Shame & the illegitimacy of dependency
Connecting toxic discourses to the health inequalities debate One of the many toxic features of neoliberalism is the way in which it divides the population into those considered deserving or undeserving. This was recently seen through the ‘strivers’ and ‘shirkers’...
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Whose quality of life?
I was 10 years old when I made a return visit to the neonatal intensive care unit where I was treated after my premature birth. I stared at the tiny occupants in the incubators, seemingly unaware of their sterile, plastic,...
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Detoxing Schools: Do lotteries for school places offer the best medicine?
The best social science book I have read this year is Toxic Schools, Bowen Paulle’s account of urban high-school-life in New York and Amsterdam. Paulle demonstrates how divisive educational systems that segregate poor, black and other ethnic minority students into...
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Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Mental Health Policy at a Cross Roads in the UK
BME inequality in terms of mental health service use and service provision is no further forward than it was 10 years ago. It needs to be urgently addressed as a high priority area of social policy.
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‘Serving the Public?’ Media, Politics and The NHS
We have medical programmes to suit our every taste. Currently viewers can choose high drama with Channel 4s’ ’24 Hours in A & E‘ filming around the clock in Kings College Hospital, London or everyday stories of sore throats, stress...
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Taking responsibility for our health
Last week the chairman of NICE, David Haslam called for patients to stop being deferential to doctors and be more proactive in ensuring that they receive the best healthcare available. He argues that, patients should be more aware of the...
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Holiday parasites and furry friends
What did you bring back from your last holiday? Some happy memories, a sun-tan or perhaps something more exotic? A parasite? A stray dog? Both? Seventy-five per-cent of new human diseases are zoonotic. Concern for human public health means monitoring...
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“Maybe we just need to be a little bit more… sexy?”: What is ‘public health advocacy’ and should health inequalities researchers be doing it?
Health inequalities in the UK are a major challenge, and they are growing. The apparent failure of policy efforts to reduce these inequalities often prompts calls for more public health ‘advocacy’ from researchers in the field. It is argued, first,...
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2015: Time for politicians to make a healthy New Year’s resolution