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International Journal for Equity in Health
Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Towards health equity: a framework for the application of proportionate universalism

Authors: Gemma Carey, Brad Crammond, Evelyne De Leeuw

Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Introduction

The finding that there is a social gradient in health has prompted considerable interest in public health circles. Recent influential works describing health inequities and their causes do not always argue cogently for a policy framework that would drive the most appropriate solutions differentially across the social gradient This paper aims to develop a practice heuristic for proportionate universalism.

Methods

Through a review the proposed heuristic integrates evidence from welfare state and policy research, the literature on universal and targeted policy frameworks, and a multi-level governance approach that adopts the principle of subsidiarity.

Results

The proposed heuristic provides a more-grained analysis of different policy approaches, integral for operationalizing the concept of proportionate universalism.

Conclusion

The proposed framework would allow governments at all levels, social policy developers and bureaucrats, public health professionals and activists to consider the appropriateness of distinctive policy objectives across distinctive population needs within universal welfare state principles.
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Metadata
Title
Towards health equity: a framework for the application of proportionate universalism
Authors
Gemma Carey
Brad Crammond
Evelyne De Leeuw
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
International Journal for Equity in Health / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1475-9276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-015-0207-6

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