7.X.1. PechaKucha: Reducing Health Inequalities in Europe: From Data to Policy and Action

Abstract Health inequalities are strongly influenced by social determinants such as income, education, occupation, gender, ethnicity, and place of residence. These factors affect people's exposure to risk factors, access to healthcare, and overall health outcomes. As part of the Joint Action ‘Prevent NCDs’, funded by the EU4Health Programme 2021-2027, a dedicated focus on Social Inequalities aims to reduce avoidable inequalities in cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This effort promotes a multidimensional and cross-country approach, based on evidence, policies, practical tools, and training. This workshop presents the early findings and methodological directions of the Social Inequalities component, structured around four key areas: 1. Synthesizing evidence on the social determinants of health across Europe: The first presentation will outline how inequalities in cancer and NCDs are distributed across the European region, based on systematic umbrella reviews. These efforts provide the foundation for future recommendations on how to improve equity-oriented NCD prevention policies and strategies across countries. 2. Reviewing and comparing existing policies and interventions: The second talk will highlight the policy landscape across Europe, based on a scoping review and country-level reports. Focus will be given to effective practices addressing social determinants, as well as on barriers to their implementation and opportunities for cross-country transferability. A shared digital repository of tools and resources is being developed. 3. Evaluating actions with an equity lens: Many interventions fail to reduce health inequalities because equity considerations are not embedded in their design or evaluation. In the framework of the Joint Action ‘Prevent NCDs’, the team working on social inequali-ties has developed capacity-building activities and an Equity Tool to support pilot action teams. The aim is to integrate equity systematically from the planning phase, ensuring that actions are designed to effectively address and reduce health inequalities. 4. Enhancing health literacy to counter health inequities: Health literacy (HL) is addressed within the Joint Action ‘Prevent NCDs’ as a comprehensive, system-level enabler of equity. Several national surveys are being launched in collaboration with WHO's M-POHL HLS24 initiative to measure HL in the general population, ethnic minorities, digital access, and mental health. Parallel scoping and umbrella reviews are also underway to identify good practices, and a European Health Literacy Arena is being developed to promote collaboration and innovation. With five presentations followed by interactive discussion, this scientific session will provide a critical overview of how Europe can address social inequalities in health by acting on upstream drivers and embedding equity in practice. Key messages • Reducing health inequalities requires action on the social determinants of health, grounded in data and evidence. • Embedding equity into policies, evaluations, and health literacy initiatives is key to lasting change.