The second Health Inequalities Module in the European Social Survey (ESS): Methodology and research opportunities

Hanno Hoven, Terje Andreas Eikemo, Insa Backhaus-Hoven, Andrea Riebler, Rory Fitzgerald, Sara Martino, Tim Huijts, Kristian Heggebø, Pilar Vidaurre-Teixidó, Clare Bambra and Mirza Balaj

Social Science & Medicine, 2025, vol. 380, issue C

Abstract: The European Social Survey (ESS) is a pan-European social survey that has mapped and explained stability and change in the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour patterns of European populations since 2002. In 2013/14, the ESS introduced a rotating module on health and its social determinants. With this Health Inequalities module, the ESS contributed substantially to social epidemiological research and inquiry into social inequalities in health and it became a vital data source for public health research, advancing knowledge of why social inequalities in health exist in Europe and how they vary between countries and welfare states. With the second rotating Health Inequalities module in 2023/24, the ESS enables new research opportunities, primarily by generating robust and cross-national comparative data on stability and change of social inequalities in health in times of various economic, demographic, public health, and political developments. The aims of the current paper are threefold. First, we summarize key insights on health inequalities in Europe provided by data from the first ESS Health Inequalities Module. Second, we describe the methodology of the second ESS Health Inequalities Module. Third, we point to future research opportunities and offer some critical reflections. By describing in detail the analytical opportunities that the two ESS Health Inequalities Modules provide, we aim to increase engagement with the survey from a wide range of health-focused disciplines including anthropology, geography, health economics, psychology and sociology.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118228

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