Aims and objectives

The Gradient project strives to:

• Develop a consensus-based European Framework to monitor and evaluate public health policies and their impact on the gradients that exists in the social determinants that generate health inequalities.

• Investigate if and why children and families from different socio-economic groups respond and act differently to public health policy interventions

• Identify protective factors for the health of children and young people and their families focusing on social relations and social networks, in order to explore alternative policy options that moderate social inequities in health.

• Analyse and compare the impact of general policies for families and children with the impact of policies targeted at ‘at risk’ families and children.

• Formulate policy recommendations at European, national, regional and local level and to disseminate the findings across the European Union.