Netherlands aims to tackle health divide

Better educated and wealthier Dutch people enjoy on average 12 more years of good health and four more years of life than their poorer, less well educated compatriots.

This socioeconomic divide seems to have increased and may widen further as death rates among richer people fall faster than among the poorer sections of society, because of healthier lifestyles and better access to medical care.

These are among the conclusions of a five year investigation into socioeconomic health inequalities, which was commissioned by the Dutch government and charged with making recommendations on reducing the divide. Socioeconomic inequalities remain similar to …