The Unequal World of Health Data

Health data, poverty, and inequality exist in a complex global co-dependency, therefore making meaningful comparisons of health across widely different settings challenging. Less data exist on the health of the poor than of the rich, which in turn raises important questions as to how representative available data are in relation to populations that go uncounted. Alternative strategies are needed to fill in inequitable gaps in data. Poverty either in physical terms or in data does not justify the use of impoverished research methods or ethical standards. Reasonable, realistic, and contextually appropriate approaches to research are needed. [Plos Medicine, November 2009].