61 pages • 2 hours read
David A. AnsellThe Death Gap: How Inequality Kills
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
David A. Ansell (The Author)
David A. Ansell, MD, MPH, is a physician, social epidemiologist, health equity advocate, and author, known for his lifelong commitment to addressing and combating health disparities in the Chicago area. He has been the senior vice president of community health equity at RUSH University Medical Centre since 2016. Ansell has a medical degree from the New York Upstate Medical University and completed his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, where he later became the chief medical officer. These experiences provided him with a detailed understanding of the systemic inequities that plague the American healthcare system.
As an advocate for health equity, Ansell has spearheaded initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities in Chicago, such as the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Taskforce, which aims to reduce the incidence of breast cancer among Black women. In The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills, Ansell draws upon research and his vast personal experience to highlight the profound impact of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes. His firsthand observations at Cook County Hospital, RUSH hospital, and Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, where he witnessed the dire consequences of health inequities, provide a foundation for the book’s exploration of these issues.
Lori Elaine Lightfoot
Lori E. Lightfoot, born in 1962, was the mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. She is also an attorney. Her election in 2019 marked a historic moment as she became the city’s first African American female mayor and its first openly LGBTQ+ mayor. Lightfoot earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. Before she was elected as mayor, Lightfoot held various roles, including that of federal prosecutor and chair of the Chicago Police Board.
Lightfoot wrote the Foreword to the revised edition of The Death Gap in 2021. As mayor of Chicago, Lightfoot has been at the forefront of initiatives aimed at addressing systemic inequities in the city. Her administration has focused on improving access to healthcare, affordable housing, and economic opportunities for Chicago’s most vulnerable populations, directly aligning with the themes explored in Ansell’s book.
Windora Bradley
Windora Bradley is the patient and friend of David A. Ansell. Ansell treated Bradley for over 30 years, which accounts for their closeness at the time when, during a visit at RUSH hospital, Bradley has a stroke which leaves her without the ability to speak. Bradley has lived in an impoverished, high-crime neighborhood in Chicago, which has had a devastating impact on her family and, therefore, her health. She developed diabetes and hypertension before her stroke and had a difficult time affording the medication she needed. In spite of her ongoing trials and misfortunes, Bradley is an optimistic person, aware of the social issues in her neighborhood and actively trying to address them.
Ansell uses Bradley’s example throughout the book to illustrate the struggles faced by many individuals in similar socio-economic situations, making her an essential voice in Ansell’s examination of health inequality. Bradley’s case is contrasted with that of her sister, Cora Murphy, who changed neighborhoods after marrying a computer technician and, after six months, discovered her health was much improved.
