Government inquiry into health inequality lacked evidence

The UK Government is trying to create a culture of `evidence based policy' that will apply to public health and social policy as well as health care. However Macintyre et al (p 222) found that the 17 `input papers' used in the Acheson inquiry into health inequalities were lacking in evidence. Many of them consisted of wish lists of potentially useful interventions without evidence of their effectiveness in practice. In addition, none of them had a methods section, and there was little discussion about potential harms resulting from any recommendations. The authors conclude that improvement in the evidence base used for making public policy is needed.


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Relevant Article

Using evidence to inform health policy: case study
Sally Macintyre, Iain Chalmers, Richard Horton, and Richard Smith
BMJ 2001 322: 222-225. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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