Gerry McCartney
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View article: What is a Wellbeing Economy, and what might its impact be on population health?
What is a Wellbeing Economy, and what might its impact be on population health? Open
The current polycrisis (intersecting and mutually-reinforcing crises that are impacting our ecological, social, and economic systems) has foregrounded the need to transform economies to put them in service of people and planet, rather than…
View article: Understanding changes to life expectancy and inequalities in the UK, Germany, and other high-income countries
Understanding changes to life expectancy and inequalities in the UK, Germany, and other high-income countries Open
The rate of improvement in life expectancy and mortality slowed considerably in a number of high-income countries from the early 2010s, predating the COVID-19 pandemic by almost a decade. Evidence for different countries, including the sep…
View article: Are place-based approaches to reducing health inequalities a highway to success or a policy dead-end?
Are place-based approaches to reducing health inequalities a highway to success or a policy dead-end? Open
Place-based approaches to reducing health inequalities have become increasingly common in the UK. It is likely that this is because area deprivation indices have highlighted spatial areas, rather than social groups, for policy focus; and b…
View article: Excess mortality in England and Scotland in 2022: The long shadow of austerity and the return to an unacceptable pre-pandemic baseline
Excess mortality in England and Scotland in 2022: The long shadow of austerity and the return to an unacceptable pre-pandemic baseline Open
Background There are concerns that mortality remains elevated after peaks COVID-19. This study examined whether mortality rates in England and Scotland in 2022 were excessive compared to rates predicted by austerity-era (2012–2019) and pre…
View article: A new era of inequality: profound changes to mortality in England, Scotland, and 10 major British cities
A new era of inequality: profound changes to mortality in England, Scotland, and 10 major British cities Open
Deeply concerning changes to UK health trends have been noted since the early 2010s, including a widening of mortality inequalities. Given the importance of urban areas to national health outcomes, we sought to address gaps in the evidence…
View article: Effects of changes to income tax and devolved benefits in Scotland on health inequalities: a modelling study
Effects of changes to income tax and devolved benefits in Scotland on health inequalities: a modelling study Open
There is a well-understood relationship between inequalities in income and health. We assessed how changes to income tax and social security—options recently devolved to the Scottish Government—could affect income and life expectancy inequ…
View article: Is the period of austerity in the UK associated with increased rates of adverse birth outcomes?
Is the period of austerity in the UK associated with increased rates of adverse birth outcomes? Open
Hugely concerning changes to health outcomes have been observed in the UK since the early 2010s, including reductions in life expectancy and widening of inequalities. These have been attributed to UK Government ‘austerity’ policies which h…
View article: Protocol for a scoping review of theorised pathways between home energy decarbonisation and health and health inequalities
Protocol for a scoping review of theorised pathways between home energy decarbonisation and health and health inequalities Open
Introduction: Access to adequate energy in the home is necessary for a healthy and well life, however current energy use, particularly in high-income countries, is unsustainable. Decarbonisation of home energy can benefit climate mitigatio…
View article: What is the relationship between changes in the size of economies and mortality derived population health measures in high income countries: A causal systematic review
What is the relationship between changes in the size of economies and mortality derived population health measures in high income countries: A causal systematic review Open
Changes in AEA in High Income Countries did not have a consistently beneficial or harmful causal relationship with health, suggesting that impacts observed may be contextually contingent. We tentatively suggest that improving population he…
View article: The changing shape of general practice in Scotland: the rise of the ‘megapractice’
The changing shape of general practice in Scotland: the rise of the ‘megapractice’ Open
Further research is needed to better understand: how mega-practices provide services and whether this differs from other practices; where financial rewards accumulate within mega-practices; differences in staffing between mega-practices an…
View article: Is Austerity Responsible for the Stalled Mortality Trends Across Many High-Income Countries? A Systematic Review
Is Austerity Responsible for the Stalled Mortality Trends Across Many High-Income Countries? A Systematic Review Open
This article systematically reviews evidence evaluating whether macroeconomic austerity policies impact mortality, reviewing high-income country data compiled through systematic searches of nine databases and gray literature using pre-spec…
View article: Explanations for higher-than-expected mortality from April 2021: a scoping review
Explanations for higher-than-expected mortality from April 2021: a scoping review Open
Objectives Many countries have continued to experience a higher-than-expected number of deaths following the peaks in mortality observed in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This scoping review aims to identify the different explana…
View article: Sobering assessment of Scotland’s NHS
Sobering assessment of Scotland’s NHS Open
No abstract available.
