Uncovering Inequality in Health and Healthcare: Data-Driven Insights for Policy Change

HEALTHINEQ addresses the persistent and complex issue of health inequalities across socio-economic groups. Despite significant efforts in healthcare and public policy, these disparities remain a critical challenge. The proposal aims to explore and mitigate these inequalities by investigating the underlying mechanisms, from social determinants to disparities in healthcare access and technology.HEALTHINEQ aims to achieve this through three key objectives:1/ Measurement and Data Integration: HEALTHINEQ integrates detailed health records and administrative data at a population scale in the Netherlands and Sweden and develops comprehensive, dynamic measures of health. This exceptional data allows for robust analysis of gaps in health and healthcare, how they arise over the life-course and interact with different socio-economic factors.2/ Mechanism Exploration: HEALTHINEQ leverages the rich data in combination with advanced empirical methods in a comprehensive framework. This will provide a clear understanding of the dynamic mechanisms involved, distinguishing underlying drivers from mediators, and differentiating between the incidence versus survival of diseases. The project will examine each mechanism’s relationship with prevention, detection, and treatment policies, as well as with health insurance and healthcare innovation.3/ Policy Impact: HEALTHINEQ aims to inform more effective and equitable health policies. By offering actionable recommendations and influencing high-level debates, it seeks to support data-driven policy reforms to address and mitigate health inequalities.In summary, HEALTHINEQ represents a significant advancement in the study of health inequalities, offering a comprehensive and innovative approach to understanding and addressing this critical issue. The project’s focus on population-scale data and health measurement, combined with frontier empirical methods, positions it to make a substantial impact on both academic research and health policy.