TY - GEN A1 - Richter, M. A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Lampert, Thomas A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - Understanding the institutional context of health inequalities among young people: Study protocol for a multi-center research unit T2 - Gesundheitswesen 2019 N2 - Background: While health inequalities among young people are well described, the underlying mechanisms have been explored far less. Compositional and contextual characteristics of institutional contexts (e.g. kindergartens, schools) are likely to shape health inequalities among young people and may have an impact above and beyond individual-level determinants. The general research objectives of the research unit are to empirically study if characteristics of different institutional contexts are associated with the emergence of individual-level inequalities in health and c) to integrate findings from different life stages into a comprehensive theoretical model about the key mechanisms at individual and contextual levels. Methods and analysis: Building upon reviews of the existing evidence, each of the five subprojects of the research unit will analyse secondary data (cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys). The subprojects will focus on institutional contexts that serve as major socialization agents in society, such as the family, kindergarten, school, tertiary education/work, as well as the health care system. Linear or logistic multilevel modelling will be applied in order to examine the role of institutional characteristics for young people's health and health inequalities at the individual level. Ethics and dissemination: The dissemination activities include the publication of results in peer-reviewed journals, at international and national scientific conferences, as well as press releases in written and broadcast media to inform relevant stakeholders and the lay public. In the first funding stage, the research unit only uses secondary data of existing datasets. Therefore, ethical approval is not required. KW - Health inequalities KW - young people Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1694623 VL - 81 IS - 08/09 SP - 750 EP - 751 PB - Georg Thieme Verlag KG CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hilger-Kolb, Jennifer A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Osenbruegge, Nina A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Herke, Max A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie A1 - Diehl, Katharina T1 - Associations between contextual and compositional characteristics of early childcare facilities with health, health behaviours and well-being among young children aged 06 years: protocol for a scoping review T2 - BMJ Open N2 - Introduction: Early childhood is an important life stage which is crucial for determining health and health inequalities in later life. At the meso-level (institutional-level), early childcare facilities (eg, kindergartens, preschools) are the most important agent of socialisation next to families in young children aged 06 years. In recent years, an increasing amount of studies has focused on contextual and compositional characteristics of early childcare facilities and their association with health (eg, self-rated health), health behaviour (eg, physical activity) and well-being (eg, emotional well-being) in this age group. However, as currently no overview of the available literature on this topic exists, we will conduct a scoping review including various study designs (eg, cross-sectional studies, prospective studies, qualitative studies). Methods and analysis: We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. A systematic search of the following scientific databases will be conducted: PubMed/Medline, PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, Education Resources Information Center and The Cochrane Library. During the selection process, we will follow a two-step process. First, two reviewers will independently screen titles/abstracts of all potentially eligible articles by applying a set of previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the completion of the title/abstract screening, full texts of the remaining articles will be screened following the same procedure. To determine inter-rater agreement between reviewers, we will calculate Cohen’s Kappa after both steps. Key characteristics (eg, country of origin, sample size, study design) of included articles will be extracted. We will map the evidence available by providing a summary table on the key characteristics extracted and by presenting the associations using various types of illustrations. Ethics and dissemination: Since no primary data will be collected for this review, ethical approval is not required. Our findings will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences. KW - childcare facilities KW - health KW - health behaviour KW - well-being KW - children KW - scoping review Y1 - 2020 UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e037038 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037038 SN - 2044-6055 VL - 10 IS - 9 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Deindl, Christian A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Lampert, Thomas T1 - The impact of the family on health inequalities in children – A systematic scoping review T2 - European Journal of Public Health N2 - Background Health inequalities in school-aged children and adolescents were repeatedly reported across Europe but less is known