HEDS is part of the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. We undertake research, teaching, training and consultancy on all aspects of health related decision science, with a particular emphasis on health economics, HTA and evidence synthesis.

Thursday 10 May 2012

Economic inactivity and health

In an editorial published today on the BMJ web site, Professor Mel Bartley of University College London reports an comments on work recently published by Jon Minton of HEDS.  Health, employment, and economic change, 1973-2009: repeated cross sectional study reports on work undertaken by Jon, Kate Pickett and Danny Dorling.

The work examined the extent to which the relationship between social class, health and economic activity seen between 1994 and 2009 had changed from that observed in the period 1973-1993.  The work showed that the relationship between good health and employment had strengthened for both men and women, albeit for different reasons. For men, this was due to decreases in employment rates for men with poorer health, whilst for women this was due to increases in employment for healthier women.  Further details and less cavalier simplifications are available in the BMJ.