damage from the socio-economic factors. For instance there are differences about access to the major medical care and their quality when we talk of various groups of the society, where healthier and better-off groups enjoy more of that access. The same holds true both for preventive services and for treatment (Whitehead and Dahlgren, 2008).
The economic standpoint contains reasons showing that such healthcare disparities result in huge loss and waste of human resource, which could otherwise be used both for individual prosperity and for the society at large.
Health inequity means that a significant part of the society has no chance to reach their full health potential, and this cuts them from access and a chance to enjoy other basic human rights. The conclusion here implies that the society should be equal and fair in distributing the resources available so that to make these accessible for everyone (Whitehead, M. et al., 2008).
Socio-economic factors are meaningful factors in health inequity. This assumption is based on the ideas of the mechanisms connecting health and socio-economic inequity. In some cases such mechanisms are rather obvious while in other cases they are more complicated and are not so visible from the surface. Thus, the level of income determines the differences in living standards – the quality and the quantity of the goods and services consumed. This, first of all, affects the nutrition calorie content, food diversity and balance, protective and sanitary-hygiene features of the clothes and footwear, as well as the comfort and convenience of the living micro-environment. Differences in the living conditions develop unequal capacities to adjust and to cope with physical and emotional stress. Inequity in living conditions determines unequal access to efficient ways of coping with health disturbances. Such mechanisms of socio-economic inequity “rubbing off” onto health is linked to the hypothesis stating that the relationship between the health and the socio-economic status could be expressed through the interconnection of “better economic status – better health status”. The health status is subject to the influence of individual behavior – smoking, alcohol, poor or imbalanced nutrition, and lack of physical activity. The differences in health status that are due to lifestyle shall be unfair when the choice of the lifestyle is restricted with socio-economic factors never directly depending on the person himself. For instance, poorer (from the socio-economic viewpoint) groups have been shown to tend to adopt behavior patterns posing potential threat to their health (Тапилина В. C., 2004).
The findings from a number of European research projects suggest that the death rate among those found at the “lowest” rank of the social ladder is typically 2–3 times as high, while the life expectancy in non-qualified employees is 5 years shorter if compared with qualified personnel; also there is a 9—12-year gap between the poor and the well-off in terms of their life expectancy free from any disabling condition (Anand, 2002; Mackenbach, Kunst, 1997; Marmot, 2004).
Studying social inequity in health and its change over time is one of the key areas in the modern research into the sociology of health. Such research will help deeper comprehension of social mechanisms in the development of health and how much health inequity is due to economic and social changes that the society faces; this will also bring about the idea of the trends – either increasing or decreasing – in health inequity between different social groups. Such research projects are of great importance in terms of developing a social policy aiming at better public health, as well as of assessing the efficiency of the currently implemented measures (Anand, 2002; Mackenbach, Kunst, 1997; Marmot, 2004). According to the documents of the leading international organizations (World Health Organization, WHO, 1990; Braveman, Pitarino, Creese, and Monash, 1996) the nowadays policy of public healthcare is based on the concept of health as a specific public benefit the access to which should be determined following the principles of social justice. This implies equal opportunities in getting the key health resources for people representing various social groups. The implementation of this requirement would involve special attention towards the groups whose status is less favorable compared to others (Anand, 2002).
Mention should be made here that a policy aimed at reducing the health-related burden in low-status social groups will not just meet the justice principles, yet it will also contribute to significant improvement in the population’s health in general (Mackenbach, and Kunst, 1997).
Even though the latest decade has seen measures to reduce inequity taken across Europe, there are still many countries with a growing concern that the disparities and inequities are expanding, which is especially obvious in the Central and Eastern Europe where the phenomena in question have adopted in this century an unprecedented scale if compared with other industrial countries. In some countries (the Russian Federation being one of them) where the worsening general health status in people is a common fact, the increasing inequity and disparities are a dramatic consequence of severe socio-economic shock. However, even countries with a good state of things in healthcare (e.g. Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden) also demonstrate significant evidence of retaining and even increasing inequity, which puts them, too, among the top concern objects from the point of view of public healthcare. The differentiated aggravation of women’s health, in particular in those belonging to vulnerable social groups, has become an issue that is attracting more and more attention from policy-makers in those countries. In some countries there is direct evidence of health inequity depending on the ethnicity. The findings received from the United Kingdom as well as from other places suggest that this is largely a result of the poor socio-economic conditions of certain ethnic groups.
Inequity and injustice are quite different and vary from area to area in different periods of time, which is evidence to the fact that they are not fixed and inevitable and could, actually, be altered. The best results gained or underway in a particular country should become a sample and a guide for other countries in their attempt to reach achievable aims in improving their people’s health.
Social inequity in health is systematic health disparities in various socio-economic groups. This inequity is socially determined (and, therefore, is changeable) and is unfair. Such a judgment of justice is based on the common principle of human rights. There are facts showing that there is huge (and still increasing) social inequity in Europe nowadays, at least as far as relative criteria are concerned (Whitehead and Dahlgren, 2008).
The range of socio-economic inequities is wide: gender– and age-related, educational, race-ethnic, professional, power-related, material– and property-related, territorial, etc. And way, socio-economic inequities violate the principle of social justice. In this respect the concept of social justice could be analyzed.
Social inequity has existed for the entire comprehensible human history. Even though inequity has always been subject to destructive criticism and has never been approved, yet people through history have demonstrated extreme resistance to any “ideal” society based on social equity and absence of suppression among groups.
There is special concern over social inequity when it comes to children’s health. During that the report on health inequity, including the issues of qualitative assessment of gender, age, geographic, and socio-economic factors influencing health disparities, contains data on the health status of adolescents aged 11, 13, and 15 in 2005–2006 representing 41 countries and the WHO’s European region and North America. The purpose of the report was to detect the actual differences in youngsters” health status, and provision of information that could be useful for the development and implementation of specific programs, also contributing to improving young people’s health at large.
This research has produced convincing evidence showing that despite the high health status and well-being in young people many of them still have severe issues related to overweight and obesity, low self-esteem, dissatisfaction with their life, and substance abuse (Whitehead M., Dahlgren G., 2008; C. Currie, S. N. Gabhainn, E. Godeau, C. Roberts, R. Smith, D. Currie, W. Picket, M. Richter, A. Morgan, V. Barnekow, 2008).
The World Health Organization has developed an ambitious program Health for All, which targets at a 25 % reduction of health inequities both inside countries and among them by the beginning of the XXI century (World Health
