Homework answers / question archive / Queens University HEALTH 101 Week 8: Income Inequality 1)Richard Wilkinson, a British epidemiologist, has hypothesized that •             there was a fundamental error in the design of the Whitehall Studies, which, if taken into account, would show that lifestyle factors, such as smoking, diet, and physical activity, are much more important to the gradient in health than Professor Sir Michael Marmot has demonstrated •             income inequality has important effects on social and psychological well-being, and as income inequality increases, health decreases •             social gradients in health would disappear if governments would embrace neo-liberal political ideology •             that poverty and disease are linked through low birth weight, which reflects the mother's lifetime nutrition •             all of the above 2

Queens University HEALTH 101 Week 8: Income Inequality 1)Richard Wilkinson, a British epidemiologist, has hypothesized that •             there was a fundamental error in the design of the Whitehall Studies, which, if taken into account, would show that lifestyle factors, such as smoking, diet, and physical activity, are much more important to the gradient in health than Professor Sir Michael Marmot has demonstrated •             income inequality has important effects on social and psychological well-being, and as income inequality increases, health decreases •             social gradients in health would disappear if governments would embrace neo-liberal political ideology •             that poverty and disease are linked through low birth weight, which reflects the mother's lifetime nutrition •             all of the above 2

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Queens University

HEALTH 101

Week 8: Income Inequality

1)Richard Wilkinson, a British epidemiologist, has hypothesized that

•             there was a fundamental error in the design of the Whitehall Studies, which, if taken into account, would show that lifestyle factors, such as smoking, diet, and physical activity, are much more important to the gradient in health than Professor Sir Michael Marmot has demonstrated

•             income inequality has important effects on social and psychological well-being, and as income inequality increases, health decreases

•             social gradients in health would disappear if governments would

embrace neo-liberal political ideology

•             that poverty and disease are linked through low birth weight, which reflects the mother's lifetime nutrition

•             all of the above

2.            According to Richard Wilkinson, greater income disparity between the richest and poorest in a community, province or country:

•             predicts higher rates of cardiovascular disease among the poor

•             predicts worse average health outcomes for everyone than in a more equal society

•             predicts increased chronic psychosocial stress among the wealthy

•             is associated with increased incidence of unhealthy lifestyles among the poor

•             could be a significant political problem, but has nothing to do with

health

•             only (a) and (d)

3.            The Preston Curve shows that

•             in general, life expectancy increases rapidly in the world's poorest countries as per capita GDP increases, but for middle and higher income countries, increased per capita GDP has little association with life expectancy

 

•             the GINI co-efficient is a better predictor of life expectancy than the Robin Hood Index

•             psychosocial stressors are more common in higher income countries

than lower income countries

•             within any given country, the wealthier have healthier lifestyles than poorer people

•             Richard Wilkinson's hypothesis has some critical flaws

 

 

 

4.            If the psychosocial hypothesis explains the socioeconomic gradient in health better than the materialist or neo-materialist hypotheses,

•             we might see a reduction in the socioeconomic gradient in health if we make sure everyone learns and practices stress reduction techniques

•             we don't have to worry about redistributing wealth through a progressive taxation system or implementing other progressive social policies

•             we should implement a more progressive taxation system to ensure that everyone has more equal social status

•             we will need to find a better measure of income inequality than the

GINI coefficient

•             all of the above

•             only (a) and (b)

•             only (a), (b), and (c)

5.            If Richard Wilkinson is right about the inverse relationship between income inequality and health

•             if Canada would like to improve population health, we should act quickly to reduce income inequality

•             reducing income inequality in Canada will have no impact on

population health

•             this would be the best explanation for why Aboriginal health and longevity is so much worse than for non-Aboriginal Canadians

•             if Canada would like to improve population health, we need to

implement a more progressive income tax system and more progressive social programs to help redistribute income

•             all of the above except (b)

•             only (a) and (d)