Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31154234›Full record

ReviewPublic health2019

Defining health and health inequalities.

G McCartney, F Popham, R McMaster, A Cumbers

Registry-linked trialAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07558187 (Assessment of Lifestyle Parameters and Biomarkers of Biochemistry and Physiology to Address Health Inequalities), which is not on this map. Cited by 175 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
175citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07558187 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Assessment of Lifestyle Parameters and Biomarkers of Biochemistry and Physiology to Address Health Inequalities: An Exploratory Cohort Study

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity of ThessalyRan2026 to 2028Enrolled2,000ConditionsNon-communicable Diseases (NCD), Addiction to Opioids, Incarceration, Opioid-use Disorders
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

175 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. A systematic review of inequalities in the uptake of, adherence to, and effectiveness of behavioral weight management interventions in adults.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022
    Pooled it
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  8. Health Impact Assessments of Health Sector Proposals: An Audit and Narrative Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
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  12. Inequities in enrollment across clinical trial phases and the need for a Spanish perspective.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Review
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115 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

G McCartneyNHS Health Scotland, 5 Cadogan Street, Glasgow, G2 6QE, UK; Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, R501 Level 5, Gilbert Scott Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK. Electronic address: gmccartney@nhs.net.
F PophamMRC / CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Top Floor, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 3QB, UK.
R McMasterAdam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, R501 Level 5, Gilbert Scott Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
A CumbersAdam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, R501 Level 5, Gilbert Scott Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.

Funding

Chief Scientist Office SPHSU13Medical Research Council MC_UU_12017/13
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine existing definitions of health and health inequalities and to synthesise the most useful of these using explicit rationale and the most parsimonious text. STUDY

designLiterature review and synthesis.

methodsExisting definitions of health and health inequalities were identified, and their normative properties were extracted and then critically appraised. Using explicit reasoning, new definitions, synthesising the most useful aspects of existing definitions, were created.

resultsA definition of health as a structural, functional and emotional state that is compatible with effective life as an individual and as a member of society and a definition of health inequalities as the systematic, avoidable and unfair differences in health outcomes that can be observed between populations, between social groups within the same population or as a gradient across a population ranked by social position are proposed. Population health is a less commonly used term but can usefully be defined to encompass the average, distribution and inequalities in health within a society.

conclusionsClarifying what is meant by the terms health and health inequalities, and the assumptions, emphasis and values that different definitions contain, is important for public health research, practice and policy.

Indexed as

HealthHealth Status DisparitiesTerminology as TopicHumansDefinitionHealthHealth inequalitiesPopulation healthTheory

Identifiers

PMID31154234
PMCPMC6558275

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.