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This paper examines the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the existing health inequalities disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. It explores the impact of COVID-19 pandemic response measures to "curb the spread" on informal sector workers in Ghana. In Ghana, like many other developing countries, the informal sector was impacted by a higher risk of exposure to the COVID-19 infection and the slew of pandemic response measures, for example, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, as well as guidelines around social distancing implemented by their governments. Given the high level of precarity that undergirds work in the informal sector and the intersectional forces that contribute to and maintain their marginality—class, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and geographic location—this paper creates a space for dialogue about the unintended consequences of pandemic response measures on the livelihood security of informal sector workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses three cultural narratives that threaten the health of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and which have become more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. These meta-narratives are the medical model of health/disability; the population health approach to health inequalities; and policies premised on the assumption of the importance of national economic growth as an incentive for reducing health inequalities. Evidence exists that health research is more likely to become policy if it fits within a medical model and addresses national economic growth. These two criteria are particularly problematic for people who have IDD. The paper also proposes a research model to facilitate the inclusion of IDD related issues in future policy regarding health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Socio-economic inequalities originate from several channels, one of which is family origins, with clear effects on people's health. This paper aims to evaluate the role played by social mobility in determining health inequalities, relying on Blau and Duncan's status attainment model and focusing specifically on two moments of social reproduction of inequalities: one inter-generational, based on the transmission of resources from the family of origin, the other intra-generational, related to the capitalisation of economic resources to maximise well-being. Methods: Multi-group models of structural equations were used to examine the direct and indirect effects of parental cultural background, education and economic conditions of respondents on self-perceived health in 28 countries, relying on the European Social Survey (N =38,879). Results: Overall, the results confirmed the presence of an inter-generational transmission of social and health status. Different models of transmission of health inequalities emerged among the countries considered. Countries characterised by a social democratic welfare regime showed higher social mobility and fewer health inequalities, although in correspondence with a prominent role of economic factors in determining health conditions. On the other hand, in countries where social mobility is lower, health inequalities are more pronounced, yet driven by factors others than economics, such as socio-cultural origins. Conclusions: The presence of a higher economic-health gradient in social democratic countries – notwithstanding their egalitarian and universal welfare policies – provides support for the existence of a Nordic paradox in relation to health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic people face more social barriers to, and experience greater anxiety around, intimate relationships than the general population in our majority neurotypical society, leading to increased loneliness and social isolation. National health and social care policies and publications should recognise these inequalities and guide service systems in reducing them. In this paper, we employ a document analysis design to analyse a cross-section of English national health and social care publications to investigate how autistic adults' intimate lives are represented and prioritised in these publications. Most publications do not adequately and proportionally recognise or prioritise autistic people's intimate lives. They focus on the risks associated with sex and relationships and overlook autism-specific intimacy needs. They prioritise participation in the workforce while renouncing government responsibility for supporting intimate relationships which can reduce loneliness and alienation. We offer recommendations to ensure that health and social care publication processes better recognise intimate lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Historically, health research in the Arctic has focused on documenting ill-health using a narrow set of deficit-oriented epidemiologic indicators (i.e., prevalence of disease and mortality rates). While useful, this type of research does not adequately capture the breadth and complexities of community health and well-being, and fails to highlight solutions. A community's context, strengths, and continued expressions of well-being need to guide inquiries, inform processes, and contextualize recommendations. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework developed to address the aforementioned concerns and inform community-led health and social research in the Arctic. Methods: The proposed framework is informed by our collective collaborations with circumpolar communities, and syntheses of individual and group research undertaken throughout the Circumpolar North. Our framework encourages investigation into the contextual factors that promote circumpolar communities to thrive. Results: Our framework centers on the visual imagery of an iceberg. There is a need to dive deeper than superficial indicators of health to examine individual, family, social, cultural, historical, linguistic, and environmental contexts that support communities in the Circumpolar North to thrive. A participatory community-based approach in conjunction with ongoing epidemiologic research is necessary in order to effectively support health and wellness. Conclusions: The iceberg framework is a way to conceptualize circumpolar health research and encourage investigators to both monitor epidemiologic indicators and also dive below the surface using participatory methodology to investigate contextual factors that support thriving communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing social inequalities in health has been an important aim in the development of the Nordic welfare states. This Commentary presents the development of Norwegian policies in this area from 1987 to 2021. Social inequalities entered the political agenda in Norway in the 1980s, but were mostly defined as a problem for selected marginalised groups. The World Health Organization project led by Michael Marmot was an inspiration for Norwegian policy-makers and the concept of the social gradient was introduced. From 2005, levelling the social gradient in health became a central strategy in Norwegian policy-making and culminated in the Public Health Act 2012. This Act focuses on the structural determinants of health and the municipalities have a central role in its implementation. However, the municipalities are mostly responsible for services providing downstream measures and have little control over social determinants such as tax or labour market policies. The Public Health Act is important because it institutionalises social inequalities as a policy field within public health. Not only the municipalities, but all administrative levels have to contribute to meet the aim of reducing the social gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We