Social Inequalities in Health as a Global Challenge

Dear Colleagues,

The social determinants of health constitute one of the main global concerns, given their global nature and their growing importance in the framework of contemporary societies. Recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has drawn attention to the urgency of addressing the reduction of social inequalities and poverty through the creation of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)'s Community of Practice on Poverty and Inequalities. Specifically, inequalities in the field of health constitute one of the most evident consequences of socioeconomic inequalities. The Great Recession of 2008 first and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic have unequivocally shown that the social gradient in health (including mental health) constitutes a global challenge that all societies and social protection systems must urgently address to prevent the unequal distribution of diseases and health from perpetuating itself as a key social problem.

The social gradient in health refers to a wide set of inequality factors: socioeconomic status, social class, gender and sexual and gender diversity, age, socio-occupational status, race and sociocultural diversity, migratory status, and belonging to indigenous communities. As a whole, all of these factors draw different degrees of risk for citizens and different probabilities of suffering a deterioration in health and/or psychological distress. In addition, the different axes of inequality interact in an intersectionality framework that makes essential studies that address the complexity of the relationship between social inequalities and health in said framework. In this sense, the response of health and social protection systems to these challenges must be based on solid and up-to-date empirical evidence.

Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has made these gaps and inequities painfully visible. The empirical evidence that is beginning to be available shows that the impact of the pandemic itself is shaped by the distribution of socioeconomic inequalities. This empirical evidence reinforces the information is already available with respect to the Great Recession of 2008 and highlights that social inequalities are a fundamental cause of disease and poor health (especially in times of change and social crisis) and constitute a global challenge.

This Special Issue welcomes articles that specifically advance our understanding of the social gradient in health as a global challenge, which may include, but is not limited to the following:

• New developments in the study of the relationship between socioeconomic status, social class, and health.
• Uncertainty, social risk, labor exclusion, and health.
• Job insecurity, exclusion jobs, and the deterioration of mental health.
• Socioeconomic inequalities, poverty, social exclusion, and health.
• Homelessness and health.
• Sex and gender diversity, LGBTI people, and inequalities in health and in access to health systems.
• Gender and health.
• Inequality in access to health systems and the deterioration of health.
• Health inequalities for indigenous peoples.
• Pandemic, social inequalities, and suicide.
• Social inequalities during the aging process and its impact on health.
• Impact of the pandemic on mental health.
• Economic crisis, social inequalities, and health.
• New health risks for young people: pandemic, youth, and mental health problems.
• Intersectionality and health.
• Health responses and/or health policy to tackle the social gradient in health.
• Inequality in access to health systems and its impact on health.
• Climate change, forced population movement, and health.

We are very excited about editing a Special Issue on Social Inequalities in Health as a Global Challenge, and cordially invite the submission of high-quality papers that address any of the topics above. Papers that combine a high academic standard coupled with a focus on policy or practice and the implementation of solutions, strategies, and approaches to eradicate the social gradient in health are also welcome. We invite the submission of quantitative research, qualitative research, rigorous literature reviews, policy analysis, and implementation research.

Prof. Dr. Esteban Sánchez Moreno
Dr. Lorena Patricia Gallardo-Peralta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• health
• mental health
• quality of life
• health inequalities
• social inequalities
• labor market
• economic crisis
• access to health systems
• gender
• social risk and health
• aging
• socioeconomic status
• poverty and social exclusion