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- Bryngelson, Anna, et al.
(author)
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The relationship between gender segregation in the workplace and long-term sickness absence in Sweden
- 2011
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 39:6, s. 618-626
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The aim of the study is to investigate whether the gender composition in workplaces is related to long-term sickness absence (LSA). We start off with Kanter’s theory on ‘‘tokenism,’’ suggesting an increased risk of stress among minority groups (tokens), which, in turn, might increase the risk of ill health and LSA. Methods: The dataset consists of information obtained from the Swedish level of Living Survey (LNU) and the Swedish Establishment Survey (APU), linked to register-based data from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The longitudinal data is representative for the Swedish population and consists of 496 women and 566 men, aged 20—55 at baseline. Our study group consisted of employed persons in 1991 and we analyze, by means of piecewise constant intensity regressions, the first entry into LSA with a follow-up period of nine years. Results: Compared with women in gender-integrated workplaces, women’s risk of LSA is most elevated at both extremely male-dominated (0—20% females) and extremely female-dominated workplaces (80—100% females), although the result among women in the most male-dominated group did not reach statistical significance at the 5% level. Men’s risk seems less varied by gender composition. Conclusions: The present study suggests that the gender composition in the workplace has an impact on the risk of LSA, especially among women. Our findings lend no support for Kanter’s theory on the effects of being a token. Most likely, women’s and men’s different status positions have an impact on the different associations found.
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2. |
- Fritzell, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Absolute or relative? A comparative analysis of the relationship between poverty and mortality
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1661-8556 .- 1661-8564. ; 60:1, s. 101-110
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We aimed to examine the cross-national and cross-temporal association between poverty and mortality, in particular differentiating the impact of absolute and relative poverty. We employed pooled cross-sectional time series analysis. Our measure of relative poverty was based upon the standard 60 % of median income. The measure of absolute, or fixed, poverty was based upon the US poverty threshold. Our analyses were conducted on data for 30 countries between 1978 and 2010, a total of 149 data points. We separately studied infant, child, and adult mortality. Our findings highlight the importance of relative poverty for mortality. Especially for infant and child mortality, we found that our estimates of fixed poverty is close to zero either in the crude models, or when adjusting for gross domestic product. Conversely, the relative poverty estimates increased when adjusting for confounders. Our results seemed robust to a number of sensitivity tests. If we agree that risk of death is important, the public policy implication of our findings is that relative poverty, which has close associations to overall inequality, should be a major concern also among rich countries.
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4. |
- Fritzell, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Cross-Temporal and Cross-National Poverty and Mortality Rates among Developed Countries
- 2013
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In: Journal of Environmental and Public health. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1687-9805 .- 1687-9813. ; 2013
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A prime objective of welfare state activities is to take action to enhance population health and to decrease mortality risks. For several centuries, poverty has been seen as a key social risk factor in these respects. Consequently, the fight against poverty has historically been at the forefront of public health and social policy. The relationship between relative poverty rates and population health indicators is less self-evident, notwithstanding the obvious similarity to the debated topic of the relationship between population health and income inequality. In this study we undertake a comparative analysis of the relationship between relative poverty and mortality across 26 countries over time, with pooled cross-sectional time series analysis. We utilize data from the Luxembourg Income Study to construct age-specific poverty rates across countries and time covering the period from around 1980 to 2005, merged with data on age- and gender-specific mortality data from the Human Mortality Database. Our results suggest not only an impact of relative poverty but also clear differences by welfare regime that partly goes beyond the well-known differences in poverty rates between welfare regimes.
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6. |
- Fritzell, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Sweden : Increasing income inequalities and changing social relations
- 2014
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In: Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries. Thirty Countries' Experiences. - Oxford : Oxford University Press. - 9780199687428 - 9780191767142
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- From an all-time low around 1980, income inequality substantially increased, reflecting a strong rise in top incomes and income from capital, more recently also a widening gap between bottom and middle incomes. Behind this are the dual income tax system, established in the early 1990s, the introduction of earned income tax credits, and a diminished coverage of social insurance programmes, which widened the income gap between employed and non-employed during the 2000s. The benefit and tax systems became less redistributive and thereby contributed to increased income inequalities. Another important element is the deep recession in the early 1990s with skyrocketing unemployment and subsequent cutbacks in welfare provision. Income inequalities, however, increased first and foremost in the aftermath of the recession. The chapter finds no unambiguous trend in social, cultural, and political conditions corresponding to the increased inequalities. There is increased polarization for many indicators between different socio-economic groups.
