Velferdsstat og folkehelse: politikk for å utjevne sosiale helseforskjeller i de nordiske land

Abstract

Despite a long tradition of reducing social inequalities, social inequalities have increased the Nordic countries. In this paper, I present findings from Nordic projects that have explored some of the mechanisms behind this development. The purpose of one project was to analyse national policies to increase health equity, the main conclusions was that policies to reduce social inequalities in health is included in all the countries. Still, individual and targeted measures are often preferred in practice. One explanation was that addressing the wider social determinants of health is a complex issue. Redefining the problem may make it more manageable and less politically controversial. The development may also be explained by decentralisation, where municipalities have a main responsibility for delivering many health and welfare services within limited budgets.