European post-industrial regions

Post-industrial decline is often cited as one of the major underlying reasons behind the poor health profile of West Central Scotland (WCS). In this research, we aimed to develop an understanding of how health and health-related factors in WCS compared with other, similar, post-industrial areas in Europe.  

Phase 1 

The first phase of research identified and compared long-term trends in mortality in 20 post-industrial regions in Europe. It showed that mortality was generally lower and improving faster in the other regions compared to WCS – even in areas which appeared comparatively worse in terms of socioeconomic characteristics. 

Phase 2 

The second phase sought to explore the reasons behind WCS's poor health status relative to these other comparable regions. This entailed two main research components:  

• Detailed analysis of routinely available health and health determinant data for WCS and 11 other key regions (but with a particular focus on four specific ones: Nord-Pas-de-Calais in France, the Ruhr area in Germany, Northern Moravia in the Czech Republic and Silesia in Poland). 
• Supporting a PhD student to examine the influences of historical, political and economic factors on health outcomes in the four mainland post-industrial regions above.