PLoS One
[Accessed 13 December 2014]
http://www.plosone.org/

Research Article
The Link between Inequality and Population Health in Low and Middle Income Countries: Policy Myth or Social Reality?
Ioana van Deurzen mail, Wim van Oorschot, Erik van Ingen
Published: December 11, 2014
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115109
Abstract
An influential policy idea states that reducing inequality is beneficial for improving health in the low and middle income countries (LMICs). Our study provides an empirical test of this idea: we utilized data collected by the Demographic and Health Surveys between 2000 and 2011 in as much as 52 LMICs, and we examined the relationship between household wealth inequality and two health outcomes: anemia status (of the children and their mothers) and the women’ experience of child mortality. Based on multi-level analyses, we found that higher levels of household wealth inequality related to worse health, but this effect was strongly reduced when we took into account the level of individuals’ wealth. However, even after accounting for the differences between individuals in terms of household wealth and other characteristics, in those LMICs with higher household wealth inequality more women experienced child mortality and more children were tested with anemia. This effect was partially mediated by the country’s level and coverage of the health services and infrastructure. Furthermore, we found higher inequality to be related to a larger health gap between the poor and the rich in only one of the three examined samples. We conclude that an effective way to improve the health in the LMICs is to increase the wealth among the poor, which in turn also would lead to lower overall inequality and potential investments in public health infrastructure and services.

An Outbreak of Type Π Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus in Sichuan Province, China: Emergence and Circulation in an Under-Immunized Population
Hai-Bo Wang, Gang Fang, Wen-Zhou Yu, Fei Du, Chun-Xiang Fan, Qing-Lian Liu, Li-Xin Hao, Yu Liu, Jing-Shan Zheng, Zhi-Ying Qin, Wei Xia, Shi-Yue Zhang, Zun-Dong Yin, Qiong Jing, Yan-Xia Zhang, Rong-Na Huang, Ru-Pei Yang, Wen-Bin Tong, Qi Qi, Xu-Jing Guan, Yu-Lin Jing, Qian-Li Ma, Jin Wang, Xiao-Zhen Ma, Na Chen, Hong-Ru Zheng, Yin-Qiao Li, Chao Ma, Qi-Ru Su, Kathleen H. Reilly, Hui-Ming Luo, Xian-Ping Wu, Ning Wen, Wei-Zhong Yang
Research Article | published 11 Dec 2014 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0113880

The Possible Impact of Vaccination for Seasonal Influenza on Emergence of Pandemic Influenza via Reassortment
Xu-Sheng Zhang, Richard Pebody, Daniela De Angelis, Peter J. White, Andre Charlett, John W. McCauley
Research Article | published 10 Dec 2014 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0114637

The Relationship between Influenza Vaccination Habits and Location of Vaccination
Lori Uscher-Pines, Andrew Mulcahy, Jurgen Maurer, Katherine Harris
Research Article | published 09 Dec 2014 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0114863

School-Located Influenza Vaccination Reduces Community Risk for Influenza and Influenza-Like Illness Emergency Care Visits
Cuc H. Tran, Jonathan D. Sugimoto, Juliet R. C. Pulliam, Kathleen A. Ryan, Paul D. Myers, Joan B. Castleman, Randell Doty, Jackie Johnson, Jim Stringfellow, Nadia Kovacevich, Joe Brew, Lai Ling Cheung, Brad Caron, Gloria Lipori, Christopher A. Harle, Charles Alexander, Yang Yang, Ira M. Longini, M. Elizabeth Halloran, J. Glenn Morris, Parker A. Small
Research Article | published 09 Dec 2014 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0114479

Socio-Psychological Factors Driving Adult Vaccination: A Qualitative Study
Ana Wheelock, Anam Parand, Bruno Rigole, Angus Thomson, Marisa Miraldo, Charles Vincent, Nick Sevdalis
Research Article | published 09 Dec 2014 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0113503