View article: Estimating quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for local authorities in Great Britain and its association with indicators of the inclusive economy: a cross-sectional study
Estimating quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for local authorities in Great Britain and its association with indicators of the inclusive economy: a cross-sectional study Open
Objectives Quantifying area-level inequalities in population health can help to inform policy responses. We describe an approach for estimating quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE), a comprehensive health expectancy measure, for local a…
View article: Assessing the effects of population-level political, economic and social exposures, interventions and policies on inclusive economy outcomes for health equity in high-income countries: a systematic review of reviews
Assessing the effects of population-level political, economic and social exposures, interventions and policies on inclusive economy outcomes for health equity in high-income countries: a systematic review of reviews Open
Background A fairer economy is increasingly recognised as crucial for tackling widening social, economic and health inequalities within society. However, which actions have been evaluated for their impact on inclusive economy outcomes is y…
View article: Causal Assessment of Income Inequality on Self‐Rated Health and All‐Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Causal Assessment of Income Inequality on Self‐Rated Health and All‐Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis Open
Policy Points Income is thought to impact a broad range of health outcomes. However, whether income inequality (how unequal the distribution of income is in a population) has an additional impact on health is extensively debated. Studies t…
View article: The Fundamentals of Public Ownership: Learning from <scp>UK</scp> Historical Experience and Recent Scottish Policy
The Fundamentals of Public Ownership: Learning from <span>UK</span> Historical Experience and Recent Scottish Policy Open
Public ownership has emerged as desirable and achievable in the United Kingdom in the 2020s. The ongoing water crisis in England and concerns about ‘greedflation’ in sectors such as electricity and gas following recent price rises have enc…
View article: Prepandemic inequalities in the burden of disease in Scotland due to multiple deprivation: a retrospective study
Prepandemic inequalities in the burden of disease in Scotland due to multiple deprivation: a retrospective study Open
Background Health inequalities in Scotland are well documented, including the contribution of different causes to inequalities in mortality. Our aim was to estimate inequalities within a burden of disease framework, accounting for both pre…
View article: Social security cuts and life expectancy: a longitudinal analysis of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales
Social security cuts and life expectancy: a longitudinal analysis of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales Open
Background The UK Government’s ‘welfare reform’ programme included reductions to social security payments, phased in over the financial years 2011/2012–2015/2016. Previous studies of social security cuts and health outcomes have been restr…
View article: Peer Review Report For: Deprivation, essential and non-essential activities and SARS-CoV-2 infection following the lifting of national public health restrictions in England and Wales [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations]
Peer Review Report For: Deprivation, essential and non-essential activities and SARS-CoV-2 infection following the lifting of national public health restrictions in England and Wales [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 3 approved with reservations] Open
Background: Individuals living in deprived areas in England and Wales undertook essential activities more frequently and experienced higher rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection than less deprived communities during periods of restrictions aimed a…
View article: What is missing from how we measure and understand the experience of poverty and deprivation in population health analyses?
What is missing from how we measure and understand the experience of poverty and deprivation in population health analyses? Open
Background Explaining why some populations are healthier than others is a core task of epidemiology. Socioeconomic position (SEP), encompassing a broad range of exposures relating to economic circumstances, social class and deprivation, is…
View article: Culture as an objective for and a means of achieving a Wellbeing Economy
Culture as an objective for and a means of achieving a Wellbeing Economy Open
The world faces multiple intersecting crises, several of which are existential. The current dominant economic design is at their root cause, leading to increased advocacy for alternative economic approaches, including Wellbeing Economy. Ho…
View article: How important is it to avoid indices of deprivation that include health variables in analyses of health inequalities?
How important is it to avoid indices of deprivation that include health variables in analyses of health inequalities? Open
Although there is a logical problem in using deprivation indices that include health outcomes to rank areas to calculate the scale of health inequalities, the impact of using an alternative subindex containing only data from the income and…
View article: How to measure progress towards a wellbeing economy: distinguishing genuine advances from ’window dressing’
How to measure progress towards a wellbeing economy: distinguishing genuine advances from ’window dressing’ Open
The world is experiencing multiple intersecting urgent and existential crises, which have profound and inequitable implications for population health. Arguably, the design of the current, dominant economic system and its antecedents is the…
View article: Population mortality impacts of the rising cost of living in Scotland: scenario modelling study
Population mortality impacts of the rising cost of living in Scotland: scenario modelling study Open
Introduction To inform policymaking, it is important to understand the population health impacts of recent increased inflation, and of measures implemented to mitigate these. Methods We used scenario modelling to estimate (a) how recent in…