Search

While most countries have imposed austerity policies that risk jeopardizing the progress towards gender equality, there are examples of European regions that have maintained or strengthened gender-equality policies in a climate of economic downturn. Following a realist approach and adopting Kingdon's agenda-setting model as our framework, this explanatory case study examines how, why and under which circumstances the gender budgeting strategy has resisted austerity measures. This strategy represents a key tool for gender mainstreaming in Andalusia, a southern region of Spain. Results have shown that the existence of a strong left-wing government is a necessary context for the maintenance of gender equality policies. The feasibility given by the previous context of institutionalization of this strategy and its low cost, together with political commitment - with a decisive contribution from female leadership - have been the major factors allowing the maintenance of the gender budgeting strategy in Andalusia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the discourses about the health privatization from the analysis of interviews and manifests of three Catalan movements: Centre d'Anàlisis i Programes Sanitaris (Caps), Grup de Defensa de Sanitat Pública (15MBCNSalut) and Plataforma Pel Dret a la Salut (PDS). The content analysis has been adopted as methodology. The analysis has evidenced a dichotomy between public and private systems as a duality that structures discourses favoring the public model and the great efforts made by the movements to guarantee that model. This has shaped the movements as a revolutionary force that defends the public system from private threats by assuming that it essentially represents the people's ideals. The debate between the traditional and the new in social action has been central to the analysis, as well as the problem of coexistence of different models of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local administration is responsible for health-related areas, and evidence of the health impact of urban policies is available. Barriers and recommendations for the full implementation of health promotion in cities and neighbourhoods have been described. The barriers to the promotion of urban health are broad: the lack of leadership and political will, reflectes the allocation of health outcomes to health services, as well as technical, political and public misconceptions about the root causes of health and wellbeing. Ideologies and prejudices, non-evidence-based policies, narrow sectoral cultures, short political periods, lack of population-based health information and few opportunities for participation limit the opportunities for urban health. Local policies on early childhood, healthy schools, employment, active transport, parks, leisure and community services, housing, urban planning, food protection and environmental health have great positive impacts on health. Key tools include the political prioritisation of health and equity, the commitment to «Health in All Policies» and the participation of communities, social movements and civil society. This requires well organised and funded structures and processes, as well as equity-based health information and capacity building in the health sector, other sectors and society. We conclude that local policies have a great potential for maximising health and equity and equity. The recommendations for carrying them out are increasingly solid and feasible., (Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The Ineq-Cities project analyzed inequalities in mortality in small areas and described interventions to reduce inequalities in health in 16 European cities. This field note describes the dissemination of the project in Spain. In accordance with the recommendations of the project, the objective was to translate relevant results to key stakeholders - mainly technical staff, municipal officers and local social agents - and to provide an introduction to urban inequalities in health and strategies to address them. Twenty-four workshops were given, attended by more than 350 professionals from 92 municipalities. Knowledge dissemination consisted of the publication of a short book on inequalities in health and the approach to this problem in cities and three articles in nonspecialized media, a proposal for a municipal motion, and knowledge dissemination activities in social networks. Users rated these activities highly and stressed the need to systematize these products. This process may have contributed to the inclusion of health inequalities in the political agenda and to the training of officers to correct them., (Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)