Acheson Report
The Acheson Report, fully titled the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report, was a report published in 1998 by a United Kingdom inquiry headed by Donald Acheson.[1]
Like earlier reports on health disparities in the United Kingdom including the Black Report and the Whitehall Study, the Acheson report demonstrates the existence of health disparities and their relationship to social class. Among the report's findings are that despite an overall downward trend in mortality from 1970–1990, the upper social classes experienced a more rapid mortality decline. The report contains 39 policy suggestions in areas ranging from taxation to agriculture, for ameliorating health disparities.[2][3] It had some influence on the 1998 government green paper Our Healthier Nation: A Contract for Health which had a stated aim of reducing health inequalities;[4] and the 1999 white paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation.
Inquiry members
The following were members of the inquiry:[5]
- Donald Acheson (chair)
- David Barker
- Jacky Chambers
- Hilary Graham
- Michael Marmot
- Margaret Whitehead
See also
References
- ^ Graham, H., Understanding Health Inequalities, (2000), Open University Press
- ^ Isaacs, J.D., Stephen L. and Steven A. Schroeder. "Class - The Ignored Determinant of the Nation's Health". New England Journal of Medicine 351.11 (Sep 2004), 1137-1142.
- ^ Black & al, Inequalities in Health, (1990), Penguin
- ^ The Stationery Office, Our Healthier Nation, (1998)
- ^ Ray Earwicker (2007). "Progress in tackling health inequalities: a policy maker's reflections". In Dowler, Elizabeth; Spencer, Nick J. (eds.). Challenging health inequalities: from Acheson to 'Choosing Health'. Bristol: Policy Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1861348999.
External links
- Official Documents Archive - Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report