Addressing equality in Scotland's childhood health: combating disparities among children's wellbeing
Scotland is facing a significant challenge in addressing childhood health inequalities, with children growing up in the most socio-economically deprived areas experiencing worse physical and mental health outcomes compared to their counterparts in more affluent areas.
Every child deserves to grow up healthy, happy, safe, and supported. However, childhood health inequalities in Scotland are not inevitable but the result of political choices. Investing in better living conditions, equitable access to services, stable incomes, food security, trauma-informed whole-family support, and inclusive, community-led policy design is crucial to bridging this gap.
On February 27, 2025, the Scottish Government initiated an event to discuss the prevention of health inequalities among children. The Mental Health Foundation and the Royal Society of Edinburgh co-hosted the national workshop, which was attended by more than 40 experts from the public, voluntary, and academic sectors.
The event highlighted three recurring gaps holding back progress: a disconnect between research, policy, and practice, missed opportunities for co-design, and data limitations. Bridging these gaps requires investing in prevention, empowering communities through co-designed policies, improving data access and quality, supporting the third sector with long-term, flexible funding, and prioritizing strategic research into mental health, digital harms, and in-work poverty.
The workshop emphasized the need for a decisive shift from reactive, short-term fixes to preventative, upstream interventions to meet the Scottish Government's child poverty targets by 2030. Children in deprived areas are 3 times more likely to die in their first year of life, 3 times more likely to have developmental concerns, 2.9 times more likely to have emotional and behavioral difficulties by age three, and 2 times more likely to be obese at school entry. They are also 10 times more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy.
With a Scottish Parliament Election on the horizon, now is the time for policymakers to show how they intend to put a preventative policy approach into practice. The full report from the workshop is available for reading, providing insights into the steps needed to create a healthier, happier Scotland for all children.
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