BACKGROUND One of the main challenges of healthcare systems of developing countries is health inequality. Health inequality means inequality in individuals' ability and proper functioning, resulting in inequality in social status and living conditions, which thwarts social interventions implemented by the government. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine and prioritize the social determina...

Plakin proteins form critical connections between cell junctions and the cytoskeleton; their disruption within epithelial and cardiac muscle cells cause skin-blistering diseases and cardiomyopathies. Envoplakin has a single plakin repeat domain (PRD) which recognizes intermediate filaments through an unresolved mechanism. Herein we report the crystal structure of envoplakin's complete PRD fold,...

This article is the third in a three-part review of research on globalization and the social determinants of health (SDH). In the first article of the series, we identified and defended an economically oriented definition of globalization and addressed a number of important conceptual and metholodogical issues. In the second article, we identified and described seven key clusters of pathways re...

The theory of social determinants of health (SDH) posits that the health of people and communities is affected by social and economic factors (i.e., economic stability, education, neighborhood and built environment, health and health care, and social and community context). These interrelated constructs may negatively affect minority patients’ ability to participate in cancer research. Understa...

Health equity has started to receive significant attention among Canadian policy-makers, with acknowledgement at both the federal and provincial levels of the importance of reducing health inequities. However, a challenging budget environment has led to a number of budget cutbacks in areas that are likely to negatively influence social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and soc...

BACKGROUND In order to improve the health of the most vulnerable groups in society, the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) called for multi-sectoral action, which requires research and policy on the multiple and inter-linking factors shaping health outcomes. Most conceptual tools available to researchers tend to focus on singular and specific social determinants of health (S...

Globalization is a key context for the study of social determinants of health (SDH). Broadly stated, SDH are the conditions in which people live and work, and that affect their opportunities to lead healthy lives.In this first article of a three-part series, we describe the origins of the series in work conducted for the Globalization Knowledge Network of the World Health Organization's Commiss...

Action on the social determinants of health (SDH) is required to reduce inequities in health. This article summarises global progress, largely in terms of commitments and strategies. It is clear that there is widespread support for a SDH approach across the world, from global political commitment to within country action. Inequities in the conditions in which people are born, live, work and age...

BACKGROUND The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are monitored using national-level statistics, which have shown substantial improvements in many countries. These statistics may be misleading, however, and may divert resources from disadvantaged populations within the same countries that are showing progress. The purpose of this article is to set out the relevance and design of the "Evidence ...