Explaining health inequalities in Australia: the contribution of income, wealth and employment

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dc.contributor.authorFlavel, J.
dc.contributor.authorMcKee, M.
dc.contributor.authorTesfay, F.H.
dc.contributor.authorMusolino, C.
dc.contributor.authorFreeman, T.
dc.contributor.authorvan Eyk, H.
dc.contributor.authorBaum, F.
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractBackground: Studies show widespread widening of socioeconomic and health inequalities. Comprehensive primary health care has a focus on equity and to enact this requires more data on drivers of the increase in inequities. Hence, we examined trends in the distribution of income, wealth, employment and health in Australia. Methods: We analysed data from the Public Health Information Development Unit and Australian Bureau of Statistics. Inequalities were assessed using rate ratios and the slope index of inequality. Results. We found that the social gradient in health, income, wealth and labour force participation has steepened in Australia, and inequalities widened between the quintile living in the most disadvantaged areas and the quintile living in the least disadvantaged areas. Conclusion: Widening income, wealth and employment inequalities have been accompanied by increasing health inequalities, and have reinforced and amplified adverse health effects, leading to increased mortality inequality. Effective comprehensive primary health care needs to be informed by an understanding of structural factors driving economic and health inequities.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJoanne Flavel, Martin McKee, Fisaha Haile Tesfay, Connie Musolino, Toby Freeman, Helen van Eyk and Fran Baum
dc.identifier.citationAustralian Journal of Primary Health, 2022; 28(6):474-481
dc.identifier.doi10.1071/py21285
dc.identifier.issn1448-7527
dc.identifier.issn1836-7399
dc.identifier.orcidFlavel, J. [0000-0003-3228-7192]
dc.identifier.orcidMusolino, C. [0000-0002-3269-8883]
dc.identifier.orcidFreeman, T. [0000-0002-2787-8580]
dc.identifier.orcidvan Eyk, H. [0000-0002-8573-4235]
dc.identifier.orcidBaum, F. [0000-0002-2294-1368]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/137368
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishing
dc.rights© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1071/py21285
dc.subjectAustralia; economic inequality; health equity; health inequalities; social class; social determinants of health; social gradient; socioeconomic factors
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshAustralia
dc.subject.meshHealth Inequities
dc.titleExplaining health inequalities in Australia: the contribution of income, wealth and employment
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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