Revisiting Health Justice

Revisiting our social justice roots in population health intervention research.

ublic health has its roots in social justice. Descriptions of public health work in the early 20 th century reveal the appalling living conditions of the poor and the inequities that were predominant at the time. Class distinctions were apparent in life expectancy, and in differential rates of access to sanitation, clean water, education, food and adequate housing. Although there have been many...

Revisiting public health preparedness: Incorporating social justice principles into pandemic preparedness planning for influenza.

Public health professionals are responsible for ensuring the health of the nation, which requires that planners for public health emergencies recognize that not including protection for underserved or marginalized communities poses a risk to the entire population. To assure the protection of these populations in the event of a pandemic outbreak, preparedness planning will benefit from the appli...

Revisiting the relationship between retributive and restorative justice

Global health and justice.

In Australia, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland, the average life expectancy is now greater than 80 years. But in Angola, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy is less than 40 years. The situation is even worse than these statistics suggest because average figures tend to mask inequalities within countries. What are we to make of a world with such inequal health prospects...

Justice, health, and healthcare.

Healthcare (including public health) is special because it protects normal functioning, which in turn protects the range of opportunities open to individuals. I extend this account in two ways. First, since the distribution of goods other than healthcare affect population health and its distribution, I claim that Rawls's principles of justice describe a fair distribution of the social determina...