The Sociocultural Context of the European Early Promotion Project

Abstract

This chapter describes the socio-cultural settings and the relevant health care services within which the European Early Promotion Project was conducted, in order to render the interpretation of study results more meaningful and to justify cross-cultural differences. Greece, Cyprus and Serbia are characterised by lower social expenditure, welfare provision and higher poverty rates than the UK and, especially, Finland, the latter having achieved an advanced welfare provision system. Large differences also exist among participating countries in child mental health and primary care services. Finland and the UK have made the biggest advances in promotional work with families, while Greece, Cyprus and Serbia present, to a smaller or larger degree, deficiencies in their health service infrastructure and in their ability to follow social, economic and scientific advances in the area of maternal and child well-being.

Keywords:

• sociocultural context
• child care services