The positive effects of COVID-19 and the social determinants of health: all in it together?

SPECTRUM members highlight concerns about the unequal impact of both the COVID-19 pandemic and policies to address it

11 May 2020

SPECTRUM members Sarah Hill (University of Edinburgh), Sharon Friel (Australian National University) and Jeff Collin (University of Edinburgh) have responded to a recent article in the BMJ, highlighted increasing concerns about the unequal impacts of both the COVID-19 pandemic and policies to address it.

Responding to an earlier article by Bryn Nelson, they note the transformative potential for public health of current changes in the role of the state. They outline how COVID-19 response strategies need to take account of their unequal impacts, including in transitioning out of lockdown.

Read their call for the scale of the mobilisation to counter the pandemic to be matched by a sustained commitment to reducing social, economic and environmental inequalities. 

Read their response in full in the BMJ

Read the original article by Bryn Nelson in the BMJ

Related links

Sarah Hill's profile at the University of Edinburgh

Sharon Friel's profile at the Australian National University

Jeff Collin's profile at the University of Edinburgh