Analyse how globalisation and the social determinants of health create inequities between and within populations, and evaluate approaches that address them

What this dot point is asking

WACE wants you to analyse how global forces and social determinants combine to produce health inequities, then judge the approaches used to address them. A strong answer balances the positive and negative effects of globalisation, links determinants to specific inequities, and evaluates whether an approach actually reduces the barrier. Marks reward analysis and judgement, not description.

How globalisation influences health

Globalisation brings benefits to health. The rapid exchange of medical knowledge, technology and trained workers speeds up diagnosis and treatment. International aid, coordinated disease surveillance and shared vaccine development help control outbreaks across borders. Communication technology spreads health information and connects communities to services.

Globalisation also creates risks. Increased travel and trade let infectious diseases spread quickly across the world. The global marketing of tobacco, alcohol, and energy-dense processed foods promotes unhealthy consumption, especially in lower-income countries with weaker regulation. Economic globalisation can concentrate wealth and widen the gap between those who benefit from global markets and those left behind.

Social determinants and global inequities

The social determinants of health, including income, education, employment, living and working conditions, and access to services, are distributed unevenly both between and within countries. Between countries, lower-income nations often face weaker health systems, poorer sanitation, less education and limited access to medicines, producing lower life expectancy and a heavier burden of preventable disease. Within countries, the same determinants separate advantaged from disadvantaged groups, so inequities exist even in wealthy nations. This is why two communities exposed to the same global trend can experience very different outcomes: their underlying determinants differ.

Approaches that address barriers

Approaches to reduce inequities work by removing the structural barriers that block better health. Building healthy public policy, such as regulating the marketing of harmful products and funding universal services, tackles barriers at scale. Strengthening health systems and reorienting them toward prevention improves access. Community participation ensures solutions fit local needs and are sustained. International cooperation and aid can build capacity where resources are scarce. Evaluating an approach means asking whether it reaches the most disadvantaged, addresses the determinant causing the inequity, and produces lasting change rather than a short-term fix.

How this maps to the exam

Expect a stimulus comparing health outcomes between or within populations, often with data. You may be asked to analyse the role of globalisation, link determinants to the inequity, or evaluate an approach. Address both the benefits and risks of globalisation and judge approaches against whether they remove the underlying barrier.