about the contextual and compositional factors of families that might influence and reproduce those health inequalities. In this systematic scoping review we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the available international literature on the mediating and moderating influence of the family on health inequalities in children and adolescents in Europe and North America. Methods This review follows the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. After defining the research question a search strategy was developed in cooperation with a scientific librarian and the study protocol was registered. A search of three databases (Pubmed, Scopus, PsycINFO) was conducted to identify relevant literature in English or German published between the year 2000 and 2019. A qualitative data charting process was used to extract the relevant data. Results In total 11.838 records were identified through the multi database search (Pubmed n = 6370, PsycINFO n = 3505, Scopus n = 1963). After elimination of duplicates and records from excluded countries, 8862 abstracts were screened by two researchers independently. Different cluster of evidence of family influences on health inequalities were identified: Parental behaviors and children's obesity, parents' smoking and drinking habits and adolescents' risk behaviors, parenting style and children's common mental disorders, parental resources and children's quality of life. Conclusions There are different aspects of family's contextual and compositional characteristics on health inequalities identifiable in the international literature. These characteristics might be new targets for family-focused health promotion strategies. Key messages: -A systematic scoping review found different family aspects that influence health inequalities in children and adolescents. - The identified family traits are promising targets for family-focused health promotion strategies to reduce health inequalities. KW - Health inequalities KW - family KW - scoping review KW - children KW - adolescents Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.898 SN - 1101-1262 SN - 1464-360X VL - 30 IS - Supplement_5 PB - Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - GEN A1 - Matos Fialho, Paula Mayara A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Reuter, Marvin A1 - Metzendorf, Maria-Inti A1 - Richter, Bernd A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Diehl, Katharina A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie A1 - Herke, Max A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. T1 - Mapping the evidence regarding school-to- work/ university transition and health inequalities among young adults: a scoping review protocol T2 - BMJ Open N2 - School-to-work/university transition is a sensitive period that can have a substantial impact on health and health behaviour over the life course. There is some indication that health and health behaviour is socially patterned in the age span of individuals in this transition (16–24 years) and that there are differences by socioeconomic position (SEP). However, evidence regarding this phenomenon has not been systematically mapped. In addition, little is known about the role of institutional characteristics (eg, of universities, workplaces) in the development of health and possible inequalities in health during this transition. Hence, the first objective of this scoping review is to systematically map the existing evidence regarding health and health behaviours (and possible health inequalities, for example, differences by SEP) in the age group of 16–24 years and during school-to-work transition noted in Germany and abroad. The second objective is to summarise the evidence on the potential effects of contextual and compositional characteristics of specific institutions entered during this life stage on health and health behaviours. Third, indicators and measures of these characteristics will be summarised.Methods and analysisWe will systematically map the evidence on health inequalities during school-to-work-transitions among young adults (aged 16–24 years), following the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. The literature search is performed in Ovid MEDLINE, Web of Science, International Labour Organization and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, using a predetermined search strategy. Articles published between January 2000 and February 2020 in English or German are considered for the review. The selection process follows a two-step approach: (1) screening of titles and abstracts, and (2) screening of full texts, both steps by two independent reviewers. Any discrepancies in the selection process are resolved by a third researcher. Data extraction will be performed using a customised data extraction sheet. The results will be presented in tabular and narrative form.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for this scoping review. