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Social Sciences
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Population Studies and Human Health Inequalities from a Socio-Demographic Perspective
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Population Studies and Human Health Inequalities from a Socio-Demographic Perspective

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 2871

Editor

Prof. Dr. Peter Curson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Interests: population and health; population and security; epidemics and pandemics; climate change and human health; infectious disease and security

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Social Sciences seeks to provide insights into the relationship between population and human health inequalities from a socio-demographic perspective. To this end, we are interested in studies that address the following: (1) the linkages between population and health; (2) the relationships between population and biosecurity; (3) the significance of epidemics and pandemics; and (4) the importance of the biophysical environment and human health inequities.

Traditionally, National Security has been defined in terms of the social dynamics of international relations, the security defence of nations, and the protection of citizens from internal and external threats; rarely have infectious diseases or health inequities played a part. Thus, this study seeks to reveal the roles played by our biophysical environment, infectious disease, health inequalities, and human behaviour.

Prof. Dr. Peter Curson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • population and human health
  • infectious disease and human security
  • population and global disasters
  • deadly encounters and human behaviour
  • biosecurity and the biophysical environment
  • health inequalities
  • human mobility

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 1107 KB  
Article
Intergenerational Fairness and Ageing Styles in Europe: A Life-Course Approach
by Guido Giarelli
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15010002 - 19 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1317
Abstract
Demographic trends over the last decades and future projections clearly indicate a steady increase in the proportion of older adults (65+) relative to both the working-age (15–64) and child populations (0–15) across Europe. This demographic shift—driven by rising life expectancy and declining fertility—raises [...] Read more.
Demographic trends over the last decades and future projections clearly indicate a steady increase in the proportion of older adults (65+) relative to both the working-age (15–64) and child populations (0–15) across Europe. This demographic shift—driven by rising life expectancy and declining fertility—raises pressing challenges for intergenerational equity and questions the sustainability of the implicit formal and informal “social contract” that links generations through the distribution of rights, responsibilities, and resources. In particular, the two fundamental pillars of European post-industrial societies, namely an extensive welfare state and a liberal–democratic institutional framework, appear to be at risk. To address this issue, the notion of “intergenerational fairness”, recently adopted by social policies in both USA and Europe, appears flexible and fundamentally ambiguous. As a substantial variant of neoliberal austerity policies, it is simply used as a justification for further austerity measures, the withdrawal of entitlements to social and economic rights by citizens and the dismantling of welfare states. A second meaning of “intergenerational fairness” is possible starting from the concept of ambivalence used to describe the mix of conflict and solidarity that characterizes intergenerational relations in contemporary post-industrial societies. In this respect, the two concepts of “successful ageing” and “active ageing”, often considered as overlapping, actually involve very different perspectives: successful ageing adopts a substantially reductionist, individualistic, and static approach to the process of ageing, whereas active ageing is a more comprehensive and dynamic strategy that seeks to overcome all these limitations by a life-course perspective. This recognizes that a person’s path to old age is not predetermined but depends primarily on earlier life experiences and their influence: the ageing process affects people of all ages, not just the elderly. And since the subjectivization of ageing in contemporary societies has challenged the conventional notion of “natural life stages”, the new theoretical concept advanced in the article of “ageing styles” becomes central to understanding the ageing process today. Ageing styles are the outcome of the interplay between the objective and subjective dimensions of the life course, represented, respectively, by life chances (social structure) and life choices (agency). A theoretical framework is proposed for analyzing ageing styles that can be used from a life-course perspective to highlight their complex and dynamic nature. An evidence-based European political strategy aimed at promoting active ageing from a perspective of intergenerational fairness, based on the eight principles indicated, can be flexible enough to ensure that everyone can adopt their preferred ageing style without top-down imposition and contribute to the maintenance of the intergenerational social contract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Studies and Human Health Inequalities from a Socio-Demographic Perspective)
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Review

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23 pages, 673 KB  
Review
Active and Healthy Ageing Policies in Italy: A Scoping Review on Social and Territorial Inequalities
by Marilin Mantineo and Olena Ignatenko
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15020085 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 726
Abstract
Active and healthy ageing has become a strategic objective in European and national policy agendas, grounded in grounded in internationally recognised definitions and policy frameworks such as the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and the European Innovation Partnership on Active [...] Read more.
Active and healthy ageing has become a strategic objective in European and national policy agendas, grounded in grounded in internationally recognised definitions and policy frameworks such as the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIPAHA). In Italy, the translation of this paradigm has taken place within a fragmented welfare system characterised by strong regional autonomy and persistent social and territorial inequalities, particularly along regional and gender lines. This scoping review has a twofold aim: (1) to map the Italian scientific and grey literature on active and healthy ageing, identifying dominant dimensions, priorities and gaps, and (2) to examine how policies and interventions frame, address or overlook social, territorial and gender inequalities across the life course Following established scoping review methodological frameworks and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the review systematically identified, selected and synthesised Italian scientific studies and institutional documents published between 2012 and 2024. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted across four main areas—health and wellbeing; social inclusion and participation; indicators and measurement tools; and governance and public policies—with specific attention to the explicit and implicit treatment of inequalities. The analysis reveals a heterogeneous and regionally unbalanced policy landscape. While some territories have developed more integrated approaches linking prevention, participation and social inclusion, others remain largely confined to sectoral and fragmented interventions. Gendered patterns of unpaid care, differential access to programmes and services, and uneven territorial distribution of resources emerge as key dimensions of inequality shaping opportunities for active ageing. A partial discontinuity can be observed after 2019, with the introduction of national coordination mechanisms, although substantial differences in regional implementation capacity persist. The findings highlight the need for more coherent and equity-oriented strategies capable of integrating health, social and educational dimensions through a life-course and intersectional perspective. Strengthening multi-level governance and explicitly addressing social, territorial and gender inequalities as structural determinants—rather than residual variables—appears crucial to enhancing both the effectiveness and the fairness of active and healthy ageing policies in Italy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Studies and Human Health Inequalities from a Socio-Demographic Perspective)
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