examined the development of research articles published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health and its predecessors Acta Socio-Medica Scandinavica and the Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine from 1969 until 2020 to be able to identify the place of international comparisons of socioeconomic inequalities in health in the journal. Methods: Altogether 3237 research articles were screened to yield 126 comparative research articles. Examining full texts of the comparative articles led to 13 articles reporting comparisons of health inequalities. Results: The first one came out in 1972, but the rest only after the mid-1990s. The most common socioeconomic indicator was education, but also occupational class and income was used. The most common health indicator was self-rated health. The articles compared Nordic countries with each other, but also with non-Nordic countries. Although the number of comparative studies on health inequalities was relatively small, there were examples of well-designed studies using advanced methodology. We examined only published journal articles over the past five decades, not submitted but rejected papers. Conclusions: In the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health and its predecessors, comparisons of health inequalities were few and emerged relatively late, that is, during the past two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In an aging society with increasing old age life expectancy, it has become increasingly important to monitor the health development in the population. This paper combines information on mortality and disability and explores educational inequalities in disability-free life expectancy in the aging population in Sweden, and to what extent these inequalities have increased or decreased over time. Methods: A random sample of the Swedish population aged 77 years and above (n =2895) provided information about disability in the population in the years 2002, 2004, 2011 and 2014. The prevalence of disability was assessed by five items of personal activities of daily living and incorporated in period life tables for the corresponding years, using the Sullivan method. The analyses were stratified by sex and educational attainment. Estimates at ages 77 and 85 years are presented. Results: Disability-free life expectancy at age 77 years increased more than total life expectancy for all except men with lower education. Women with higher education had a 2.7-year increase and women with lower education a 1.6-year increase. The corresponding numbers for men were 2.0 and 0.8 years. The educational gap in disability-free life expectancy increased by 1.2 years at age 77 years for both men and women. Conclusions: While most of the increase in life expectancy was years free from disability, men with lower education had an increase of years with disability. The educational differences prevailed and increased over the period as the gains in disability-free life expectancy were smaller among those with lower education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations presents new theory and research on how group processes influence, maintain, and overcome health disparities. We present eight papers that document the causes and consequences of health disparities from the perspective of stigmatized and disadvantaged groups, health care providers, and during the course of interaction between patients and providers. Several papers describe interventions and other factors that have the potential to reduce differences in health and well-being. We hope the research in this collection inspires more investigators to consider how their work on group processes and intergroup relations can address, and help to eliminate, disparities in health outcomes for the disadvantaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This paper highlights how the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has amplified economic instability and health risks for disconnected youth and young adults (YYA). We offer a brief review of governmental policy responses in four OECD countries and how they may impact the disconnect YYA within those countries. Methods: Literature was reviewed utilizing Cochrane Library, ERIC, PsychINFO, PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science to outline existing inequities among disconnected YYA and COVID-19 economic and health impacts. Government responses to COVID-19 from four OECD countries were reviewed. Using the social protection model, we highlighted significant policy changes and developments that influence the protection of vulnerable populations and evaluated the potential effect of long-term economic dislocations prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Disconnected YYA suffered significant financial and health burdens with no social protection floor in place. Lessons learned prior to and during the pandemic indicate that initiatives aimed at improving health and well-being among vulnerable YYA and their communities must be adequately funded, flexible, and comprehensive. Attempts to connect or reconnect YYA who were disconnected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic will require a re-envisioning of policy. Conclusions: Globally, governments must invest in social safety net programs that focus on supporting those most at-risk. A concentrated focus on job creation, education and training, and paid work experience, investments in early childhood care and education, housing, health and mental health care is necessary to not only offset the pandemic's effects but also support thriving in the future for YYA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albert Beckham, who was the first Black school psychologist in the U.S., frequently used intelligence tests with Black children. This usage required clinical decision making to explain the results obtained from psychoeducational assessments. In their discussion of this aspect of Beckham's work, introduce the concept of Culturally Relevant Clinical Judgement. This paper discusses issues related to the continued use of cognitive assessment instruments as it relates to clinical judgment in special education eligibility decision-making in comparison to alternatives such as Response-to-Intervention (RtI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical political economy of health offers different explanations for the social causes of health and the social factors determining the distribution of these causes. However, the relational, post-anthropocentric and monist ontology of the new materialisms overcomes this complexity, while retaining a critical focus. In this perspective, the social, economic and political relations of capitalism act upon bodies and other matter in everyday events, rather than as 'social structures'. Using a conceptual toolkit of 'affect', 'assemblage', 'capacity' and 'micropolitics', the paper asks the question: 'what does capitalism do?' The re-analysis of the social and economic relations of capitalism in terms of a production-assemblage and a market-assemblage reveals not only the workings of capitalist accumulation, but also how previously-unremarked more-than-human affects in these assemblages simultaneously produce uncertainty, waste and inequalities. This micropolitical economy of health is illustrated with examples from recent research, including a critical assessment of health inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Psychology of Women and Equalities Section (POWES) of the British Psychological Society (BPS) accounts for much of the feminist action in British psychology and beyond. In this qualitative study, we use discursively informed thematic analysis to examine a set of eleven in-depth interviews to explore the everyday experiences of feminists within academic spaces in and around the discipline of psychology