Health inequalities in Argentina: Patterns, contradictions and implications

Abstract

This paper examines the social gradient in self-reported health in Argentina, and at the provincial level, explores the extent to which self-reported health and mortality indicators provide dissonant health profiles. This study is based on a secondary analysis of Argentina’s 2001 Survey of Living Conditions. A significant gradient in self-reported health was observed by income quintile, but self-reported health and mortality indicators were not significantly correlated at the provincial level. Respondents from deprived regions were most likely to report being in good health, despite living in areas with low life expectancy and high infant mortality; in other words, respondents from areas of poor population health nevertheless report good individual health. Unless acknowledged, this will ultimately lead to an underestimate of the social gradient in health. The implications of this notion for tests of the income inequality hypothesis are discussed.