Tackling Health Inequalities (IMO)

Nat O'Connor: I had the opportunity to address the IMO's annual general meeting on Friday 24th April, at a scientific session entitled "Balancing a Strong Economy and an Equitable Society" (click here for my paper and presentation).

The IMO themselves have published a position paper on health inequalities, and as part of the AGM they launched a new paper on Balancing a Strong Economy and an Equitable Society, which is not yet on their website.

Tom Healy (NERI) also gave a paper in this session, on economic growth for a better, fairer society.

The key message is that distribution of income in the economy is deeply linked with health outcomes, and only by addressing inequalities in the economy (through wages, taxes, welfare, services, etc.) can we hope to make the necessary improvements in public health, especially among people who gain least from the current system.

Dr Nat O'Connor     @natpolicy

Nat O’Connor is lecturer in social policy in UCD’s School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice and part-time policy specialist at Age Action Ireland. Previously Director of TASC, Nat also led the research team in Dublin’s Homeless Agency.

He has taught politics and social policy since 1999. He has a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin and a MA in Political Science and Social Policy from the University of Dundee. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), a member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and chairperson of the Irish Social Policy Association (ISPA). You can find him on LinkedIn (natoconnor) and TwitterX @natpolicy