in the United Kingdom. Three research questions addressing the boundary between activism and academia; the provision of support; and differing approaches to knowledge production were investigated. Our findings highlight the role of POWES as a feminist community as well as the conceptual importance of notions of home, work, and fun. Moreover, the paper examines the ways traditional conceptions of scientific rigour continue to haunt feminist spaces, as does the invisibility of emotional labour. Overall, our findings indicate that the place of feminist academic communities remains vital to sustain critical thought and action: having an intellectual "home" is pivotal to the survival of feminist psychology as well as feminists in psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses and medication use has increased over time around the world, but significant regional differences remain. This paper aims to determine and explain disparities in ADHD prevalence and medication use among school-aged children in two distinct school systems, in Flanders (Belgium) and Québec (Canada). We present detailed descriptive and comparative analyses of data from 35 schools, 114 teachers, and 1046 parents (children) that were collected as part of a comparative international project. The data concern teacher and parent suspicions, teachers' ratings of ADHD-related behaviors in children, teachers' views of medication use, and teachers' beliefs about ADHD. The results show that, compared with Flanders, Québec had significantly more children diagnosed with ADHD and more frequent suspicions of ADHD in children by teachers and parents. We refer to the conceptual, institutional, and interactional levels of medicalization to interpret our findings and conclude that social and cultural readings of children's behaviors differ greatly between regions. Medicalization of children's behaviors is more common in Québec than in Flanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aims: Future research on health inequality relies on data that cover life-course exposure, different birth cohorts and variation in policy contexts. Nordic register data have long been celebrated as a 'gold mine' for research, and fulfil many of these criteria. However, access to and use of such data are hampered by a number of hurdles and bottlenecks. We present and discuss the experiences of an ongoing Nordic consortium from the process of acquiring register data on socio-economic conditions and health in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Methods : We compare experiences of data-acquisition processes from a researcher's perspective in the four countries and discuss the comparability of register data and the modes of collaboration available to researchers, given the prevailing ethical and legal restrictions. Results : The application processes we experienced were time-consuming, and decision structures were often fragmented. We found substantial variation between the countries in terms of processing times, costs and the administrative burden of the researcher. Concerned agencies differed in policy and practice which influenced both how and when data were delivered. These discrepancies present a challenge to comparative research. Conclusions : We conclude that there are few signs of harmonisation, as called for by previous policy documents and research papers. Ethical vetting needs to be centralised both within and between countries in order to improve data access. Institutional factors that seem to facilitate access to register data at the national level include single storage environments for health and social data, simplified ethical vetting and user guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to progress toward gender equality and, instead, exacerbated existing gender inequalities across domains—from gendered divisions of labour to economic stability. In this paper we document some of the most glaring gender inequalities that have arisen in the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how social psychological theories and research—including work on gender stereotypes and roles, responses to threat, precarious masculinity, perceptions of risk, and backlash—can help to explain the roots of these inequalities. In doing so, we use a broad definition of gender and consider relevant intersections of identity. Finally, we present three key considerations for research on gender inequalities moving forward. Namely, the need for social psychologists to (a) challenge binary conceptualizations of gender, (b) broaden the focus of research on gender inequalities, and (c) adopt an intersectional lens to address systemic inequalities in the wake of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study explores the lasting mental health impact of the Syria-Turkey earthquakes in 2023 on a population affected by conflict and trauma. It analyzes pre- and post-event mental health and sleep quality differences, identifying predictors of outcomes. Aims: Studying the 2023 Syria-Turkey earthquakes' enduring mental health impact on conflict-affected individuals, this research informs better support and interventions for disaster survivors. Methods: This longitudinal, cross-sectional study examined the enduring mental health impact of the Syria-Turkey earthquakes. The present study involved N = 1,413 Syrian survivors, aged 18 years or older, who actively participated by contributing both pre- and post-earthquake data. A meticulously designed digital questionnaire with established metrics assessed sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and anxiety levels. Stratification variables (age, gender, education, marital status) were used for subgroup analysis. Arabic versions of PHQ-9, PSQI, and GAD-2 proved reliable for measuring depression, sleep quality, and anxiety. Results: The majority of participants were female (73.6%) with tertiary education (83.3%). Post-earthquake, a higher percentage reported poor sleep quality (67.7% vs. 59.7%, p <.001) and increased prevalence of MDE (66.1% vs. 56%, p <.001). GAD did not differ significantly. Post-earthquake, women had a higher likelihood of poor sleep quality (OR: 1.58, 95% CI [1.19, 2.10], p <.001) and MDE (OR: 1.55, 95% CI [1.18 to 2.04], p =.003). Predictors varied before and after earthquakes; age and education were significant predictors of poor sleep quality, MDE, and GAD. Conclusion: This study reveals higher rates of poor sleep quality and major depressive episodes among earthquake-affected individuals, especially women. Age, education, and gender contribute to these outcomes. Targeted interventions and comprehensive mental health support are crucial for post-earthquake recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing literature over the past 10 years on health and political behavior has established health status as an important source of political inequality. Poor health reduces psychological engagement with politics and discourages political activity. This lowers incentives for governments to respond to the needs of those experiencing ill health and thereby perpetuates health disparities. In this review article, we provide a critical synthesis of the state of knowledge on the links between different aspects of health and political behavior. We also discuss the challenges confronting this research agenda, particularly with respect to measurement, theory, and establishing causality, along with suggestions for advancing the field. With the COVID-19 pandemic casting health disparities into sharp focus, understanding the sources of health biases in the political process, as well as their implications, is an important task that can bring us closer to the ideals of inclusive democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The so-called 'Great Recession' in Europe triggered widespread concerns about population health, as reflected