There have been a number of attempts to delineate the pathways underlying the social determinants of health. One such example is illustrated in Figure 2 (from (Marmot and Wilkinson 1999). Social structure, top left of Figure 2, influences well-being and health, at the bottom right. The influences of the social structure operate via three main pathways- material factors, work and the social environment. While material factors such as poverty and unhygienic circumstances may be directly related to disease through infectious agents, the social and work environments may affect health though psychological and behavioural pathways, which in turn have biological consequences for well-being, morbidity and mortality. Work environments may also affect health through hazardous material working conditions such as radiation or