortes de familias inmigrantes, población de difícil acceso, se recomienda la combinación de técnicas no probabilísticas con estrategias comunitarias y de confianza (Artículo 3). Los trabajadores inmigrantes que residen en familias monoparentales son especialmente vulnerables a la exposición a largas jornadas laborales, debido a la responsabilidad de proveer a la familia con el principal salario y a la situación respecto a las responsabilidades domésticas (Artículo 4).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis researched the relationship between alcohol consumption, socioeconomic characteristics and alcohol-related harms such as subjective health status, chronic health conditions and mental health status in South Africa. The study sought to determine if the alcohol harm paradox (AHP) exists in the country. The AHP is the empirical finding that socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals tend to suffer more alcohol-related harms compared to individuals who are socioeconomically advantaged, despite reporting similar or lower levels of alcohol consumption on average. The research presented the contextual background to alcohol consumption in the country that helped form the current drinking culture, which includes the harmful drinking culture fomented by the apartheid system in the townships and farms of South Africa. The study also reviewed the effectiveness of current alcohol policies and legislation in addressing alcohol-related harms in the South African society. / 2023