Research and publications
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200700020 |
| Pages | 49-52 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
49
journal of public mental health
vol 6 • issue 3
© Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
Research and publications
Inequalities
Jenkins S, Micklewright M. New directions in the
analysis of inequality and poverty.ISER working
paper 2007-11. Institute for Social and Economic
Research.Colchester :University of Essex.
www.iser.essex.ac.uk/pubs/workpaps/pdf/2007-
11.pdf
The unparalleled rise in income inequality in the
UK during the 1980s has been a catalyst for a wide
range of studies concerned to revisit the
interpretation and analysis of material deprivation
and the role of inequalities in explaining the impact
of poverty. This report revisits classic texts from the
late 60s and 70s, including Amartya Sen’s
masterpiece On Economic Inequality (1973), and
looks at what has changed. Of particular interest is
the data on how much the picture has changed
globally, not just in the UK but in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia. The authors look at changes in
the policy environment as poverty moves both up
and down the agenda, and the significance of the
expansion in definitions of poverty to include social
exclusion and access to goods and services. They
argue that the growing availability of longitudinal
data has the potential to transform our
understanding of patterns and cycles of poverty and
income distribution. Essential reading. ❂
REFERENCE
Sen A (1973). On economic inequality. New York: Norton.
Mental health indicators
Association of Public Health Observatories (2007)
Indications of public health in the English Regions
7: Mental health.York:APHO.www.nepho.org.uk/
view_file.php?c=2229
This report from public health observatory
colleagues in the North East (NEPHO) and the
National Mental Health Observatory (MHO) is a
brave and welcome attempt to move beyond service
delivery statistics when drawing a comparative
picture of mental health in the regions. The report
is structured around risk and protective factors,
population health (eg. psychiatric morbidity and use
of services), interventions (eg. admissions, primary
care prescribing), service user experience, and
workforce capacity. Bar charts are used to identify
where regions differ significantly from the national
average, making it immediately clear where there
appear to be important differences between, say, the
South West and the North East. In the North West,
for example, risk factors that are highest or
significantly higher than elsewhere in England
include unemployment; unemployment among
people with mental health problems; incapacity
benefit claimants; incidence of limiting long-term
illness (one fifth of the population in the North
West); alcohol consumption; physical inactivity;
low educational attainment, and fear of crime. The
only areas where the North West scores above
average are for the protective factors of religious
affiliation, social support and neighbourliness.
The general pattern of worse measures in the
three northern regions (North East, North West and
Yorkshire and Humber) than in the three southern
regions (South East, South West and Eastern
England) reflects the extent to which risk factors for
mental illness are linked to deprivation. The
inclusion of lifestyle indicators is consistent with
growing evidence of the mental health impact of
drugs, alcohol, diet and exercise. Significant
variations are evident across many indicators – in
service provision, prescribing patterns, user
satisfaction and workforce capacity – as well as in key
determinants. This makes the report an invaluable
resource for colleagues still battling to keep
inequalities on the agenda and to narrow the gap
between those regions with the most and the least
factors toxic to mental well-being. ❂
Life satisfaction
Department of the Environment, Farming and
Rural Affairs (2007) Survey of behaviours and
attitudes. London: DEFRA. http://www.defra.gov.
uk/news/2007/070727b.htm
This fascinating new data set comes from a series
of well-being questions that were included in
DEFRA’s 2007 survey of attitudes towards the
environment. It is part of a growing body of
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