How can the health equity impact of universal policies be evaluated?

Taking population level action on the wider social determinants of health in efforts to reduce health inequities is an international public  health imperative. However, an important barrier to action is the perceived lack of evidence about what works to reduce health inequities. This is particularly evident in relation to universal welfare policies, which can have profound effects on health inequities, both positive and negative in nature. Because universal policies are usually applied to whole populations, and are often complex in nature with long causal chains, this precludes a true experimental design, and other approaches to evaluation are required. This report presents arguments and case studies from an expert group meeting convened to clarify the importance and challenges of evaluating universal policies, and to outline potential approaches to assessing the impact of universal policies on health inequities. This WHO report also identifies key research and policy questions that need evaluating as a  matter of priority, and sets the agenda for partnership working to develop these methods further.

Find the report here