International Journal of Health Sciences

Applying the Political Economy of Health and Social Determinants of Health Frameworks together: can this approach improve our understanding of health inequalities?
Laura Kmentt and Jonathan Filippon

Abstract
The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework is popular with academics and policy makers as a multifactorial explanation for unequal health attainment; Political Economy of Health is less debated and seldom a theoretical focus. We hypothesise that combining these theories unearths the roots of health inequalities and inequities. We propose a framework integrating both, which aims to not only identify ‘health gaps’ (SDH) but also aims to actively reduce these towards ‘political economy’-informed health policies. We conducted a literature search of four databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus, to identify works which attempt to combine the social determinants of health and the political economy of health frameworks, explaining and interpreting health inequalities in different settings. Out of 156 results, we included 13 papers for analysis. The main themes that emerged from this body of literature were: private-public sector health inequalities, adverse local health outcomes and governmental policies fostering the improvement of local health outcomes. The concomitant application of political economy theories and the social determinants of health can be complementary to not only identify the so-called ‘health gaps’ between different social groups, but also to interpret these as outcomes of the economic system, affecting individuals and their social classes in different ways. Political Economy of Health can complement the SDH framework by inserting power relations into the interpretative mix as one of the keys to the creation, maintenance and reduction of health inequalities through health policy making.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijhs.v10n1a5