Gender Matters in Health: Describing gender health gaps in Luxembourg: Policy Brief

Luxembourg leads in gender equality across several domains, ranking first in financial, third in education and forth in employment equality in the EU (2023) [1]. Despite this progress, the country ranks seventh in gender equality in health, highlighting ongoing disparities in health outcomes and access to care between genders.
Addressing gender based health gaps is essential for achieving equity in healthcare but also for fostering social cohesion, encouraging innovation, and contributing to a more prosperous and equitable society.
While gender differences in health have traditionally been linked to biological factors, growing evidence highlights the key role of intersecting socioeconomic and demographic influences. Thus, this report analyses the gender health gap in Luxembourg through an intersectional lens, using information from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) for 2014 and 2019 [2]. The analysis focuses on how gender interacts with age, education, immigration, marital status, social support, and living conditions to contribute to differences in health outcomes and access to care.
The report analyses gender-based health gaps in three health domains: i) Physical health: multimorbidity (two or more coexisting chronic health conditions [3]), accidents and injuries [4], and severe pain. ii) Mental health: depressive symptoms [5] and iii) Healthcare use: unmet healthcare needs due to financial barriers, long waiting lists, or transportation problems within the past twelve months [4].