期刊名称:Environmental Health - a Global Access Science Source
印刷版ISSN:1476-069X
电子版ISSN:1476-069X
出版年度:2011
卷号:10
期号:1
页码:S7
DOI:10.1186/1476-069X-10-S1-S7
语种:English
出版社:BioMed Central
摘要:This paper provides a synthesis on socioeconomic inequalities in cancer incidence, mortality and survival across countries and within countries, with particular focus on the Italian context; the paper also describes the underlying mechanisms documented for cancer incidence, and reports some remarks on policies to tackle inequalities. From a worldwide perspective, the burden of cancer appears to be particularly increasing in developing countries, where many cancers with a poor prognosis (liver, stomach and oesophagus) are much more common than in richer countries. As in the case of incidence and mortality, also in cancer survival we observe a great variability across countries. Different studies have suggested a possible impact of health care on the social gradients in cancer survival, even in countries with a National Health System providing equitable access to care. In developed countries, there is increasing awareness of social inequalities as an important public health issue; as a consequence, there is a variety of strategies and policies being implemented throughout Europe. However, recent reviews emphasize that present knowledge on effectiveness of policies and interventions on health inequalities is not sufficient to offer a robust and evidence-based guide to the choice and design of interventions, and that more evaluation studies are needed. The large disparities in health that we can measure within and between countries represent a challenge to the world; social health inequalities are avoidable, and their reduction therefore represents an achievable goal and an ethical imperative.
关键词:Cervical Cancer ; Social Inequality ; Childhood Cancer ; Socioeconomic Position ; Lung Cancer Risk