23 March 2011 | WHO/HBSC Forum 2009: Socio-environmentally determined health inequities among children and adolescents
The WHO/Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Forum 2009, the third in a series designed to promote adolescent health, was held on 19-20 October 2009 in Italy. It concentrated on action on socio-environmentally determined health inequities among children and adolescents. A summary of the Forum's outcomes, background papers and country case studies has now been published. The two background papers focus on injuries and physical activity and environmental inequalities among children and young people, which set the context and summarise the evidence. The 10 case studies describe countries' experiences in dealing with one or both of these topics. Countries that participated in the Forum included: Armenia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom (England).
The report can be downloaded from the
WHO Regional Office for Europe website.
01 February 2011 | A cross-national comparison of socio-economic inequalities in life satisfaction
A new article, titled "National Income and Income Inequality, Family Affluence and Life Satisfaction Among 13 year Old Boys and Girls: A Multilevel Study in 35 Countries", authored by Kate Levin, Candace Currie and others is now available Online First at Social Indicators Research.
The objective of this study was to investigate cross-national variation in the relationship between family affluence and adolescent life satisfaction, and the impact of national income and income inequality on this relationship. National income and income inequality were associated with aggregated life satisfaction score and prevalence of high life satisfaction. The relationship between family affluence and life satisfaction was curvilinear and varied cross-nationally. Socioeconomic inequalities were greatest in poor countries and in countries with unequal income distribution. The findings of this study highlight the importance of identifying and addressing mediating factors during this life stage.
>> Go to the article in Social Indicators Research.
03 December 2010: HBSC contribution to new UNICEF Report Card on inequalities on child well-being
HBSC have contributed to a background paper, which guided the health equality content of a new UNICEF Report Card.
UNICEF IRC Report Card 9 'The Children Left Behind: A league table of inequality in child well-being in the world’s rich countries' presents a first overview of inequalities in child well-being for 24 of the OECD countries. It focuses on the relative gap between children in the bottom of the distribution with those occupying the median. Three dimensions of well-being are examined: material, education, and health. In each case, the question asked is 'how far behind are children being allowed to fall?' and why some countries doing so much better at protecting the most vulnerable children.
The background paper will be published shortly.
26 October 2010: Invitation to speak at International Conference on Child and Adolescent Health in Taiwan
Winfried van der Sluijs has been invited as one of the speakers in an international conference on children and adolescent health on behalf of the CABLE and TEPS research team to be held on 25-27 November 2010, in Taipei, Taiwan.
The purposes of this international conference are:
(1) to share the research
(2) to serve as a forum for the exchange of international
experiences; and
(3) to formulate evidence-based policy recommendation.
He will give three talks, namely:
- Young people in Scotland and Sexual health
- The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study and the European Youth Profile
- HBSC information sharing platform
The latter talk will cover how in the near future it will be possible to
become a linked HBSC research project, gain access to and use the
abbreviated HBSC Protocol and have access to HBSC international data through the new HBSC Data Portal to be established at the International Databank.
26 August 2010: HBSC Symposium at the European Health Psychology Society Conference, Cluj, 1-4 September 2010
The 24th Annual European Health Psychology Society (EHPS) conference will be held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 1-4 September 2010. This year's conference will focus on "Health in Context", allowing researchers in the field to present and discuss their findings on this topic. HBSC will host a symposium within the conference, focussing on the relationship between students' experiences in school and their health-related perceptions, as well as their satisfaction with life and their academic achievement.
Symposium Presentations include:
What does the HBSC study identify as key issues in adolescent health and health behaviours, and what are their school-related correlates.
(Presented by Oddrun Samdal, University of Bergen, HBSC Norway)
Demonstrating how HBSC can be used to increase our understanding of school related correlates of adolescent health, health behaviours and life satisfaction.
School-related stress in Bulgarian adolescents and social support.
(Presented by Elitsa Dimitrova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, HBSC Bulgaria)
Examining the level of schoolchildren's stress related to the social support in adolescents' life coming from parents, teaches and classmates.