by an upsurge in empirical research on the health impacts of the economic crisis. A growing body of empirical studies has also been devoted to socioeconomic inequalities in health during the Great Recession. The aim of the current study is to summarise this health inequality literature by means of a scoping review. Methods : We have performed a scoping review of the research literature (English language) published in the years 2012–2017. Only empirical papers with (a) health status measured on the individual level, (b) information on socioeconomic position (i.e. employment status, educational level, income/wealth, and/or occupational class), and (c) data from European countries in both pre- and post-crisis years were considered relevant. In total, 49 empirical studies fulfilled these inclusion criteria. Results : The empirical findings in the 49 included studies predominantly show that socioeconomic inequalities in health either increased or remained stable from pre- to post-crisis years. Two-thirds (65%) of the studies found evidence of either increasing or partially increasing health inequalities. Thus, people in lower socioeconomic strata fared worse overall in terms of health during the Great Recession, compared to people with higher socioeconomic status. Conclusions : The Great Recession in Europe tends to be followed by increasing socioeconomic inequalities in health. Policymakers should take note of this finding. Widening socioeconomic inequalities in health is a major cause of concern, in particular if health deterioration among 'vulnerable groups' is caused by accelerating cumulative disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, a national Commission for Equity in Health was appointed by the Swedish Government. In this paper, some key lines of thought from the three reports published by the Commission are summarised. First, the theories and principles for the Commission’s work are outlined, in particular regarding the views taken on how health inequalities arise. Second, the importance of process is discussed in relation to cross-sectorial efforts to reduce inequalities in health. More specifically, this brings up some of the proposals made for how to redesign the public health policy framework for cross-sectorial work. Third, the proposed content of cross-sectorial work for more equal health is presented in three steps, namely: (1) overarching recommendations, (2) more equal conditions and opportunities, and (3) general problems of governance. Regarding people’s conditions and opportunities, the Commission submitted a number of proposals for the general direction of work that needs to be taken in order to reduce health inequalities, as well as some examples of more specific policy changes or reforms on the basis of each of these general directions, which are summarised here. Finally, some challenges and difficulties that may prevent Sweden from taking the next step towards more equity in health are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on the financial situation of higher education students, disproportionately affecting students with a low socioeconomic status (SES). This raises the question of whether economic stressors related to COVID-19 have aggravated existing socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. This study examined the relationship between economic stressors and students' depressive symptoms, and the role of students' SES and countries' socioeconomic conditions. Methods: Data from the COVID-19 International Student Well-being Study was used for multilevel analyses, with depressive symptoms as dependent variable. Three indicators measured SES: educational level of the parents, ability to borrow money from their social network, and struggling with financial resources prior to COVID-19. Results: Students with a low SES had more depressive symptoms, and those not able to borrow money and with parents without higher education were more exposed to a deterioration in their financial situation. Both economic stressors (reduction in working hours and a deterioration of their financial situation) were positively related to depressive symptoms. In addition, the positive relationship between a decrease in working hours and depressive symptoms was stronger in countries with a higher unemployment rate. Conclusions: We observed socioeconomic inequalities in students' mental health, which, in part, can be ascribed to a larger exposure to the economic stressors related to COVID-19 among students' with a low SES. The macroeconomic context also played a role, as the impact of a reduction in working hours on depressive symptoms was stronger in countries with poor economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes stressors experienced by Syrian mothers in Lebanon in 2020 and emphasizes the necessity of addressing their distinct needs. Through in-depth interviews, it identifies stressors linked to living conditions in Lebanon, the economic crisis, health care access, and the impact of the pandemic. The study recommends that social workers should utilize and enhance existing support systems. It also recommends social policies facilitating mobility for Syrians to reunite with their families and livelihood programs enabling families to prioritize their own financial stability. This comprehensive approach has the potential to alleviate the challenges faced by Syrian mothers in Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To outline the organisation and responsibility for health and social care provided to older people in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Methods: Non-quantifiable data on the care systems were collated from the literature and expert consultations. The responsibilities for primary healthcare, specialised healthcare, prevention and health promotion, rehabilitation, and social care were presented in relation to policy guidance, funding and organisation. Results: In all three countries, the state issues policy and to some extent co-funds the largely decentralised systems; in Denmark and Sweden the regions and municipalities organise the provision of care services – a system that is also about to be implemented in Finland to improve care coordination and make access more equal. Care for older citizens focuses to a large extent on enabling them to live independently in their own homes. Conclusions: Decentralised care systems are challenged by considerable local variations, possibly jeopardising care equity. State-level decision and policy makers need to be aware of these challenges and monitor developments to prevent further health and social care disparities in the ageing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we apply theories of non-citizenship assemblage to conceptualise the dynamic relationship of social determinants of health for international students in Canada who face barriers to accessing COVID-19 vaccines and verifying their vaccination status. Social workers' roles in responding to and reducing these inequities are also discussed with attention to micro practice, meso service integration, and macro public policy advocacy. Through theorising assembled inequities emerging from Canada's COVID-19 vaccination policies, this article offers guidance for future social work research and practice towards promoting justice and equity for transnational populations who are often excluded from domestic social welfare programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: One of the goals of the Norwegian Public Health Act is to reduce health inequities. The act mandates the implementation of policies and measures with municipalities and county municipalities to accomplish this goal. The article explores the prerequisites for municipal capacity to reduce health inequities and how the capacity is built and sustained. Methods: The paper is a literature study of articles and