Sağlıkta Sosyal Eşitsizlikler, Hakkaniyet ve Sindemik Yaklaşım

Abstract

The social determinants of health, social inequalities and equitable healthcare are issues that have been known, pondered and debated since the start of the industrial revolution and are widely accepted within the health sector. However, despite this long history, there is no clear ownership of the issue and there are very few practical solutions. The resolution of issues related to this topic is left to managers by healthcare workers, and to politicians by managers, yet it fails to attract the interest of politicians.

This article first provides a summary of the social determinants of health, focusing on the social inequalities and equity issues in health services utilisation that are prominent today. Information is provided on the importance of a syndemic approach to the problems, using PROGRESS, which is an acronym formed from the first letters of the English words place of residence, race-ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, educational status, socio-economic status and social capital, which is suitable for use in guiding all those involved in health, particularly public health professionals and physicians, to make a sound assessment.