Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries

Thomson, Harriet; Snell, Carolyn; Bouzarovski, Stefan

doi:10.3390/ijerph14060584

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Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries

Harriet Thomson

^1,*,

Carolyn Snell

² and

Stefan Bouzarovski

School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(6), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060584

Received: 13 April 2017 / Revised: 22 May 2017 / Accepted: 26 May 2017 / Published: 31 May 2017

(This article belongs to the Section Global Health)

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Abstract

Despite growing pan-European interest in and awareness of the wide-ranging health and well-being impacts of energy poverty—which is characterised by an inability to secure adequate levels of energy services in the home—the knowledge base is largely British-centric and dominated by single-country studies. In response, this paper investigates the relationship between energy poverty, health and well-being across 32 European countries, using 2012 data from the European Quality of Life Survey. We find an uneven concentration of energy poverty, poor health, and poor well-being across Europe, with Eastern and Central Europe worst affected. At the intersection of energy poverty and health, there is a higher incidence of poor health (both physical and mental) amongst the energy poor populations of most countries, compared to non-energy poor households. Interestingly, we find the largest disparities in health and well-being levels between energy poor and non-energy poor households occur within relatively equal societies, such as Sweden and Slovenia. As well as the unique challenges brought about by rapidly changing energy landscapes in these countries, we also suggest the relative deprivation theory and processes of social comparison hold some value in explaining these findings. View Full-Text

Keywords: energy poverty; fuel poverty; relative deprivation; health inequalities; well-being

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Thomson, H.; Snell, C.; Bouzarovski, S. Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060584

AMA Style

Thomson H, Snell C, Bouzarovski S. Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(6):584. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060584

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomson, Harriet, Carolyn Snell, and Stefan Bouzarovski. 2017. "Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 6: 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060584

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Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries

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