Scoping review of the World Health Organization’s underlying equity discourses: apparent ambiguities, inadequacy, and contradictions

International Journal for Equity in Health

Erica Di Ruggiero¹  Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault¹  Arjumand Siddiqi²  Patricia O’Campo³  Michelle M. Amri⁴  Theresa Enright⁵ 

[1] Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 1P8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 1P8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA;Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 1P8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, 209 Victoria Street, M5B 1T8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 1P8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;Takemi Program in International Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Bldg. 1, 02115-6021, Boston, MA, USA;School of Public Health and Social Policy, Human and Social Development Building, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, V8P 5C2, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada;Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St George Street, M5S 3G3, Toronto, Ontario, Canada;

关键词: Equity;    Equality;    World Health Organization;    Discourses;    Theory of justice;    Capabilities approach;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-021-01400-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Background and objectiveGiven the heightened rhetorical prominence the World Health Organization has afforded to equity in the past half-century, it is important to better understand how equity has been referred to and its conceptual underpinning, which may have broader global implications.Eligibility criteriaArticles were included if they met inclusion criteria — chiefly the explicit discussion of the WHO’s concept of health equity, for example in terms of conceptualization and/or definitions. Articles which mentioned health equity in the context of WHO’s programs, policies, and so on, but did not discuss its conceptualization or definition were excluded.Sources of evidenceWe focused on peer-reviewed literature by scanning Ovid MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, and supplementing by hand-search.ResultsResults demonstrate the WHO has held — and continues to hold — ambiguous, inadequate, and contradictory views of equity that are rooted in different theories of social justice.ConclusionsMoving forward, the WHO should revaluate its conceptualization of equity and normative position, and align its work with Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Approach, as it best encapsulates the broader views of the organization. Further empirical research is needed to assess the WHO interpretations and approaches to equity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY