Explain how health inequalities may be understood as inequalities that require structural level explanations.
Inequalities in health are deplored in modern democratic nations and equal opportunities are extolled in principle, if not in practice. The legacy of racism and economic inequality can be rooted in history and is still permeating in the status quo. Inequalities in health status, disease occurrence and mortality are shaped by accumulated wealth, material circumstances, environmental quality, nutrition and a wide range of personal behaviours, genetic inheritance and health services (Bhopal, 2006). Within multiethnic societies, European-origin White populations are characterized by being richer, more powerful and enjoying better material circumstances, environment quality, and health services than non-White ethnic-minority populations. ...
