Speakers: Mirza Balaj, Maria del Pilar Vidaurre i Texidó, and Terje Andreas Eikemo, CHAIN – Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Abstract
A new report on the social inequalities of health – based on analysis of the latest European Social Survey (ESS) data – will be launched at this online event.
Health inequalities remain a persistent and pressing issue across Europe, with substantial differences in health outcomes observed across socioeconomic groups, genders, and geographic region.
The report includes analysis of survey data on the health of respondents collected in the latest round of the survey (Round 11, 2023/24).
Many of the questions were first asked in Round 7 (2014/15) of the ESS – data that has been instrumental in identifying key drivers of poor health across social divides.
This new Topline Results report therefore draws comparisons over the past decade and outlines where health outcomes and risk factors in 24 countries have improved or worsened.
Almost 40,000 respondents across Europe were asked about their own health conditions, health access and utilisation, working conditions, living conditions and risk behaviours such as smoking, drinking alcohol and physical activity.
The report also focuses on educational inequalities in health, gender differences and increases across Europe for eighteen health outcomes and a wide array of determinants of health including among others childhood conditions, housing, provision of unpaid care and sense of control over one’s life.
In comparing data collected almost ten years apart, this new report sheds light on health outcomes in the context of national government austerity measures, increasing migration, and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report’s authors – Mirza Balaj, Maria del Pilar Vidaurre i Texidó, and Terje Andreas Eikemo – will discuss these findings and formally launch the latest ESS Topline Results publication.
Countries included in this latest Topline Results report are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The ESS HQ is based at City St George’s, University of London.
About the speakers
Dr. Mirza Balaj is a sociologist and the Scientific Coordinator of CHAIN. She earned her PhD in Sociology from NTNU, where she has been instrumental in advancing the global understanding of how social determinants, particularly education, shape health outcomes.
Balaj has led the ESS Health Module Questionnaire Design Team and has published extensively on the interplay between socioeconomic position, social determinants and health using ESS data. Beyond academia, she actively engages with international organizations, including the EU Commission and WHO, to translate research findings into actionable health policies.
Maria del Pilar Vidaurre i Texidó is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology and Political Science at NTNU. Texidó is currently part of the CHAIN team and has published research on the implications on health outcomes amongst women with informal employment.
Terje Andreas Eikemo has led the Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research (CHAIN) based at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) since its inception in 2017 and has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health since 2016.
Eikemo's research focuses on social inequality and health including mental health and well-being, chronic conditions, and mortality. The aim of the research is to contribute to political and social change, by improving people's living conditions, reducing social inequality and improve health for all social groups.
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