ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the two basic goals of global health — improving the health of all peoples and eliminating health inequities – are to be achieved, it is important to pay attention to health heterogeneity within countries as well as between countries. Socio-economic status has three primary dimensions — income, education and occupation. They also overlap and interact, making it difficult to disentangle causal pathways and establish the impact of any single factor. The health effects of socio-economic status factors are often also mediated by other influences. Health differences between males and females are a fundamental feature of all populations. Women live longer than men almost everywhere, but this is not, as might be expected, matched by better health throughout their lives, The different health fortunes and challenges of males and females have two bases—sex and gender. The two terms are frequently used interchangeably, but they are conceptually distinct and it is important to appreciate the distinction.