reports using data from two surveys on the implementation of public health policies sent to all Norwegian municipalities: the first, a few months before the implementation of the Public Health Act in 2012; the second in 2014. Results: Six dimensions are included in the capacity concept. Leadership and governance refers to the regulating tool of laws that frame the local implementation of public health policies. Municipalities implement inter-sectoral working groups and public health coordinators to coordinate their public health policies and measures. Financing of public health is fragmented. Possibilities for municipalities to enter into partnerships with county municipalities are not equally distributed. Owing to the organisational structures, municipalities largely define public health as health policy. Workforce and competence refers to the employment of public health coordinators, and knowledge development refers to the mandated production of health overviews in municipalities. Conclusions: The capacity to reduce health inequities varies among municipalities. However, if municipalities build on the prerequisites they control, establishing inter-sectoral working groups and employing public health coordinators in authoritative positions, national governance instruments and regional resources may sustain their capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In this paper we discuss recent developments in the policy to reduce health inequalities in Norway in relation to challenges and opportunities associated with tackling health inequality at the local level. Methods: We discuss government documents and research findings on the implementation of policies to diminish health inequalities at the municipality level. Recent policy developments are briefly reviewed in relation to the 10-year strategy to reduce health inequalities passed by the Parliament in 2007. We then identify opportunities and obstacles to successful action on health inequalities at the local level. Results: The 2012 Public Health Act represented a powerful reinforcement of the strategy to reduce health inequalities at all three levels of government: the national, the regional and the local. However, some aspects of the policies pursued by the current government are likely to make local action to tackle health inequality an uphill struggle. In particular, health equity policies that have hitherto been based on universalism and had a focus on the gradient seem to be running out of fuel. Other challenges are an insufficient capacity for effective action particularly in smaller municipalities, and a rather weak knowledge base, including systems to monitor social inequalities and a general lack of evaluations of trials and new initiatives. Conclusions: We conclude that the Public Health Act opened up many new opportunities, but that a number of municipalities face obstacles that they need to overcome to tackle health inequalities comprehensively. Furthermore, local efforts need to be coupled with sustained national momentum to be efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into understanding the relationship between access to housing, health and wellbeing in cities has yielded mixed evidence to date and has been limited to case studies from Western countries. Many studies appear to highlight the negative effects of public housing in influencing the health of its residents. Current trends in the urban housing markets in cities of advanced Asian economies and debates surrounding the role of government in providing housing underscore the need for more focused research into housing and health. In this paper, we investigate Hong Kong as an example of a thriving Asian city by exploring and comparing the intra-urban geographies of premature mortality and public housing provision in the city. Using a fully Bayesian spatial structural model, we estimate associations between public housing provision and different types of premature mortality. We find significant geographic variations in premature mortality within Hong Kong during the five-year period 2005–2009, with positive associations between the residents of public housing and premature mortality risk. But the associations attenuate or are even reversed for premature mortality of injuries and non-communicable diseases after controlling for local deprivation, housing instability, access to local amenities and other neighbourhood characteristics. The results indicate that public housing may have a protective effect on community health, which contradicts the findings of similar studies carried out in Western cities. We suggest reasons why the association between public housing and health differs in Hong Kong and discuss the implications for housing policy in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Social–epidemiological explanations of health inequalities usually take the existence of social inequality as a given and ignore the fundamental questions of why social inequality exists in the first place and why it is so persistent. I review here theories of the explanation of social inequality to identify the processes and/or structures responsible for its persistence. Methods: This paper is a review of the relevant sociological literature. Results: The sociological literature suggests that what persists over long periods of time is not a specific manifestation of social inequality but a ‘meta-phenomenon’: the fact that there are different social positions, that these social positions give access to different levels of resources in some graded way and that the distribution of individuals over social positions follows rules that create inequalities in the opportunities for achieving a more advantaged social position. The durability of social inequality in this generic form can then be understood from the persistence of the underlying mechanisms and processes – for example, humans are driven by self-interest, while most objects of their striving are in short supply, therefore a struggle for rewards is present in all societies; humans are unequally endowed, therefore some are more successful in this struggle for resources than others; and the inequalities resulting from these individual level actions are structurally fixated through the intergenerational transmission of (dis)advantage, various societal institutions, and cultural factors. Conclusions: The sociological literature suggests that some mechanisms producing and perpetuating social inequality are more ‘benign’ than others. Health inequalities may be more than a consequence of social inequality and may play a more profound part by amplifying social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to comprehensively analyze the literature focused on frequency of the presence of the accessory renal arteries in the human body. A systematic analysis of papers has been made. With regard to ethnicity, the incidence of accessory renal arteries fluctuates from 4% in a Malaysian population to 61.5% in a Brazilian population. The frequency is lowest in eastern and southern Asia (from 4% to 18.4%). In some, not ethnically homogenous populations, wide span of occurrence of accessory renal arteries is described (e.g. American - averaging from 18% to 28.8%). A higher frequency of accessory renal arteries was observed in fetuses compared to adults. Moreover, differences in the presence and number of accessory renal arteries reported in different papers are a consequence of type of visualizing technique used in research - especially when computed tomography and anatomical dissection were compared. The increasing number of surgical interventions, especially where laparoscopic methods are concerned, underlines the importance of such knowledge especially to surgeons, interventional radiologists, nephrologists, and vascular surgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This contribution responds