Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences provides a unique perspective on health inequalities in Canada and elsewhere. This exciting new volume brings together experiences from seven wealthy developed nations — the United States, Australia, Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Sweden — to analyze their contrasting approaches to reducing avoidable health problems. Some nations are successfully responding to health inequalities, but Canada and the United States are not among them. Why is this, and what can we learn from other nations?

Through a political economy lens, Tackling Health Inequalities considers how societal structures and institutions shape the distribution of economic, political, and social resources that affect health disparities amongst the population. The volume then goes on to examine how governing authorities come to either confront or ignore these health inequalities and the conditions that create them. Through these illustrations, it encourages governing authorities that are tackling health inequalities to continue their efforts and directs those that are not — such as in Canada and elsewhere — towards what must be done.

This groundbreaking text shows the primary lessons from these international experiences: that citizens in Canada and elsewhere need to educate themselves about the importance of tackling health inequalities, and then build the political and social movements that will compel governmental authorities to take action. This volume will serve as a rich resource for professionals and general readers interested in health studies, nursing, social work, public policy, and political economy.

Dennis Raphael, PhD, is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at York University. The most recent of his over 250 scientific publications have focused on the health effects of income inequality and poverty, the quality of life of communities and individuals, and the impact of government decisions on Canadians’ health and well-being. Dr. Raphael is editor of Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences and Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada; co-editor of Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care; and author of Poverty in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life.

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"As a public health nurse, attempting to reduce health disparities among groups within a community or population is challenging, as health is influenced by a multitude of factors. This resource is a great starting point for health care professionals who have ever questioned where to begin when tasked with addressing health inequalities."
—Beverly Kim Bacani, RN, BScN

"For Canada, this book will be an ideal text, and it will be a very good text for comparative health systems courses in other countries as well... Many courses tackling the issue of the political economy of health and health inequalities could make use of such a volume."
— Dr. Carlos Quiñonez, University of Toronto