The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills

The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills (2017) is a nonfiction work by David A. Ansell that examines health disparities in the United States. Ansell, a Chicago physician and public health advocate, draws on his extensive experience working in underserved communities to expose the realities of how socioeconomic factors drastically affect health outcomes. Throughout the work, Ansell explores themes of inequality, systemic racism, and social justice, examining Healthcare as a Human Right VS Commodity; Environmental and Social Determinants of Health Disparities; and The Role of Community Activism in shaping public health outcomes.

This guide uses the 2021 University of Chicago Press paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text discusses systemic racism and inequality.

Summary

In the Foreword, Lori Elaine Lightfoot, the former mayor of Chicago, discusses the severe health disparities in the USA that were accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, data showed that black Chicagoans, comprising a third of the population, accounted for 72% of COVID-19 deaths. The Foreword describes Chicago’s urgent response to the pandemic, including the formation of the Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, aimed at addressing chronic disease disparities and the broader societal inequities shaped by poverty and systemic racism.