The Marmot Review Essay

Although authors Canning & Bowser wrote the article “Investing in Health to Improve the Wellbeing of the Disadvantaged” to oppose Marmot’s article “The Marmot Review,” their above quote also debate points raised by other public health researchers such as Brunner and Krieger. The quote states that the health disparities from different populations results from lack of access to quality and affordable healthcare. This is partially true, but as the analyses of Marmot & Brunner and Krieger suggest, social exclusion due to race and economic status, the population’s work and childhood environment, in addition to other social factors, lead to problems in the medical care system (Marmot 3). In other words, health gradient is not only an indication of health systems failing but is also a result

In Krieger’s article, the reader gets a glimpse on how the war of drugs, targeting the African American population, is increasing the health disparity between different racial populations. Although illegal drug use rates are similar across all US racial groups, the US War on Drugs has disproportionately increased the incarceration of African Americans. After been released from prison, the individual (in this case, an African American) is discriminated against, and in turn, has limited access to factors of health such as employment, education, housing, and public benefits (Krieger 22). These limitations further set back the already marginalized individual and can lead to the negative health impact of “stress biology,” a term emphasized by Marmot & Brunner. Not only can the additional stress from the ex-felon’s social issues activate the neuroendocrine pathways and secrete higher levels of hormones that may eventually lead to chronic diseases, the additional stress may lead to harmful health habits such as smoking (Marmot