service navigation

to quick search

main menu

jump to content

related content

jump to content

You are here: > About DETERMINE > Previous Projects > Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion and Health from Practice into Policy

Project coordination

EuroHealthNet www.eurohealthnet.eu

Contract holder

Scotland, NHS Health Scotland www.healthscotland.com

Aim and objectives

Social exclusion is a term used to describe a situation in which a person (or a group of people), resident in a society is excluded from the key activities of the society, and is prevented from participation by factors beyond his or her control. Poverty is associated with most forms of social exclusion. Most often, social exclusion results from conditions such as poor health, unemployment, inadequate housing, crime or discrimination. The process of overcoming such deprivation is referred to as social inclusion.

Health, poverty and social exclusion are strongly interrelated concepts that are best addressed through an integrated approach to improve quality of life and the promotion of social inclusion. As put forward by the European Commission, the objective of fighting poverty and social exclusion should be mainstreamed into sectoral policies, such as health policy, at national and community level.

However, the collaboration between the public health sector and the social sector is not as beneficial as it can be in many Member States.
While the public health and health promotion sector and the social sector can support one another in their efforts to address social exclusion, there is, in many Member States, little collaboration between these two.  Improved access to health services and the use of health promotion strategies and methodologies will positively contribute to the social inclusion process.

In an effort to advance this objective, EuroHealthNet was engaged in a Phase I (December 2002 - August 2003) project entitled Tackling Health Inequalities and Social Exclusion; a European perspective. This project was financed by the DG Social Affairs Action Programme to combat social exclusion. These findings were elaborated in Phase II of this project, entitled Health and Social Inclusion (December 2003 - December 2005).

Outcomes

Conference "In Good Health: Linking Social Inclusion and Health from Practice into Policy

The conference took place on 8th - 9th December 2005, SAS Radisson Hotel, Edinburgh. It was organised jointly by NHS Health Scotland and EuroHealthNet. It marked the end of the EuroHealthNet project ´Tackling Health Inequalities and Social Exclusion in Europe

Over 100 professionals from the health and social field gathered in Edinburgh to discuss health and social inclusion. The conference gave them new approaches and ideas for the way forward. Participants gained knowledge and understanding of the situation of health and social inclusion in different parts of Europe as well as within and around the EU institutions. The participants adopted a set of recommendations to use in their work to raise awareness about how health and social inclusion are interlinked, and what measures must be taken to combat social exclusion and ill health. Among other issues the recommendations stressed the importance of trans-national exchange, a theme further explored in the report Health and Social Inclusion in the EU: the value of trans-national exchange, presented at the conference.

Click here to view the recommendations resulting from the project that were discussed and adopted by the Conference participants

This report reflects the outcomes of a two-year project to convey how the health field can contribute to addressing social exclusion. Health professionals throughout Europe exchanged good practices that illustrate how health interventions can advance social inclusion. They then engaged in field visits to learn about one another’s initiatives at first hand. The report highlights the outcomes of these field visits.
Download the report

Main documents