Mortality Transitions and Inequities: Moving Towards a Global Framework

• In Event: 546 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Demographic Transitions and Aging

Abstract

Populations throughout the world have tackled changing patterns of disease and mortality for centuries. Researchers as well as policymakers attempting to make sense of these changes have often looked to demographic and epidemiological transition theories and to help explain these transitions and to help guide policies and interventions. Although the demographic and epidemiological transition theories have prompted scholars to put forth and test countless hypotheses and to frame challenges inherent in addressing changing mortality patterns, scholars have been much more reticent to theorize on whether and how health inequities impact mortality transitions. Given the growth in data and evidence from developed and developing countries since the articulation of the demographic and epidemiologic transition theories, the time seems ripe to focus attention on inequities in mortality transitions. In this paper, we focus on both developed and developing countries to investigate the role income inequalities play in mortality transitions. Specifically, we investigate differences in life expectancy from communicable and noncommunicable diseases across high income, upper middle income, lower middle income, and low income countries in 2000 and 2009 before examining whether income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) has an impact on the transition to lower mortality from communicable diseases for a select number of countries worldwide. Additionally, we present a new framework that prioritizes socioeconomic equity as a pathway to longevity within and across countries.

Authors

• Helena Eyram Dagadu, Vanderbilt University

• Evelyn Joy Patterson, Vanderbilt University