Événements 3rd ISA Forum of Sociology

Welfare States and Health Care Systems: In Search for Solutions to Social Inequalities in Health 
How do welfare systems impact the social determinants of health? Comparative studies have shown that health inequalities remain a serious problem for countries without mature welfare states as well as for generous welfare states in Europe with universal health care systems. However, at the same time, the great variance in the size of social inequalities in health across countries indicates that these inequalities are amenable to social and health policy intervention. So, why do social inequalities persist and what can we do to reduce them? 
This session invites both theoretical and empirical studies that aim to answer this question. We are interested in studies that examine the mechanisms underpinning welfare state policies, their impact on social inequalities in health as well as papers that explore the intersectionality of socio-economic-, gender- and ethnicity-based health inequalities. Comparative studies as well as single-country case studies focusing on determinants of health inequalities are welcome.