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and presented at international conferences and project workshops. KW - school-to-work transition KW - school-to-university transition KW - health inequalities KW - young adults KW - scoping review Y1 - 2020 UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e039831.info U6 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039831 SN - 2044-6055 VL - 10 IS - 12 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Novelli, Anna A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin A1 - Diehl, Katharina A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - Correlation of mesolevel characteristics of the healthcare system and socioeconomic inequality in healthcare use: a scoping review protocol T2 - BMJ Open N2 - Introduction Although the impact of macrolevel characteristics of health systems on socioeconomic inequity in health has been studied extensively, the impact of access characteristics on a smaller scale of health systems has received less attention. These mesolevel characteristics can influence access to healthcare and might have the potential to moderate or aggravate socioeconomic inequity in healthcare use. This scoping review aims to map the existing evidence of the association of socioeconomic inequity in healthcare use and mesolevel access characteristics of the health system. Methods and analysis In conducting the scoping review, we follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols Extension for Scoping Reviews. The search will be carried out in four scientific databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO. Main eligibility criteria are inclusion in the analysis of a measure of socioeconomic position, a measure of individual healthcare use and a mesolevel determinant of access to healthcare services. The selection process consists of two consecutive screening stages (first: title/abstract; second: full text). At both stages, two reviewers independently assess the eligibility of studies. In case of disagreement, a third reviewer will be involved. Cohen’s kappa will be calculated to report inter-rater agreement between reviewers. Results are synthesised narratively, as a high heterogeneity of studies is expected. Ethics and dissemination No primary data are collected for the presented scoping review. Therefore, ethical approval is not necessary. The scoping review will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal, and findings will be presented on national and international conferences. KW - mesolevel characteristics KW - healthcare KW - inequality KW - scoping review Y1 - 2021 UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/2/e044301.info U6 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044301 SN - 2044-6055 VL - 11 IS - 2 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - The role of regional health policy for socioeconomic inequality in health services utilization T2 - European Journal of Public Health N2 - Background “J1” is a preventative routine examination in Germany recommended for adolescents at the age of 12-14 years. In contrast to the well-established U1-U9 examinations for younger children, with participation rates above 90%, the attendance of the J1 examination is approximately only 40%. The most frequent reason for not attending J1 is the unawareness of this examination. “Ticket to J1” is an intervention including an information leaflet introduced in Bavaria in 2017 to inform adolescents about J1. The aims of the present analysis are to investigate (1) if the regional policy was effective in increasing the attendance in J1, (2) if the effects vary by family socioeconomic status (SES), and (3) which meso-level characteristics of the healthcare system correlate with attendance rates in J1. Methods We used anonymised data of a large statutory health insurance in Germany for the timeframe of 2016-2018. To investigate the effect of the policy, a difference-in-differences design at the individual level was used. Assuming a parallel trend at the level of federal states, the likelihood of attendance in J1 of 13- and 14-year-olds was compared between Bavaria and other federal German states before and after policy introduction. All analyses were additionally stratified by SES. Results The introduction of “Ticket to J1” increased participation in J1 by 1% after controlling for all confounders. Furthermore, the effect was stronger for children from families with lower SES (an increase of 5%). Density of pediatricians was positively significantly correlated with participation in J1. Discussion Regional health policy intervention had a significant positive impact on attendance of J1 and appears to have the potential to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare utilization. Informing adolescents about J1 seems to increase the attendance, in particular for children from families with lower SES. KW - regional health policy KW - socioeconomic inequality KW - health services KW - utilization Y1 - 2022 UR - https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/32/Supplement_3/ckac129.584/6765537?searchresult=1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckac129.584 SN - 1101-1262 SN - 1464-360X VL - 32 IS - Supplement_3 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Reuter, Marvin A1 - Diehl, Katharina A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie A1 - Hövener, Claudia A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Dragano, Nico T1 - A longitudinal analysis of health inequalities from adolescence to young adulthood and their underlying causes T2 - Advances in Lifecourse Research N2 - Research suggests that children of low-educated parents face greater health burdens during the passage from adolescence to young adulthood, as they are more likely to become low-educated themselves, establish behavioural and psychosocial disadvantages, or being exposed to unhealthy working conditions. However, studies examining the development and drivers of health inequalities during this particular life stage are limited in number and have produced varied results. This study