The death gap: how inequality kills

2018-03-28

University of Virginia. School of Medicine

We hear much these days about the widening gap in America between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. Inequality is all around us, and it exacts a serious toll on health. The poor die sooner. Blacks die sooner. And poor urban blacks die sooner than almost all other Americans. Indeed, there is a 35-year difference in life expectancy between America's wealthiest (and healthiest) and poorest (and sickest) neighborhoods.

Internist David Ansell MD has worked for four decades in hospitals serving Chicago's poorest communities. While he's witnessed first-hand the structural violence—racism, economic exploitation, and discrimination—responsible for the "death gap," he argues that geography need not be destiny. In this Medical Center Hour, Dr. Ansell outlines how we can address this national health crisis and act to remedy the circumstances that rob many Americans of their dignity and their lives.

Co-presented with Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, UVA chapter

Ansell, David A. (Speaker); Ubu, Tobenna U. (Speaker); Childress, Marcia Day (Moderator); University of Virginia. School of Medicine

Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

Filmed lectures

Social medicine; Equality--health aspects; Health and race

Medical Center Hour

Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

English

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1 online resource (1 video file, 64:21 min.) : sound, color