Reducing social inequalities in health: evidence, policy, and practice

Many policy documents have expressed concerns and intentions for action regarding inequity in health. However, the evidence on how to establish effective and acceptable interventions is rather scarce. During an international conference in Copenhagen September 2000 organised by the City of Copenhagen and the Danish Ministry of Health the present evidence was presented and possible policy measures and intervention strategies were discussed. This special issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health includes selected papers and presentations from the conference. Four main arenas for interventions were outlined: the workplace; healthcare services; local communities and families; and urban development. Public health will have to move out of the present reactive position to say what its contribution is to shaping the society of the future with less inequity in health. The papers show that a number of theories, concepts, and tools are available, but also that we still have much to learn and do. At the end of the conference a final declaration on reducing social inequalities was endorsed outlining important general themes that have universal relevance for action.