Health inequalities are a still unmet challenge in German politics. We know that social inequalities in education, job situation and income influence a person's health status. When considering ways to reduce health inequalities, it can be inspiring to look to Finland where the topic has been on the political agenda for 20 years.

Germany: Social inequlities in health care

Jan Böcken, senior project manager at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, analyzed social inequalities in the German healthcare system based on results of the Healthcare Monitor. The Healthcare Monitor surveys a cross-section of the German population every six months and medical professionals once a year, querying them about their experiences with the healthcare system and their attitudes toward healthcare reform.

Finland: National action plan to tackle health inequalities

Dr. Marita Sihto, Senior Researcher at the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) in Helsinki, reported on Finland's strategies to tackle health inequalities. The project TEROKA has analyzed the situation in Finland and is contributing to a national action plan on health inequalities, which is going to come into force in fall 2008. It is supposed to reduces health inequalities between different socioeconomic groups by a fifth until 2015.