investigates trajectories of self-rated health and overweight from 14 to 25 years of age, stratified by parental education, and explores the role of potential mediators (educational achievement, health behaviours, psychosocial factors, working conditions). We rely on prospective cohort data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), a representative sample of 14,981 German ninth graders interviewed yearly from 2011 to 2021 (n = 90,096 person-years). First, we estimated random-effects growth curves for self-rated health and overweight over participants’ age and calculated the average marginal effect of high versus low parental education. Second, a series of simulation-based mediation analyses were performed to test how much of health inequalities were explained by children’s educational attainment (years of school education, years in university), health behaviours (smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity), psychosocial factors (number of grade repetitions, years in unemployment, chronic stress, self-esteem) and working conditions (physical and psychosocial job demands). We accounted for potential confounding by controlling for age, sex, migration background, residential area, household composition, and interview mode. Results show that higher parental education was related to higher self-rated health and lower probabilities of being overweight. Interaction between parental education and age indicated that, after some equalisation in late adolescence, health inequalities increased in young adulthood. Furthermore, educational attainment, health behaviours, psychosocial factors, and early-career working conditions played a significant role in mediating health inequalities. Of the variables examined, the level of school education and years spent in university were particular strong mediating factors. School education accounted for around one-third of the inequalities in self-rated health and one-fifth of the differences in overweight among individuals. Results support the idea that the transition to adulthood is a sensitive period in life and that early socio-economic adversity increases the likelihood to accumulate health disadvantages in multiple dimensions. In Germany, a country with comparatively low educational mobility, intergenerational continuities in class location seem to play a key role in the explanation of health inequalities in youth. KW - Health Inequalities KW - Adolescence KW - School to work transition KW - Socio-economic position Y1 - 2024 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569490924000042?via%3Dihub U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2024.100593 SN - 1879-6974 VL - Vol. 59 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - The role of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors in the use of preventive healthcare services in children and adolescents: results of the KiGGS Wave 2 study T2 - BMC Pediatrics N2 - Background: In Germany, various preventive services are offered to children and adolescents. These include regular standardized examinations (so called U/J examinations) and several vaccinations. Although strongly recommended, most of them are not mandatory. Our aim is to identify factors associated with the use of U/J examinations and vaccination against diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hib, pertussis, polio, and tetanus. While previous research has focused on sociodemographic factors, we also include socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 15,023 participants (aged 0-17 years) of the nationwide representative KiGGS Wave 2 Survey. Participation in U/J examinations was assessed using a questionnaire, filled out by participants and/or their parents. Information on vaccination status was drawn from the participants' vaccination booklets. To identify relevant determinants for the use of preventive examinations and vaccinations, unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were employed with up to 16 different independent variables. Results: Various independent variables showed an association with the use of preventive services. Higher socioeconomic status, absence of migration background, and lower household size were associated with significantly higher utilization of U examinations. Parents' marital status, area of residence, behavioral and psychosocial factors yielded insignificant results for most U/J examinations. Higher vaccination rates were found for children with no migration background, with residence in eastern Germany, lower household size, and with married parents. Conclusion: This study attempted to depict the influence of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors on the use of several preventive services. Our results indicate that predominantly sociodemographic variables influence the use of preventive services. Further efforts should be made to investigate the interplay of different determinants of healthcare use in children and adolescents. KW - Healthcare use KW - Inequity KW - Pediatrics KW - Prevention KW - Vaccination Y1 - 2024 UR - https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-024-04650-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-024-04650-0 SN - 1471-2431 VL - 24 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Novelli, Anna A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Diehl, Katharina A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - The role of mesolevel characteristics of the health care system and socioeconomic factors