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Environnement, Risques & Santé

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Characterization of the spatial heterogeneity of environmental and social inequalities in health: a spatialized approach to the resilience-vulnerability balance Volume 19, issue 4, July-August 2020

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Authors
1 Univ. Lille, IMT Lille Douai, Univ. Artois, Yncrea Hauts-de-France
ULR 4515 - LGCgE
Laboratoire de génie civil et géo-environnement
3, rue Professeur Laguesse
F-59000 Lille
France
2 Faculté d’ingénierie et management de la santé (ILIS)/Faculté de pharmacie de Lille – LSVF
3 Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 2694 – METRICS
F-59000 Lille
France
4 Faculté de pharmacie de Lille – LSVF
* Tirés à part

All public policies should together battle environmental and social inequalities in health. The current paradigm describes these territorial inequalities as an accumulation of adverse health determinants in a given geographic area, generally understood as its vulnerability. The quasi-systematic absence of determinants that have a positive impact on health in the models prevents a realistic vision of the global impact of the environment on the population's health. The inclusion of resilience factors, such as the ability of territories to deal with environmental and social inequalities in health, is therefore needed and must include efforts to improve the inhabitants’ living conditions. As seen in the northern France region, analysing a spatialized composite vulnerability index together with a spatialized composite resilience index makes it possible to describe the resilience/vulnerability balance at the municipal level. This approach will help researchers to better characterize environmental and social inequalities in health, improve knowledge of the territorial dynamics involved, and guide further examination of political and territorial management of health risks.