to three articles (we refer to all three as 'editorials') concerning something called 'geopsychiatry'. Aims: To evaluate claims made in these editorials for 'geopsychiatry' as a new field of inquiry at the interface between geography and psychiatry. Method: Close critical reading of two editorials in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry – entitled 'Geographical determinants of mental health' and 'Political determinants of mental health' – and one in the International Review of Psychiatry – entitled 'What is geopsychiatry?' Results: While this geopsychiatry initiative is to be applauded, disquiet can be expressed about the almost complete neglect of a pre-existing domain of inquiry – 'mental health geography' or 'the geography of mental health' – that has long been researched by academic geographers and cognate scholars. Key trajectories in this field can be identified and related to the proposed foci for geopsychiatry. Conclusions: The hope is voiced that future developments in geopsychiatry will proceed in dialogue with the literature and practitioners of mental health geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers must ration healthcare. This necessity became salient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some policymakers took that opportunity to reduce inequality of health outcomes at the expense of overall health gains. There is a literature that seeks to quantify the optimal trade-off between efficiency and equality in health outcomes: economists employ surveys to quantify the public's preferred level of equity/efficiency trade-off. An odd result from these studies is that a non-trivial subsample of respondents choose to "level down" i.e., they choose as though an additional year of life delivers negative utility to society if it accrues to the most privileged. In an experiment of US and UK respondents (n = 495), we compare equity/efficiency trade-offs across an abstract scenario along the lines of that presented in previous surveys versus a COVID-19 scenario, where it is made explicit that healthcare rationing is a real and current necessity occasioned by the pandemic. We find that preference for "levelling down" is reduced in the COVID-19 scenario relative to the abstract scenario. This result implies that, at least in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous results have overestimated the public's willingness to sacrifice overall gains in population health in order to reduce inequality of health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bipolar disorders (BD) are significant debilitating mental problems. Here, we introduced a novel index as a representative of the quality of care delivered to BD patients worldwide. Methods: The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study was the primary data source on BD, including prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLDs). Secondary indices were created and transformed into a single component that accounted for most of the variation, using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. This component, reported on a scale of 0 to 100, was presented as the quality of care index (QCI). The QCI was estimated in different age groups and areas within a 30-year time frame. Gender disparity ratio (GDR), as the female-to-male ratio of the QCI, was reported. Results: The Global QCI slightly increased from 50.4 in 1990 to 53.1 in 2019. The GDR value was 0.95 in 2019. The high-middle SDI quintile had the highest QCI estimate of 63.0, and the lowest QCI value of 36.9 was regarding the low SDI quintile. Western-Pacific Region and South-East Asia had the highest and lowest QCI among WHO regions, with estimates of 70.7 and 31.2, respectively. The age group of 20 to 24 years old patients reported the lowest QCI estimate of 30.2, and the highest QCI of 59.8 was regarding 40 to 44 years old patients. Conclusion: The QCI in BD had only a subtle increase from 1990 to 2019 and is in need of further improvement. Inequalities between different regions and age groups are considerable and require proper attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Japan is known as a country with low self-rated health despite high life expectancy. We compared socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health in Japan with those in 32 European countries and the US using nationally representative samples. Methods: We analysed individual data from the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions (Japan), the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (US) in 2016. We used ordered logistic regression models with four ordinal categories of self-rated health as an outcome, and educational level or occupational class as independent variables, controlling for age. Results: In Japan, about half the population perceived their health as 'fair', which was much higher than in Europe (≈20–40%). The odds ratios of lower self-rated health among less educated men compared with more educated were 1.72 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.61–1.85) in Japan, and ranged from 1.67 to 4.74 in Europe (pooled; 2.10 (95% CI 2.01–2.20)), and 6.65 (95% CI 6.22–7.12) in the US. The odds ratios of lower self-rated health among less educated women were 1.79 (95% CI 1.65–1.95) in Japan, and ranged from 1.89 to 5.30 in Europe (pooled; 2.43 (95% CI 2.33–2.54)), and 8.82 (95% CI 8.29–9.38) in the US. Socioeconomic inequalities were large when self-rated health was low for European countries, but Japan and the US did not follow the pattern. Conclusions: Japan has similar socioeconomic gradient patterns to European countries for self-rated health, and our findings revealed smaller socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health in Japan compared with those in western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of culture as an analytic concept has increasingly been questioned by social scientists, just as health care institutions and clinicians have increasingly routinized concepts and uses of culture as means for improving the quality of care for racial and ethnic minorities. This paper examines this tension, asking whether it is possible to use cultural categories to develop evidenced-based practice guidelines in mental health services when these categories are challenged by the increasing hyperdiversity of patient populations and newer theories of culture that question direct connection between group-based social identities and cultural characteristics. Anthropologists have grown concerned about essentializing societies, yet unequal treatment on the basis of cultural, racial, or ethnic group membership is present in medicine and mental health care today. We argue that discussions of culture—patients’ culture and the “culture of medicine”—should be sensitive to the risk of improper stereotypes, but should also be sensitive to the continuing significance of group-based discrimination and the myriad ways culture shapes clinical presentation, doctor–patient interactions, the illness experience, and the communication of symptoms. We recommend that mental health professionals consider the local contexts, with greater appreciation for the diversity of lived experience found among individual patients. This suggests a nuanced reliance on broad cultural categories of racial, ethnic, and national identities in evidence-based practice guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Traditional measures of social status are predicated on position in the labour market. There has been less attention directed to the meanings of social position for people with a long-term condition whose relationship to employment is precarious. Previous research has demonstrated that the MacArthur scale is capable of capturing contextualised aspects of social status, which makes it a useful tool for exploring changes in meaning. Aims: The paper