Health and Class

The findings from the first comprehensive account of health inequalities in young adults in Britain are controversial. A contemporary sample of 23 year olds, the internationally respected National Child Development Study, was used. The study addresses social inequalities in health, an understanding of which is central to health policy in the 1990s and beyond. The World Health Organisation objective of "Health for all" by the year 2000 will be more easily achieved with a clearer identification of the underlying problems in society. With data available for the same individuals from birth to early adulthood, the causes of health inequalities are traced. The fundamental questions are whether health inequalities arise from current circumstances, childhood experiences, inheritance, behaviour or education. Planners of social policy and health care should find some of the answers and a useful information in this text. This book should be of interest to health professionals, academics from a wide range of principles (family studies, education, sociology).