Scandanavia

Scandanavian Policies Social Determinants

The Nordic countries have long been characterized as countries with a high standard of living and with small social and economic differences. However, despite a long tradition of reducing social inequalities by introducing welfare policies and structural measures, comparative analyses show that social inequalities in health are growing. This has been termed the welfare paradox of the Nordic countries. 

The project Nordic National Policies to Increase Equity in Health was part of the larger project Equal Health - Prerequisites at National Level. The aim of the project was to create better conditions for working towards increased equality in health at the national level in the Nordic countries. The project was a follow up of an earlier project, Tackling Health Inequalities Locally - The Scandinavian Experience (ScanHeiap), which was a review of how Denmark, Sweden and Norway have worked with reducing equalities in health, mainly at the municipal level. 

Nordic leadership and global activity on health equity through action on social determinants of health