The role of students' social interaction for their reported academic achievement and satisfaction with life.
(Presented by Delia Bancila, University of Southern-Denmark, HBSC Denmark)
Exploring the relationship between students' interaction with other students and their teachers and their reported academic performance and satisfaction with life.
The impact of teaching on students' health - results from a pilot study
(Presented by Markus Hojni, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, HBSC Austria)
Presenting results from a pilot study, which aimed to develop a theoretically sound, but economic, data model of the impact of teaching on students' health.
The HBSC symposium will take place on the first day of the conference, Wednesday 3rd September at 15.50-17.30 and Adriana Baban (HBSC Romania) is the discussant.
For more information about the European Health Psychology Conference please refer to the website: http://www.ehps-cluj2010.psychology.ro/
Click here to download a programme with further details.
If you would like more information about the findings presented at the HBSC Symposium please contact Prof. Oddrun Samdal: oddrun.samdal@iuh.uib.no
15 April 2010: Focusing on Obesity Through a Health Equity Lens - Second edition
A new report, published by EuroHealthNet, uses a "health equity lens", to demonstrate the strong link between health inequalities and rising rates of obesity, and how existing measures to tackle the condition might be able to take this into account. The document contains descriptions of nearly 100 projects running in 28 countries, from the international level to local community initiatives. The report also attributes Health Behaviour in School-aged Children's (HBSC) as a resource to understand of young people's health and well-being, health behaviours and their social context.
The report can be accessed from EuroHealthNet's Equity Channel website: Equity Channel
Or it can be downloaded directly from their website by clicking here. [PDF, 7MB] (As the file is around 7MB they recommend that you right-click on that link and choose "Save Link As" on a PC, or control-click and choose "Save Link As" on a Mac.)
22 March 2010: Professor Candace Currie: Women of Influence Award
Professor Candace Currie, International Coordinator for the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, was among ten women to be awarded "Scotland's Woman of Influence". The award recognises Candace's contribution to Scotland's young people's health and wellbeing. The awards aim to encourage, support and recognise influential women in Scotland. The event is organised by Action for Children Scotland.
Mental Health Promotion in Young People - an Investment for the Future
A new paper from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Promotion, Prevention and Policy highlights the long-term value of promoting young people's positive mental health. This paper outlines the urgent need to develop more comprehensive support services and interventions for young people. The paper incorporates HBSC findings, as well as lessons learnt from the 2007 WHO/HBSC Forum: Social Cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents.
Read the full report at:
http://www.euro.who.int/Document/MNH/MH__PromotionYoungPeople.pdf
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policy: Health in the European Union, Trends Analysis
A recent report published by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policy investigates differences in health status within and between European countries. The relationship between living conditions, socioeconomic factors and health is discussed and analysed with the objective of stimulating a debate and policy action for creating a healthier and more equitable society. The report references HBSC data in Chapter 7: Preventable risk factors.
The report is available online at:
http://www.euro.who.int/Document/E93348.pdf
OECD Report: Health at a Glance 2009 - OECD Indicators
The OECD have released a new report: Health at a Glance 2009 - OECD Indicators. The latest edition of Health at a Glance shows the progress that has been made, both nationally and internationally, in measuring different aspects of the performance of health systems. Key indicators presented in Health at a Glance 2009 provide information on health status and the determinants of health. HBSC survey findings are quoted in Chapter 2 - Non-medical Indicators.
Copies can be downloaded, in English or French, from:
http://www.oecdilibrary.org/oecd/content/serial/19991312
11 November 2009: Young People's Health in Great Britain and Ireland: Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey, 2006
A new report, 'Young People's Health in Great Britain and Ireland' has been published by HBSC's teams in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The report expands upon findings from the international report: 'Inequalities in Young People's Health', with additional variables and prevalence rates which allows for more comprehensive and focussed comparisons to be made between the four countries.
