BMJ  2008;336:743 (5 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39537.828032.C2

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Reducing inequalities in health will need a long timeframe, MPs are told

¹ Margate

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Government targets to reduce health inequalities in England might be measuring the wrong things, and the means to tackle the problem will emerge only over a long period, MPs have been told.

Public health experts told MPs on the parliamentary select committee on health last week, as part of its inquiry into health inequalities, why they thought so little progress had been made so far.

MPs asked why health inequalities have continued to grow, despite government efforts in its 2003 strategy Tackling Inequalities: A Programme for Action and despite GPs achieving health targets set out in their contract.

Hilary Graham, professor of health sciences at the University of York, giving evidence, said, "The targets are quite short term—2010 for the health inequality ones—and, to have an impact on a very deep seated problem like inequalities in health, [this] is too short a time to expect a major impact on health . . . [Full text of this article]

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BMJ 2008 336: 0. [Extract] [Full Text]