on health care use - results of a scoping review T2 - International Journal for Equity in Health N2 - Background: Besides macrolevel characteristics of a health care system, mesolevel access characteristics can exert influence on socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare use. These reflect access to healthcare, which is shaped on a smaller scale than the national level, by the institutions and establishments of a health system that individuals interact with on a regular basis. This scoping review maps the existing evidence about the influence of mesolevel access characteristics and socioeconomic position on healthcare use. Furthermore, it summarizes the evidence on the interaction between mesolevel access characteristics and socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare use. Methods: We used the databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO and followed the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR)' recommendations. The included quantitative studies used a measure of socioeconomic position, a mesolevel access characteristic, and a measure of individual healthcare utilisation. Studies published between 2000 and 2020 in high income countries were considered. Results: Of the 9501 potentially eligible manuscripts, 158 studies were included after a two-stage screening process. The included studies contained a wide spectrum of outcomes and were thus summarised to the overarching categories: use of preventive services, use of curative services, and potentially avoidable service use. Exemplary outcomes were screening uptake, physician visits and avoidable hospitalisations. Access variables included healthcare system characteristics such as physician density or distance to physician. The effects of socioeconomic position on healthcare use as well as of mesolevel access characteristics were investigated by most studies. The results show that socioeconomic and access factors play a crucial role in healthcare use. However, the interaction between socioeconomic position and mesolevel access characteristics is addressed in only few studies. Conclusions: Socioeconomic position and mesolevel access characteristics are important when examining variation in healthcare use. Additionally, studies provide initial evidence that moderation effects exist between the two factors, although research on this topic is sparse. Further research is needed to investigate whether adapting access characteristics at the mesolevel can reduce socioeconomic inequity in health care use. KW - Access KW - Healthcare use KW - Inequities KW - Mesoleve KW - Scoping review Y1 - 2024 UR - https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-024-02122-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-024-02122-6 SN - 1475-9276 VL - 23 IS - 1 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - Die Rolle der regionalen Gesundheitspolitik für die sozioökonomische Ungleichheit in der Inanspruchnahme der Gesundheitsleistungen T2 - Gesundheitswesen N2 - Einleitung Die J1 ist eine Vorsorgeuntersuchung, die für Kinder zwischen 12 und 14 Jahren empfohlen ist. Im Gegensatz zu den etablierten U1- bis U9-Untersuchungen für jüngere Kinder mit Teilnahmeraten über 90% liegt die Teilnahme bei der J1 bei etwa 40%. Ein Grund für die mangelnde Teilnahme an der J1 ist die geringe Bekanntheit bei Eltern und Kindern. Mehrere Bundesländer haben Einladungswesen eingeführt, um Jugendliche zur Teilnahme an der J1 zu motivieren. Die Einladung „Dein Ticket zur J1“ wurde Mitte 2017 in Bayern eingeführt. Das „Ticket“ ist ein Informationsflyer über die J1 in einer jugendgerechten Gestaltung. Die vorliegende Analyse untersuchte, ob die regionale Informationskampagne zu einer Steigerung der Teilnahme an der J1 geführt hat, ob die Effekte mit dem sozioökonomischen Status der Familie (SES) variieren und welche Meso-Ebene-Merkmale des Gesundheitssystems mit der J1-Teilnahme korrelieren. Methoden Um die Wirkung der Intervention zu untersuchen, wurden bundesweite anonymisierte Routinedaten der Techniker Krankenkasse aus den Jahren 2016-2018 sowie ein Difference-in-Differences-Design auf individueller Ebene verwendet. Unter der Annahme eines parallelen Trends auf Bundesländerebene wurde die J1-Teilnahme von 13- und 14-Jährigen in Bayern mit anderen Bundesländern vor und nach der Intervention verglichen. Zusätzlich wurde die Analyse für die verschiedenen SES-Gruppen durchgeführt. Wir untersuchten auch, ob Faktoren auf Mesoebene des Gesundheitssystems mit der Teilnahme an der J1 korrelierten. Ergebnisse Die Einführung von „Dein Ticket zur J1“ erhöhte die Teilnahme an der J1 um 1 %. Obwohl eine höhere Bildung und berufliche Stellung der Eltern positiv mit der J1-Teilnahme korrelierten, war der Effekt der Intervention bei Kindern aus Familien mit niedrigerem SES stärker (Anstieg um 5 %). Die Kinderarztdichte auf Kreisebene korrelierte zudem positiv mit der Teilnahme an der J1. Schlussfolgerung Die Intervention hat das Potenzial, die sozioökonomische Ungleichheit bei der Inanspruchnahme von Gesundheitsleistungen zu verringern, da die Effekte für Kinder aus Familien mit niedrigerem SES stärker waren. Es bedarf jedoch weiterer Maßnahmen, um Jugendliche über die J1 und die damit verbundenen gesundheitlichen Vorteile zu informieren. Zukünftige Studien sollten untersuchen, von welchen weiteren Faktoren die Wirksamkeit der Intervention abhängt, wie z. B. die Art und Anzahl der Kommunikationskanäle. KW - regionale Gesundheitspolitik KW - sozioökonomische Ungleichheit