Regular Ph.D. Fellow, Cohort 2014

Research Interests

• Health inequality
• Social stratification
• Welfare states
• Systematic review and meta-analysis
• Reproducible research

Dissertation topic
The Varieties of Health Inequality. An Interdisciplinary Approach to The Fundamental and Artificial Conditions of Social Inequalities in Health across Welfare States.

Dissertation abstract
In my dissertation I am focusing on health inequalities, that are social differences in health. I explore the extent to which OECD countries differ in their levels of health inequality and the role of structure for country-level variationi n health inequalities. For the latter part, I am integrating theoretical sociological and epidemiological approaches to (health) inequality with a special emphasis on the welfare regime approach. In my dissertation I am focusing on health inequalities, that are social differences in health and the role of structure for country-level variationi n health inequalities. I explore the extent to which OECD countries differ in their levels of health inequality on the basis of already existing research. In a first step, I am integrating theoretical sociological and epidemiological approaches to (health) inequality with a special emphasis on the welfare regime approach to advance our understanding of health inequalities and elaborate how structure and hwalth inequalities interact. In a second step, I synthesize the current state of comparative, empirical research by using methods of systematic review and meta-analysis. This not only draws a comprehensive and systematic picture of picture of OECD-wide health inequalities but allows me to point out important difference in studies. By drawing on the debate around reproducible research, I discuss on the role of study design and artefacts for the so called “health inequality paradox” which describes a situation in which Scandinavian welfare states report larger health inequalities than Anglo-Saxon or Bismarckian welfare states.

Academic Supervisors
Heinz Rothgang
Olaf Groh-Samberg
Rasmus Hoffmann