explores the meanings and experiences of social status of people living with a long-term condition with particular reference to employment status. Methods: A sample of 300 participants was drawn from diabetes and chronic heart disease registers of General Practices in North West England. A cross-sectional survey with nested qualitative interviews was used in collecting and analysing the data. Findings: Having financial independence and participating in valued activities are more important for people with chronic illness than power and status mediated through the labour market. Income and the lack and loss of employment were given a central role in respondents’ narratives reflecting the absence of acceptable alternative routes through which social status for those with a long-term condition can realistically be rebuilt outside of participation in the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal health in the United States is an area of immediate concern. The compounded disadvantages and unique global positions of refugee women highlight the need for research that explores the experiences of refugee women during pregnancy and childbirth. The present study examines how contextual factors shape pregnancy and childbirth experiences for Syrian, Afghan, Congolese, and Karen women living in Clarkston, Georgia, US. Qualitative data were collected via focus groups facilitated by community interpreters. We used a reproductive justice framework to center women's desires, needs, and experiences, and to highlight the importance of structural factors in the findings and analysis of this study. Using codebook thematic analysis, three themes were developed: (1) isolation and alienated knowledge, (2) gendered disparities and structural inequities, and (3) community support and precarity. The findings reflect both the diversity and constancy of women's experiences and highlight how the context of the US impacts women's ability to exercise agency during pregnancy and childbirth. Systemic change is needed to improve women's access to tools that increase their capacity to exercise agency both during pregnancy and childbirth, and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and cultural poetics take us beyond language to an embodied sensibility. To explore the relevance of social poetics in medical training, this article uses as an exemplar an innovative program in geriatrics in a residency program in primary care. The program began with a series of meetings in which medical residents consulted community elders invited for their advice and wisdom on healthcare dilemmas as Senior Faculty, effectively becoming co-teachers and co-learners with one another. Through iterative reflection, residents, faculty and community elders all reported feeling struck by the unexpected responses and were often guided and called to action by them to ask new questions, to shift their stance, or offer greater accompaniment and care. These experiences illuminated what might otherwise have passed by unnoticed, particularly in regards to human suffering. The reflecting process made visible what mattered to each actor, shifting from negative assumptions and attitudes about older adults to a positive engagement with them, co-creating new possibilities for participants to articulate their lived experience of illness and healing. These are creative and moral acts, honoring the voices of those seldom invited to speak, resonating with them, acknowledging what matters to each participant, while taking into account wider issues of disparity and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction There is a significant disparity in the United States between the health care received by children with special health care needs versus physically healthy children. Objective The objective of the paper is to show that children with special needs receive less than adequate health care overall. This disparity affects the quality of life for these children and influences their ability to live their lives to their full potential. Methods Research was conducted by examining multiple studies with a focus on six major factors that play a role in creating this disparity. Results The findings show an alarming trend in the access and delivery of health care to children with special health care needs. Conclusions Solutions to correcting the disparities are possible, but it will take a full understanding of the issues, perseverance, dedication, and hard work on the part of families, physicians, legislators, and others genuinely interested in creating an equal health care system for all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses the disparity in numbers between Japanese children and their Brazilian immigrant peers concerning placement in Japanese special education classes. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 stakeholders including Japanese nationals and Brazilian immigrants to see if there were any ways to explain the larger numbers of immigrant children assigned to such classes. Five main factors affecting the stakeholders emerged: Linguistic and Cultural Related Misunderstandings of Information, Limitations Concerning Counseling and Educational Planning, Requests for Improving the Support System for Non-Japanese Students, Importance of a Second Opinion, and Cultural and Linguistic Effects when Evaluating Non-Japanese Students. The study provides policy recommendations aimed at improving the support system for immigrant communities who face a variety of stresses living in an unfamiliar culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some countries, including the United Kingdom, young mothers' pregnant and postnatal bodies remain an area of concern for policy and practice, with interventions developed to support improved health behaviours including diet and physical activity. This article explores what young women themselves think and feel about eating and moving during and after pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews with 11 young mothers were conducted within two voluntary organisations. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with the theoretical lens of embodiment, which provided an understanding of how young women's eating and moving habits related to how they felt about their bodies in the world. Four themes situated in different experiences of being and having a body were identified: pregnant body, emotional body, social body and surveilled body. Stress and low mood impacted eating habits as young women responded to complex circumstances and perceived judgement about their lives. Food choices were influenced by financial constraints and shaped by the spaces and places in which young women lived. Whilst young women were busy moving in their day-to-day lives, they rarely had the resources to take part in other physical activity. Holistic approaches that focus on how women feel about their lives and bodies and ask them where they need support are required from professionals. Interventions that address the structural influences on poor diet and inequalities in physical activity participation are necessary to underpin this. Approaches that over-focus on the achievement of individual health behaviours may fail to improve long-term health and risk reinforcing young women's disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to compare the self-rated health status of the Roma and of the general population by gender and educational level in six Central and Eastern European countries. Methods: We analysed the United Nations Development Program Regional Roma Survey and EUROSTAT's European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions surveys from 2011 for Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Using logistic regression, predicted probabilities of good or very good self-rated health were estimated for the Roma (n =11,401), Roma neighbours (n =5857) and the general population (n =101,579) stratified by gender, and adjusted by age, country and educational level. Results: There was a distinctive social gradient in self-rated health between the groups among both men and women, and a gap between primary versus secondary or tertiary education among all three groups, but Roma (men) and their neighbours with secondary or higher education had significantly worse predicted self-rated health compared to the general population with similar qualifications. Conclusions: These results strongly suggest that ethnicity and gender should be considered as fundamental causes that explain structural health inequalities. Consequently, future research and policy initiatives to reduce health inequities should acknowledge the impact of ethnic minorities and how these fundamental causes extend the general population's social gradient in health. Study designs enabling direct comparisons between ethnic groups and the general population should be applied. More and better data about ethnic minorities are needed to document and monitor existing health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various feminisms create a complex and sometimes contradictory picture. Within social work and social care, there has been a mixed reception. However, it is maintained that a gendered analysis in a profession where women remain in the majority remains highly relevant. In particular, the continuing and increasing pay gap and the relatively low numbers of women in senior positions are used as markers. Similarly, comparisons between 'choice' feminism and current practices are appraised. It is argued that critical deconstructive analyses drawn from postmodern feminism remain significant in both naming and addressing pervasive gender inequalities in national and international arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black-oriented magazines have been a staple of Black communities for decades. Essence magazine, in particular, places a strong emphasis on targeting and empowering the Black woman. Essence often covers health issues in their publications alongside other popular issues being discussed in Black communities. Given the prevalence of health articles in Essence, I conducted a content analysis to assess how the magazine discusses the relationships between health, power, and race. The findings suggest that Essence magazine leverages its cultural and popular position to engage in discussions about health issues with its readers in culturally relevant ways that engage and empower Black women. At the same time, given Essence's global platform, the magazine walks a tightrope between being an 'easy-read' popular magazine and an outlet that discusses pressing health-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the health of low-income urban communities in the global South has not been insignificant, the results of state responses carried out without full consideration of poverty consequences have been very serious. Vaccination, which supports both health and economic recovery, is one way people can reduce the risk of further exclusion. This field note, drawing on surveys from informal settlements in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Mumbai between August and November 2021 by national affiliates of Slum Dwellers International (SDI), provides a snapshot of how global vaccine inequalities have played out across these cities. We find that access to local vaccine programmes is influenced by both global supply and existing local-level inequities; that a low or unreliable supply, among other factors, limits political will to invest in reaching already underserved communities; and that local context and the heterogeneity of communities are key to understanding low vaccine uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The major causes of social inequalities in health are found outside of healthcare. However, healthcare can also play a role in maintaining, reducing, or reinforcing inequality. We present and discuss results from a panel study of doctors' views on whether and how socioeconomic factors should play a role in clinical decision making. Methods: The panel comprised a representative sample of Norwegian doctors, established in 1994. For the current study, the doctors received postal questionnaires in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis and mixed models for repeated measurements. Results: The sample sizes were 1072 (65%), 1279 (71%) and 1605 (73%), respectively. The doctors were increasingly positive towards considering socioeconomic factors, and reported giving more time and advice and asking for less pay to compensate for unfavorable socioeconomic factors. General practitioners were more likely to consider socioeconomic factors and changed their practice accordingly compared to other clinicians. The percentage of doctors who agreed that different amounts of resources should be used to obtain similar health effects was high and increased over time. Conclusions: Increasingly more doctors are willing to consider patients' socioeconomic factors in clinical care. This could be contrary to professional ethics, in which only medical need should count. However, it depends on how 'need' is interpreted. As treatment outcomes partly depend on non–medical factors, socioeconomic factors should be considered because they influence patients' ability to benefit from medical care. Equality requires mitigating factors with negative impacts on health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on abundant racial and ethnic health disparities in many countries around the world. In Sweden, statistics on COVID-19 mortality and morbidity from both the first and the second wave of the pandemic show that foreign-born individuals have been disproportionately affected, compared to Swedish-born individuals. However, as demonstrated in this article, key stakeholders including politicians, public authorities, mainstream media, and medical researchers do not draw on the same explanatory framework when conceptualizing the health disparity. Probing the different discourses that were articulated through oral and written accounts during the first wave, the article identifies three different frameworks of how ethnic health disparities in relation to COVID-19 were understood in Sweden: the socioeconomic framework, the culturalist framework and the biological framework. We discuss the importance of our findings for health policy and argue for continued interrogation of epidemiological knowledge production from a critical vantage point in order to successfully combat health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study were to: (a) compare gender differences in mental well-being in the Nordic countries with gender differences in 28 other countries around the world; and (b) evaluate whether gender differences in the Nordic countries remain when other social and lifestyle factors are taken into account. Methods: Data were obtained from 32 countries around the world that participated in the 2011 health module of the International Social Survey Programme. Ordered logit regression models were used to evaluate whether gender differences remained significant when other social and lifestyle factors were considered. Results: Gender differences in mental well-being in the Nordic countries are not particularly small and the four countries do not cluster together. The gender differences remain when other social and lifestyle factors are taken into account. Conclusions: There appears to be a similar Nordic health paradox for mental well-being outcomes as for physical health outcomes. Although there may be multiple reasons for this, continued gender equality, including sex segregation in the labour market and gendered expectations, are considered to play a part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]