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7. |
- Honkaniemi, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Mortality by country of birth in the Nordic countries – a systematic review of the literature
- 2017
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In: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 17
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Immigration to the Nordic countries has increased in the last decades and foreign-born inhabitants now constitute a considerable part of the region’s population. Several studies suggest poorer self-reported health among foreign-born compared to natives, while results on mortality and life expectancy are inconclusive. To date, few studies have summarized knowledge on mortality differentials by country of birth. This article aims to systematically review previous results on all-cause and cause-specific mortality by country of birth in the Nordic countries.Methods: The methodology was conducted and documented systematically and transparently using a narrative approach. We identified 43 relevant studies out of 6059 potentially relevant studies in August 2016, 35 of which used Swedish data, 8 Danish and 1 Norwegian.Results: Our findings from fully-adjusted models on Swedish data support claims of excess mortality risks in specific categories of foreign-born. Most notably, immigrants from other Nordic countries, especially Finland, experience increased risk of mortality from all causes, and specifically by suicide, breast and gynaecological cancers, and circulatory diseases. Increased risks in people from Central and Eastern Europe can also be found. On the contrary, decreased risks for people with Southern European and Middle Eastern origins are found for all-cause, suicide, and breast and gynaecological cancer mortality. The few Danish studies are more difficult to compare, with conflicting results arising in the analysis. Finally, results from the one Norwegian study suggest significantly decreased mortality risks among foreign-born, to be explored in further research.Conclusions: With new studies being published on mortality differentials between native and foreign-born populations in the Nordic countries, specific risk patterns have begun to arise. Regardless, data from most Nordic countries remains limited, as does the information on specific causes of death. The literature should be expanded in upcoming years to capture associations between country of birth and mortality more clearly.
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8. |
- Lager, Anton, et al.
(author)
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A Pragmatic Approach to Evidence-Based Public Health Policy
- 2012
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In: Open Public Health Journal. - : Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.. - 1874-9445. ; 5, s. 70-73
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The evidence-based approach is a means to improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of the public sec-tor as a whole, not only the health service. But to be successful, the evidence-based approach needs to be restricted to the stage of the policy process where it really can make a contribution; namely in the choice of intervention. In the policy pro-cess phase that precedes the choice of intervention, i.e. the problem formulation phase, there can by definition be no "evi-dence" available, since no controlled trials can ever prove that one problem is bigger than another. Further, the policy pro-cess phase following the choice of intervention, i.e. the implementation phase, is to date still restricted to research of weaker design and the policy makers need to consider input from many different sources also here. A pragmatic approach, focusing the choice of intervention phase of the policy process, has proved successful in the dissemination of an evidence-based policy for parenting support in Sweden.
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9. |
- Lundberg, Olle, et al.
(author)
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The effect of social protection and income maintenance policies on health and health inequalities
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 23:Suppl. 1
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BackgroundAs a starting point we review the existing evidence on welfare states, health and health inequalities, from 2005 onwards. Three different approaches emerge in these previous studies – the welfare regime approach, the welfare institutions approach and the social spending approach. While no clear picture emerges for the welfare regime approach, summarising findings regarding the institutional and expenditure approach suggest that a higher degree of generosity and social spending benefits public health. These are therefore approaches we follow to arrive at a better understanding of what type of policies are linked to smaller inequalities in health across the life-course.MethodsA starting point in the analyses is the relation between income, poverty and mortality. The cross-national variation in poverty rates, both absolute (poverty threshold) and relative (60 per cent of median income) measure, and mortality rates in European 26 countries will be considered.The second step in the analysis focuses on the relationship between social rights and subjective health in Europe, with a focus on national variations and changes in social rights to levels and changes in subjective health outcomes across several countries. The data holds information regarding social rights and social expenditure, including individual data from EU-SILC.ResultsPreliminary results indicate that it is the totality of social protection that is important rather than individual policies. A sub-study regarding social rights and health among youth highlight also the importance of active and passive labour market policy in the 16 included countries.ConclusionsIn sum our diverse approach to analysing welfare state efforts and their links to health inequalities suggest that there is a clear relationship between more ambitious policies and smaller inequalities in health. These results are discussed in relation to previous findings.
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