27 October 2009 | WHO/HBSC Forum 2009
"Socio-environmentally determined health inequities among children and adolescents"
On 19-20 October, representatives from European Member States and international experts convened in Siena, Italy, for the WHO/HBSC Forum 2009, dedicated to "socio-environmentally determined health inequities among children and adolescents". This Forum was the third in a series aiming to distil lessons learnt and policy implications for promoting child and adolescent health through action on the socioeconomic determinants of health. The findings will feed into the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, to be held in Italy in March 2010."
Further information about the Forum can be found on the WHO website at: www.euro.who.int/childhealthenv/20090514_1
23 October 2009 | CAHRU Director invited to present at IAAH World Congress in Kuala Lumpur
Professor Candace Currie, elected International Coordinator of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children WHO Collaborative Cross-National Study (HBSC), has been invited to present at the 9th World Congress of the International Association for Adolescent Health 28-30 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The main theme of the conference is "Private lives, public issues: global perspectives on adolescent sexual health".
Candace will present her paper 'Is variation between countries in age at menarche of girls explained by Body Mass Index?' at the Puberty Symposium on the opening day of the conference. She will give a further presentation titled 'Informing investment in adolescent health, the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study' at the closing plenary on 30 October. Both papers draw on findings from the HBSC study. Further information, including the full programme, is available on the Congress website:
23 September 2009 | CAHRU Director presents at the conference 'Beyond mortality: future perspectives in adolescent health'
This conference was held at the Institute of Child Health, London, on 10-11 September 2009. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the Institute of Child Health (Dr Russell Viner) and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne, Australia (Professor George Patton).
40 academics and policy makers from 6 continents, including representatives of the World Health Organisation and UNFPA, and representatives of The Lancet, met to debate how to best take forward a global agenda in improving adolescent health. Professor Candace Currie, CAHRU Director & HBSC International Coordinator, gave an invited presentation titled 'Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study: Scope, Approach and Potential'. Candace's presentation is available to download below.
23 September 2009 | Youth Friendly Health Policies and Services meeting
CAHRU Director gives invited presentation
Candace Currie, CAHRU Director & HBSC International Coordinator, gave an invited presentation to this meeting held 21-23 September 2009 in Edinburgh. The title of the presentation was 'The health and socio-cultural issues affecting adolescents in the European Region'. Candace's presentation and the full meeting programme are available to download below.
25 August 2009 | International Journal of Public Health Supplement:
Social determinants of child and adolescent health - findings from the International Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study
HBSC's contribution to understanding the social determinants of child and adolescent health is recognised in the September supplement of the International Journal of Public Health.
The supplement is divided into four sections:
- Editorials - including an exploration of HBSC's challenges and successes over the past 25 years,
- Overview Papers - providing an historical overview and the study's methodological developments and current tensions,
- Scientific findings - demonstrating the influence of social determinants on young people's health,
- Policy - describing HBSC's impact on policy development and health improvement programmes.
The supplement can be downloaded from the International Journal of Public Health.
If you have any questions regarding the supplement please get in touch with Veronika Ottova, v.ottova@uke.uni-hamburg.de. For further information see also the Website of the Child Public Health Research Unit.
27 July 2009 | HBSC participation in European Youth Health Conference
The Youth Health Conference "Be healthy - be yourself" was held on 9-10 July in Brussels. The conference was attended by young people from across the EU from a wide range of youth agencies and voluntary groups and organisations. There was a youth camp where key health issues were debated by young people the day before the official conference. Further information, including the full programme, is available from the conference website.
Report on young people's health
WHO approached HBSC to write a report for the conference - 'A Snapshot of the Health of Young People in Europe'. The report was tabled at the conference and after final editing will be published by WHO in October. The HBSC International Coordinating Centre (ICC) and Policy Development Group (PDG) collaborated on this report which had to be completed in a very short time frame. The draft report can be downloaded from the Documents page of the conference website. Editors were Vivian Barnekow (WHO), Candace Currie (HBSC ICC), Cara Letsch (HBSC ICC), Margaretha de Looze (HBSC PDG) and Antony Morgan (HBSC PDG).
HBSC presentation
HBSC International Coordinator, Candace Currie, was invited to participate in a plenary round table at the conference on the theme of 'The Implications of The Economic and Financial Crisis on Youth Health'. Her presentation is available to download below
• Candace Currie's presentation [Powerpoint 594KB
23 September 2009 | CAHRU Director presents at the conference 'Beyond mortality: future perspectives in adolescent health'
This conference was held at the Institute of Child Health, London, on 10-11 September 2009. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the Institute of Child Health (Dr Russell Viner) and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne, Australia (Professor George Patton).
40 academics and policy makers from 6 continents, including representatives of the World Health Organisation and UNFPA, and representatives of The Lancet, met to debate how to best take forward a global agenda in improving adolescent health. Professor Candace Currie, CAHRU Director & HBSC International Coordinator, gave an invited presentation titled 'Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study: Scope, Approach and Potential'. Candace's presentation is available to download below.
23 September 2009 | Youth Friendly Health Policies and Services meeting
CAHRU Director gives invited presentation
Candace Currie, CAHRU Director & HBSC International Coordinator, gave an invited presentation to this meeting held 21-23 September 2009 in Edinburgh. The title of the presentation was 'The health and socio-cultural issues affecting adolescents in the European Region'. Candace's presentation and the full meeting programme are available to download below.
25 August 2009 | International Journal of Public Health Supplement:
Social determinants of child and adolescent health - findings from the International Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study
HBSC's contribution to understanding the social determinants of child and adolescent health is recognised in the September supplement of the International Journal of Public Health.
The supplement is divided into four sections:
- Editorials - including an exploration of HBSC's challenges and successes over the past 25 years,
- Overview Papers - providing an historical overview and the study's methodological developments and current tensions,
- Scientific findings - demonstrating the influence of social determinants on young people's health,
- Policy - describing HBSC's impact on policy development and health improvement programmes.
The supplement can be downloaded from the International Journal of Public Health.
If you have any questions regarding the supplement please get in touch with Veronika Ottova, v.ottova@uke.uni-hamburg.de. For further information see also the Website of the Child Public Health Research Unit.
27 July 2009 | HBSC participation in European Youth Health Conference
The Youth Health Conference "Be healthy - be yourself" was held on 9-10 July in Brussels. The conference was attended by young people from across the EU from a wide range of youth agencies and voluntary groups and organisations. There was a youth camp where key health issues were debated by young people the day before the official conference. Further information, including the full programme, is available from the conference website.
Report on young people's health
WHO approached HBSC to write a report for the conference - 'A Snapshot of the Health of Young People in Europe'. The report was tabled at the conference and after final editing will be published by WHO in October. The HBSC International Coordinating Centre (ICC) and Policy Development Group (PDG) collaborated on this report which had to be completed in a very short time frame. The draft report can be downloaded from the Documents page of the conference website. Editors were Vivian Barnekow (WHO), Candace Currie (HBSC ICC), Cara Letsch (HBSC ICC), Margaretha de Looze (HBSC PDG) and Antony Morgan (HBSC PDG).
HBSC presentation
HBSC International Coordinator, Candace Currie, was invited to participate in a plenary round table at the conference on the theme of 'The Implications of The Economic and Financial Crisis on Youth Health'. Her presentation is available to download below
• Candace Currie's presentation [Powerpoint 594KB
22 May 2009 | HBSC International Coordinator invited to present at OECD meeting in Paris
Candace Currie, HBSC International Coordinator, has been invited to present on HBSC at the UNICEF IRC/OECD/European Commission Child Well-being Expert Consultation 25-27 May 2009, at OECD in Paris. The purpose of the consultation is to develop a shared understanding of a set of data that countries should monitor in order to inform policies for children’s well-being.
