title: The social determinants of inequalities in self-reported health in Europe: findings from the European social survey (2014) special module on the social determinants of health.
abstract: Health inequalities persist between and within European countries. Such inequalities are usually explained by health behaviours and according to the conditions in which people work and live. However, little is known about the relative contribution of these factors to health inequalities in European countries. This paper aims to investigate the independent and joint contribution of a comprehensive set of behavioural, occupational and living conditions factors in explaining social inequalities in self-rated health (SRH).
  
  
  
  Data from 21 countries was obtained from the 2014 European Social Survey and examined for respondents aged 25-75. Adjusted rate differences (ARD) and adjusted rate risks (ARR), generated from binary logistic regression models, were used to measure health inequalities in SRH and the contribution of behavioural, occupational and living conditions factors.
  
  
  
  Absolute and relative inequalities in SRH were found in all countries and the magnitude of socio-economic inequalities varied considerably between countries. While factors were found to differentially contribute to the explanation of educational inequalities in different European countries, occupational and living conditions factors emerged as the leading causes of inequalities across most of the countries, contributing both independently and jointly with behavioural factors.
  
  
  
  The observed shared effects of different factors to health inequalities points to the interdependent nature of occupational, behavioural and living conditions factors. Tackling health inequalities should be a concentred effort that goes beyond interventions focused on single factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Mirza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Courtney L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Terje A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Eikemo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bambra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012923:Social Class; D064890:Social Determinants of Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors