Are equity aspects communicated in Nordic public health documents?
OBJECTIVE
To explore if the term equity was applied and how measures for addressing social inequalities in health and reducing inequity were communicated in selected Nordic documents concerning public health.


METHODS
Documents from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden were collected and analysed by Nordic authors. Data included material from websites of ministries and authorities responsible for public health issues, with primary focus on steering documents, action programmes, and reports from 2001 until spring 2013.


RESULTS
Most strategies applied in Danish, Finnish, and Swedish documents focused on the population in general but paid special attention to vulnerable groups. The latest Danish and Finnish documents communicate a clearer commitment to address social inequalities in health. They emphasise the social gradient and the need to address the social determinants in order to improve the position of disadvantaged groups. Norwegian authorities have paid increasing attention to inequity/social inequalities in health and initiated a new law in 2012 which aims to address the social gradient in a more clear way than seen elsewhere in the Nordic countries.


CONCLUSIONS
In the Nordic countries, redistribution by means of universal welfare policies is historically viewed as a vital mechanism to improve the situation of vulnerable groups and level the social gradient. To establish the concept of equity as a strong concern and a core value within health promotion, it is important to be aware how policies can contribute to enable reduction of social health differences.
1Nordic School of Public Health NHV, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lene
L
Povlsen
Leena Eklund
LE
Karlsson
Susann
S
Regber
Gabriella
G
Sandstig
Elisabeth
E
Fosse
D004282:Documentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005387:Finland; D058015:Health Communication; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Document analysis; Nordic countries; equity; fairness; justice; public health policy; social gradient; social inequality in health