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Health inequalities between employed and unemployed in northern Sweden: a decomposition analysis of social determinants for mental health
Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4118-6441
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Public Health Unit, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health.
2018 (English)In: International Journal for Equity in Health, E-ISSN 1475-9276, Vol. 17, no 59, article id 59Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Even though population health is strongly influenced by employment and working conditions, public health research has to a lesser extent explored the social determinants of health inequalities between people in different positions on the labour market, and whether these social determinants vary across the life course. This study analyses mental health inequalities between unemployed and employed in three age groups (youth, adulthood and mid-life), and identifies the extent to which social determinants explain the mental health gap between employed and unemployed in northern Sweden.

Methods: The Health on Equal Terms survey of 2014 was used, with self-reported employment (unemployed or employed) as exposure and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as mental health outcome. The social determinants of health inequalities were grouped into four dimensions: socioeconomic status, economic resources, social network and trust in institutional systems. The non-linear Oaxaca decomposition analysis was applied, stratified by gender and age groups.

Results: Mental health inequality was found in all age groups among women and men (difference in GHQ varying between 0.12 and 0.20). The decomposition analysis showed 43–51% of the total inequality among youths, 42–98% among adults and 60–65% among middle-aged. The main contributing factors were shown to vary between age groups: cash margin (among youths and middle-aged men), financial strain (among adults and middle-aged women), income (among men in adulthood), along with trust in others (all age groups), practical support (young women) and social support (middle-aged men); stressing how the social determinants of health inequalities vary across the life course.

Conclusions: The health gap between employments was explained by the difference in access to economic and social resources, and to a smaller extent in the trust in the institutional systems. Findings from this study corroborate that much of the mental health inequality in the Swedish labour market is socially and politically produced and potentially avoidable. Greater attention from researchers, policy makers on unemployment and public health should be devoted to the social and economic deprivation of unemployment from a life course perspective to prevent mental health inequality.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
London: BMC , 2018. Vol. 17, no 59, article id 59
Keywords [en]
social determinants of health inequality, unemployment, life course, northern Sweden, Oaxaca decomposition analysis, mental health
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Research subject
Social Medicine; Epidemiology; Public health
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-139562DOI: 10.1186/s12939-018-0773-5ISI: 000432845100001PubMedID: 29769135Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85047179881OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-139562DiVA, id: diva2:1142130
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2011-0445Swedish Research Council Formas, 259-2012-37Available from: 2017-09-18 Created: 2017-09-18 Last updated: 2024-01-17Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Yesterday once more? Unemployment and health inequalities across the life course in northern Sweden
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Yesterday once more? Unemployment and health inequalities across the life course in northern Sweden
2017 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Abstract

Background. It is relatively well established in previous research that unemployment has direct health consequences in terms of mental and physical ill health. Recently, knowledge has emerged indicating that unemployment can lead to economic consequences that remain long after re-establishment in the labour market. However, few empirical studies have been able to apply a life course perspective asking whether there are also long-term health consequences of unemployment, and, when and in which context unemployment may affect the individual health status across the life course. The aim of this thesis was to analyse the relationship between unemployment and illness across the life course, and how it relates to individual and structural factors in the geographical setting of northern Sweden. In particular, three main areas have been explored: youth unemployment and illness in adulthood (Paper I and Paper II), contextual unemployment of national unemployment rate and neighbourhood unemployment (Paper II and Paper III) and lastly, social determinants of health inequality between employment statuses (Paper IV).

Methods. This thesis is positioned in Sweden between the early 1980s and the mid-2010s, following two comparable cohorts sampled from northern Sweden (26 and 19 years follow-up time respectively from youth to midlife) and a cross-sectional sample from 2014 of the four northernmost counties in Sweden. The two longitudinal cohorts comprised the Northern Swedish Cohort and the Younger Northern Swedish Cohort, consisting of all pupils in the 9th grade of compulsory school in Luleå municipality in 1981 and 1989. The participants responded to an extensive questionnaire on socioeconomic factors, work and health, in 5 and 2 waves respectively of data collections. Neighbourhood register data from Statistics Sweden was also collected for all participants in the Northern Sweden Cohort. At the latest data collection, 94.3% (n=1010) participated in the Northern Sweden Cohort and 85.6% (n=686) in the Younger Northern Sweden Cohort. The cross-sectional study Health on Equal Terms is a national study, administered by the Public Health Agency together with Statistics Sweden and county councils with the aim of mapping public health and living conditions in the country over time. In this thesis, material from 2014 has been used for northern Sweden with a response rate of around 50% (effective sample n=12769). The statistical analyses used were linear regression, multilevel analysis and difference-in-difference analysis to estimate the concurrent and long-term health consequences of unemployment, and a decomposition analysis to disentangle the inequality in health between different labour market positions. The health outcomes in focus were functional somatic symptoms (the occurrence of relatively common physical illnesses such as head, muscle and stomach ache, insomnia and palpitation) and psychological distress.

Results. Among men only, as little as one month of youth unemployment was related to increased levels of functional somatic symptoms in midlife, regardless of previous ill health or unemployment later in life, although only during relatively low national unemployment (pre-recession) when comparing with youth unemployment during high national unemployment (recession). This was explained by the health promoting effect of more time spent in higher education during the recession period. Furthermore, the health impact of neighbourhood unemployment highlights the importance of the contextual setting for individuals’ health both across the life course and at specific periods of life. Lastly, employment-related mental health inequalities exist for both men and women in all life phases (youth, adulthood and midlife). Economic and social deprivation related to unemployment and illness varied across different phases in life and across genders.

Conclusion. The key findings of this thesis paint a rather pessimistic vision of the future: one’s own and others’ unemployment may cause not only ill health today but also ill health later in life. Importantly, the responsibility of unemployment and the associated ill health should not be placed on the already marginalised individuals and communities. Instead, the responsibility should be directed towards the structural aspects of society and the political choices that shape these. In other words, health inequality manifested by the position in the labour market is socially produced, unfair and changeable through political decisions. The results of this study therefore cannot contribute to any simple or concrete solutions to the concurrent or long-term health consequences of individual or contextual unemployment, as the solution is beyond the areas of responsibility and abilities of research. However, if there are long-term health consequences of one’s own and other people’s unemployment, labour market and public health policies should be initiated from a young age and continue throughout the life course to reduce individual suffering and future costs of social insurance, sick-leave and unemployment benefits.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, 2017. p. 67
Series
Umeå University medical dissertations, ISSN 0346-6612 ; 1914
Keywords
unemployment, life course, long-term health consequences, health inequity, national unemployment rates, neighbourhood unemployment rates, northern Sweden, arbetslöshet, livslopp, långsiktiga hälsokonsekvenser, ojämlikhet i hälsa, nationella arbetslöshet, arbetslöshet i bostadsområdet, norra Sverige
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Research subject
Public health; Epidemiology; Social Medicine
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-139563 (URN)978-91-7601-760-9 (ISBN)
Public defence
2017-10-13, Major Groove, Byggnad 6L, Norrlands universitetssjukhus, Umeå, 09:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2011-0445Swedish Research Council Formas, 259-2012-37
Available from: 2017-09-22 Created: 2017-09-19 Last updated: 2018-06-09Bibliographically approved

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