News & Events
New publication: Reconsidering inequalities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Germany: a spatiotemporal analysis combining individual educational level and area-level socioeconomic deprivation
Marvin Reis, Niels Michalski, Susanne Bartig, Elisa Wulkotte, Christina Poethko-Müller, Daniel Graeber, Angelika Schaffrath Rosario, Claudia Hövener & Jens Hoebel (2024) In: Scientific Reports Abstract Combining the frameworks of fundamental causes theory and diffusion of innovation, scholars had anticipated a delayed COVID-19 vaccination uptake for people in lower socioeconomic position depending on the socioeconomic context. We qualify these propositions and analyze educational differences in COVID-19 vaccination status over the first ten months of Germany’s vaccination campaign in 2021. Data from the study “Corona Monitoring Nationwide” (RKI-SOEP-2), collected between November 2021 and February 2022, is linked with district-level data of the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD). We estimated the proportion of people with at least one vaccination dose stratified by educational groups and within different settings of regional socioeconomic deprivation at three time points. Logistic multilevel regression models were applied to adjust for multiple covariates and to test cross-level-interactions between educational levels and levels of area-level socioeconomic deprivation. Vaccination rates were lower among respondents with lower education. With increasing area-level socioeconomic deprivation, educational differences were larger due to particularly low vaccination rates in groups with low education levels. The analysis of vaccination timing reveals that educational gaps and gaps by area-level socioeconomic deprivation had appeared early in the vaccination campaign and did not close completely before the 4th wave of COVID-19 infections
Oct 14, 2024
New publication: Determinants of Mental Health Inequalities Among People With Selected Citizenships in Germany.
Miriam Blume, Susanne Bartig, Lina Wollgast, Carmen Koschollek, Katja Kajikhina, Marleen Bug, Ulfert Hapke, Claudia Hövener (2024) In: International Journal of Public Health Abstract Objectives: Mental health is essential for overall health and is influenced by different social determinants. The aim of this paper was to examine which determinants are associated with mental health inequalities among people with selected citizenships in Germany. Methods: Data were derived from the multilingual interview survey “German Health Update: Fokus (GEDA Fokus)” among adults with Croatian, Italian, Polish, Syrian, or Turkish citizenship (11/2021–05/2022). Poisson regressions were used to calculate prevalence ratios for symptoms of depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety disorder (GAD-7). Results: Sociodemographic (sex, income, age, household size) and psychosocial (social support and self-reported discrimination) determinants were associated with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders varied most by self-reported discrimination. Conclusion: Our findings suggest mental health inequalities among people with selected citizenships living in Germany. To reduce these, social inequities and everyday discrimination need to be addressed in structural prevention measures as well as in interventions on the communal level. Protective factors (e.g., social support) are also important to reduce mental health inequalities on the individual and community level.
Aug 27, 2024
New publication: The Inequity Z: Income Fairness Perceptions in Europe across the Income Distribution
Fabian Kalleitner, Sandra Bohmann (2023) In: Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World Abstract Using data from the European Social Survey, we examine income fairness evaluations of 17,605 respondents from 28 countries. Respondents evaluated the fairness of their own incomes as well as the fairness of the incomes of the top and bottom income deciles in their countries. Depicted on a single graph, these income fairness evaluations take on a Z-shaped form, which we call the ``inequity Z''. The inequity Z reveals an extensive level of consensus within each country regarding the degree of unfairness of top and bottom incomes. With rising income, respondents consistently judge their own incomes to be less unfair. Across countries, the gap in fairness ratings between top and bottom incomes rises with income inequality. Perceived underreward of bottom incomes is more pronounced in countries where bottom incomes are objectively lower. Thus, this visualization suggests that, when people are confronted with information about actual income levels, perceived inequity increases with inequality.
Mar 12, 2024