How social policy contributes to the distribution of population health: the case of gender health equity

Beckfield, Jason; Morris, Katherine; Bambra, Clare

doi:10.1177/1403494817715954

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Our updated analysis has found an additional six reviews, but the evidence is still mixed and inconclusive. We found no studies of family policies (such as parental leave or child care) – something which is a significant evidence gap given the increasing awareness of the potential importance of such interventions for health and health equity [38, 39]. The two reviews examining income maintenance and poverty relief policies [29, 30] found financial support for poor families had no significant effects on child health but a strong relationship between unemployment generosity and improved mental health as a result of unemployment insurance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of social protection policies on health inequalities: Evidence from systematic reviews

Hillier-Brown

Thomson

McGowan

et al. 2019

Scand J Public Health

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Background: The welfare state distributes financial resources to its citizens – protecting them in times of adversity. Variations in how such social protection policies are administered have been attributed to important differences in population health. The aim of this systematic review of reviews is to update and appraise the evidence base of the effects of social protection policies on health inequalities. Methods/design: Systematic review methodology was used. Nine databases were searched from 2007 to 2017 for reviews of social policy interventions in high-income countries. Quality was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool. Results: Six systematic reviews were included in our review, reporting 50 unique primary studies. Two reviews explored income maintenance and poverty relief policies and found some, low quality, evidence that increased unemployment benefit generosity may improve population mental health. Four reviews explored active labour-market policies and found some, low-quality evidence, that return to work initiatives may lead to short-term health improvements, but that in the longer term, they can lead to declines in mental health. The more rigorously conducted reviews found no significant health effects of any of social protection policy under investigation. No reviews of family policies were located. Conclusions: The systematic review evidence base of the effects of social protection policy interventions remains sparse, of low quality, of limited generalizability (as the evidence base is concentrated in the Anglo-Saxon welfare state type), and relatively inconclusive. There is a clear need for evaluations in more diverse welfare state settings and particularly of family policies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of social protection policies on health inequalities: Evidence from systematic reviews

Hillier-Brown

Thomson

McGowan

et al. 2019

Scand J Public Health

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“…[25][26][27] Policies that promote greater gender equality, therefore, have the potential to modify the gender gap in LE. 22,23 Indeed, previous research shows positive correlations between gender equality and LE in both women and men, both in Europe 28 and other regions. 29 Meanwhile, some scholars highlight that if increased gender equality results only in women increasingly entering spheres traditionally occupied by men, such as the labour force and public representation, there could be diminishing gains, or losses, in health: equalising the health advantages and disadvantages of employment, but also increasing risky behaviours in women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In this sense, the scientific literature has shown that the health of both men and women is not only different, but can also be inequitable, and the result of modifiable social factors such as social policies or distribution of resources and is therefore unfair. [22][23][24] For example, the increasing participation of women in paid work and public life has led, for many reasons, to better health outcomes for women themselves and their children, including greater access and control over economic resources. [25][26][27] Policies that promote greater gender equality, therefore, have the potential to modify the gender gap in LE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Equality and the Global Gender Gap in Life Expectancy: An Exploratory Analysis of 152 Countries

Mateos

Fernández-Sáez

Marcos-Marcos

et al. 2020

Int J Health Policy Manag

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When looking at life expectancy (LE) by sex, women live longer than men in all countries. Biological factors alone do not explain gender differences in LE, and examining structural differences may help illuminate other explanatory factors. The aim of this research is to analyse the influence of gender inequality on the gender gap in LE globally. We have carried out a regression analysis between the gender gap in relativised LE and the UN Gender Inequality Index (GII), with a sensitivity analysis conducted for its three dimensions, stratified by the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions. We adjusted the model by taking into consideration gross national income (GNI), democratic status and rural population. The results indicated a positive association for the European region (ß=0.184) and the Americas (ß=0.136) in our adjusted model. Conversely, for the African region, the relations between gender equality and the LE gender gap were found to be negative (ß=-0.125). The findings suggest that in the WHO European region and the Americas, greater gender equality leads to a narrowing of the gender LE gap, while it has a contrary relationship in Africa. We suggest that this could be because only higher scores in the GII between men and women show health benefits.

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“…Nevertheless, effects of social investment policies are only beginning to be assessed 5. One area that has not received attention is population health: social investment policies seek to enhance gender equity in European labour markets, but what effects are they having on the health of men and women?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who benefits from social investment? The gendered effects of family and employment policies on cardiovascular disease in Europe

Morris¹,

Beckfield²,

Bambra³

2019

J Epidemiol Community Health

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BackgroundIn the context of fiscal austerity in many European welfare states, policy innovation often takes the form of ‘social investment’, a contested set of policies aimed at strengthening labour markets. Social investment policies include employment subsidies, skills training and job-finding services, early childhood education and childcare and parental leave. Given that such policies can influence gender equity in the labour market, we analysed the possible effects of such policies on gender health equity.MethodsUsing age-stratified and sex-stratified data from the Global Burden of Disease Study on cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality between 2005 and 2010, we estimated linear regression models of policy indicators on employment supports, childcare and parental leave with country fixed effects.FindingsWe found mixed effects of social investment for men versus women. Whereas government spending on early childhood education and childcare was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for both men and women equally, government spending on paid parental leave was more strongly associated with lower CVD mortality rates for women. Additionally, government spending on public employment services was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for men but was not significant for women, while government spending on employment training was associated with lower CVD mortality rates for women but was not significant for men.ConclusionsSocial investment policies were negatively associated with CVD mortality, but the ameliorative effects of specific policies were gendered. We discuss the implications of these results for the European social investment policy turn and for future research on gender health equity.

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How social policy contributes to the distribution of population health: the case of gender health equity

Cited by 20 publications

References 23 publications

The effects of social protection policies on health inequalities: Evidence from systematic reviews

The effects of social protection policies on health inequalities: Evidence from systematic reviews

Gender Equality and the Global Gender Gap in Life Expectancy: An Exploratory Analysis of 152 Countries

Who benefits from social investment? The gendered effects of family and employment policies on cardiovascular disease in Europe

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