Historically interventions aimed at improving the health of populations have met with limited success At the end of the Second World war advancements in medical science, such as the mass production of penicillin to treat infectious diseases, led to an impact on policy making and most notably the provision of free medical services through the NHS and the welfare state within the UK.“It is understandable, given this background, that the provision of universally available medical care was seen as a vital part of policy for improving health standards throughout society “(Blane et al,1996, p2)

It was expected that these developments would narrow social class differences in health but figures relating to standardised mortality ratios for social classes showed that these differences were actually widening

• Capability poverty- covering the ability, or lack of, to live a healthy life, free of avoidable disease; having adequate nourishment; being informed and knowledgeable; being capable of reproducing; being personally secure; and being able to actively participate in society.

For many ethnic groups their culture is central to their health and well-being. In modern societies the influence of culture appears to be an important factor in developing strategies to improve health. Cultural factors can have both a positive and negative influence on health. According to Townsend et al ‘Minority, ethnic or ethnic minority group is used to describe any group of people who…… are not part of the majority and may experience varying degrees of discrimination’.

Many social, cultural and economic factors affect health but those determinants that have been shown in a variety of settings to have the greatest influence appear to be income and poverty, employment and occupation, education, housing, population based services (for example electricity for heating and refrigeration, water and sewerage), social cohesion and culture and ethnicity.

Some topics in this essay:
, Alcock Erskine, Committee Zealand, Education Education, Conclusion People, GA Ascherio, Culture Ethnicity, Housing Housing, Employment Occupation, Eastern European, social cohesion, social class, social economic, et al, social economic cultural, economic cultural, determinants health, population based services, people low, population based, based services, inequalities health, people low incomes, physical mental health, social class differences,