Health Sciences 1002A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Environmental Health, Social Capital, Canadian Studies

• School: Western University
• Department: Health Sciences
• Course: Health Sciences 1002A/B
• Professor: Jessica Polzer

Document Summary

Canadian social policies have for some time included poverty reduction as a goal. Some policies have been successful, such as those focusing on poverty reduction among the elderly, and others unsuccessful, such as policies for reduction of childhood poverty. There are 2 general types of studies on income and health: (1) those assessing the relationship between income and health (2) those assessing the relationship between income inequality and health. Problems found in studies assessing the relationship between income and health : don"t necessarily encompass factors such as social deprivation and social capital: the social aspects of poverty. The indicators selected for study may have other drawbacks, some of which may have implications for identifying the income-health relationship: (1) the indicator may not reflect annual disposable income. Ideally, income should be calculated after taxes and governmental transfers. Likewise, income should account for costs of public services.