Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? (2008)

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary series examines how social and economic factors like class and racism affect health outcomes in the United States. It presents research from experts showing that these conditions can matter more than genetics or personal behavior.

educationalsoberingthought-provokinganalyticalinformativeseriouseye-openingsystemic

What happens

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? is a four-hour documentary series, broadcast nationally in the United States on PBS in spring 2008, that examines the role of social determinants of health in creating health inequalities/health disparities (which the film considers health inequities) in the US. Based on extensive research by a wide variety of academics, public health experts and medical practitioners, the seven-part series explores how class and racism can have greater impacts on one's health outcomes than genetics or personal behavior. The opening 56-minute episode, "In Sickness and In Wealth", presents the series' overarching themes. Each supporting half-hour episode, set in a different ethnic/racial community, provides a deeper exploration of how social conditions affect population health, and how some communities are extending their lives by improving them. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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