Challenging Health Inequities in the Welfare State

About

People who are born and live with more wealth, higher incomes, more education, and more status and power are healthier and are less likely to become sick or to die at every age in their lives than people who are poorer and have less access to societal resources. This is also true in welfare states like Denmark, where health inequities are on the rise despite the state’s redistribution of resources. What is more, we know that people inside and outside of the healthcare sector can do a lot to identify and reduce these inequities, when they know what to look for and when and how to engage.

With this in mind, this course asks: What are social inequities in health? Why are health inequities on the rise in the welfare state? What are some of the structural blinders and prejudices that make it difficult to challenge health inequities during clinical encounters and elsewhere? Drawing from anthropology, philosophy, medicine and public health, we will explore the intricate webs of factors that shape health and well-being across diverse populations and social contexts in the Danish welfare state. We can think about health inequities at different levels, from socio-economic, political and cultural forces; to relations in families and communities; to individual outcomes.

Course leader

Jane Agergaard and Anne Mette Fløe Hvass

Target group

To apply for the course, you must have passed a relevant Bachelor's degree or be in the final year of a relevant Bachelor's degree.

Fee info