• Meeting web page
• Candace Currie's presentation [Powepoint 699KB]
• Background paper [Word 56KB]
17 March 2009 | HBSC International Report a WHO/EURO best seller in 2008
The HBSC International Report ranked second in the top 50 most popular products downloaded from the WHO/EURO website in 2008. Inequalities in young people's health: HBSC international report from the 2005/2006 Survey has been downloaded 7799 times since its online publication in June 2008. The report also ranks third over all for WHO/EURO hard copy sales and downloads combined.
18 February 2009 | Announcing the WHO HBSC Forum 2009
The HBSC network is working with WHO and others to develop the 2009 WHO HBSC Forum. The theme of the 2009 WHO/HBSC Forum is "socio-environmentally determined health inequities among children and adolescents". The findings will feed into the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be held in Italy in the Spring of 2010. The Fifth Ministerial Conference builds on the Fourth Ministerial Conference, held in 2004, dedicated to "The Future for our Children". In 2004, WHO Europe Member States made a commitment to implementing national level actions to ensure a better future for the children of the WHO European Region by means of a Children's environment and health action plan for Europe (CEHAPE) and a Conference Declaration. 'The Forum will take place in Siena, Italy in October 2009'.
Further details will be posted shortly.
28 November 2008 | WHO/HBSC 2007 Forum Report now available online
The report from the 2007 WHO/HBSC Forum, Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents, is published and can be downloaded from the WHO website:
The WHO/HBSC Forum 2007 took place in Viareggio, Italy in October 2007. The process engaged intersectoral policy-makers, researchers and programme managers from 17 Member States in considering the following issues:
- Translating research into policies and action
- Intersectoral action
- Addressing health inequities
- Involving young people.
This was the second Forum in the series, which is a partnership initiative between HBSC and WHO. They are hosted by the Tuscany Region and the A. Meyer University Children's Hospital of Florence (Italy). The goal of the WHO/HBSC Forum series is to bring policy-makers, practitioners and researchers together to compare and learn from experiences in addressing the socioeconomic determinants of adolescent health.
The 2006 Forum focussed on eating habits and physical activity – the report is also available on the WHO website:
15 October 2008 | HBSC results presented at OECD Health Data Correspondents Meeting
Professor Candace Currie, HBSC International Coordinator, was invited to give a presentation on 'HBSC: scope, approach and selected results', at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development) Health Data Correspondents Meeting 9-10 October 2008 in Paris. She addressed a session focussed on OECD's approach to improve indicators of children's health and health services. There were approximately 60-70 persons, including representatives from each of OECD's 30 Member Countries who contribute information to the Health Database.
17 June 2008 | HBSC International Coordinator awarded OBE
Professor Candace Currie at the University of Edinburgh and HBSC International Coordinator has been awarded an OBE in Queen's Birthday Honours.
Read more...
17 June 2008 | New HBSC International Report published online
A new international report1 from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children: WHO Collaborative Cross-National Study: ‘Inequalities in young People’s Health’ is published today.
This international report from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) World Health Organization collaborative cross-national study is the most comprehensive to date. It presents the key findings on patterns of health among young people in 41 countries and regions across Europe and North America. The document presents a status report on health, health-related behaviour and the social contexts of young people’s health in 2005/2006 and provides the latest evidence from a unique cross-national study on the well-being of young people in industrialized nations. It is the fourth in a series of international reports from the HBSC study published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in the “Health policy for children and adolescents” (HEPCA) series. In addition to presenting key statistics on young people’s health, this report has a special focus on health inequalities. It presents data on gender, age and geographic and socioeconomic dimensions of health differentials. The aim of the report is to highlight where inequalities exist in aspects of young people’s health and well-being in order to inform and influence policy and practice and to contribute to health improvement for all young people.
The full report is available to download from the WHO website:
1 Currie C et al., eds. Inequalities in young people's health: HBSC international report from the 2005/2006 Survey. Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2008 (Health Policy for Children and Adolescents, No. 5)
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Chapter 1: Introduction 
