Abstract
Inequalities in health, a phenomenon as old as it is universal, represent a major challenge for social justice. Health statistics attest to their scale in every country in the world. Numerous studies, most of them in the field of social epidemiology, have identified a number of social determinants of health status, such as level of education, occupation, income and place of residence. Sociological analysis of the social production of health inequalities offers a complementary perspective. First and foremost, it suggests that these inequalities are one of the most salient manifestations of the way in which social structures are inscribed in people's bodies, and that it is therefore important to understand the main social relations of power that shape social practices, particularly in terms of gender, class and ethno-racial positions. It also invites us not to apprehend the biological in isolation from the social, but to consider the complex interaction between these two dimensions. Finally, it calls for the analysis of health practices within life trajectories, from birth to death, in interaction with the conditions of access to and management by healthcare systems.