KW - Inanspruchnahme KW - Gesundheitsleistungen Y1 - 2022 UR - https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0042-1753865 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1753865 VL - 84 IS - 08/09 SP - 825 PB - Georg Thieme Verlag ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mayer, Alena A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Klein, Thomas A1 - Wiedemann, Eva A1 - Diehl, Katharina A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Jepsen, Dennis A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie A1 - Andreas, Marike A1 - Schneider, Sven T1 - Socio-economic inequalities in body mass index among preschool children: do sports programs in early childhood education and care centers make a difference? T2 - Frontiers in Public Health N2 - Background: Overweight in childhood is considered to be one of the most serious public health challenges. Many studies have investigated individual-level determinants of children's body mass index (BMI), yet studies exploring determinants at the meso-level are sparse. The aim of our study was to examine how a sports focus at early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers moderates the effect of parental socio-economic position (SEP) on children's BMI. Methods: We used data from the German National Educational Panel Study and included 1,891 children (955 boys and 936 girls) from 224 ECEC centers in our analysis. Linear multilevel regressions were used to estimate the main effects of family SEP and the ECEC center sports focus, as well as their interaction, on children's BMI. All analyses were stratified by sex and adjusted for age, migration background, number of siblings, and employment status of parents. Results: Our analysis confirmed the wellknown health inequalities in childhood overweight with a social gradient toward a higher BMI for children from lower SEP families. An interactive effect between family SEP and ECEC center sports focus was found. Boys with low family SEP not attending a sports-focused ECEC center had the highest BMI among all boys. In contrast, boys with low family SEP attending a sports-focused ECEC center had the lowest BMI. For girls, no association regarding ECEC center focus or interactive effects emerged. Girls with a high SEP had the lowest BMI, independent of the ECEC center focus. Conclusion: We provided evidence for the gender-specific relevance of sports-focused ECEC centers for the prevention of overweight. Especially boys from low SEP families benefited from a sports focus, whereas for girls the family's SEP was more relevant. As a consequence, gender differences in determinants for BMI at different levels and their interaction should be considered in further research and preventive measures. Our research indicates that ECEC centers may decrease health inequalities by providing opportunities for physical activity. KW - BMI KW - children KW - meso-level KW - sport KW - early childhood education and care center KW - pre-school KW - health equalities Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1079871 SN - 2296-2565 VL - Vol. 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - Bammert, Philip A1 - Schneider, Udo A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Pischke, Claudia A1 - Sundmacher, Leonie T1 - Can invitation systems increase participation in preventive health screening among adolescents? : an evaluation of a state-wide intervention in Germany using a difference-in-differences analysis of claims data T2 - European Journal of Public Health N2 - In Germany, routine screenings are used to monitor the health and development of children and adolescents, enabling timely discovery and treatment of health issues. One such screening, called J1, is recommended for adolescents aged 12-14 years, but participation is only 43%. In the state of Bavaria, a lack of awareness is the main reason cited for not attending. 'Your Ticket to J1' was an invitation system implemented across the state to inform adolescents about the screening. Our study investigated whether this intervention increased J1 participation and if its effects varied by family socioeconomic position (SEP). We used pseudonymized data from a large statutory health insurer from 2016 to 2018 and containing 267 650 observations. To investigate the effect of the intervention, we employed a difference-in-differences analysis at the individual level. Assuming parallel trends at the state level, we compared J1 participation rates between Bavaria and other German states before and after the intervention. We additionally stratified analyses by SEP. The intervention led to an increase in J1 participation by about 1%. In the stratified regressions, the effect size was larger for children from families with a lower SEP. J1 participation increased by about 4% among adolescents whose primary insured parent had the lowest occupational status. A state-wide invitation system had a small but statistically significant positive impact on J1 participation and might reduce socioeconomic inequities in healthcare utilization. Informing adolescents about J1 appears to increase participation, particularly among those from families with a lower SEP. KW - adolescent, child, germany, socioeconomic factors, health care use, prevention Y1 - 2025 UR - https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf026/8063708 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf026 SN - 1464-360X VL - 35 IS - 2 SP - 312 EP - 318 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER -