Conference Agenda

This paper addresses the question of male and female mortality in Napoleonic Era Tuscany, also investigating mortality differentials from a geographical-environmental perspective. The sources used are the summary tables of the Napoleonic Civil Registry, which cover all municipalities in Tuscany. The tables report the number of births and deaths by gender and annual age classes ranging from 0 to 100. We calculated the infant mortality rate at the municipal level and then constructed life tables for males and females using the generalized Halley method. Life expectancy at birth was slightly higher for women: 32.2 years compared to 31.1 for men. Regarding the geography of infant mortality, some aspects of territorial homogeneity are observed. The lowest levels are found along the Florence-Pisa axis. Other groups of municipalities with similar characteristics include those on the Island of Elba and the Apennine area north of Arezzo. In contrast, high mortality areas include several municipalities of the South.

Since the early 2000s, and for the first time since the Second World War, the infant mortality rate (IMR) has ceased to decrease in France. After decades of continuous decline, the French IMR stagnated from 2005 to 2009, followed by an increase from 3.3 ‰ to 3.8 ‰ between 2012 and 2023. This trend contrasts with the substantial progress observed in many European countries and has been mainly driven by an increase of neonatal mortality. To this day, the reasons behind the rise of the IMR have not been identified due to critical gaps in health data within the French death and birth certificates.

Using data from the National Health Data System (SNDS), this study provides the first comprehensive overview of neonatal mortality in France from 2006 onward. It examines key health and demographic characteristics of both affected infants and their mothers. Neonatal mortality remains a major obstacle to reducing overall infant mortality in France, making this analysis one of the potential tools for developing targeted interventions.

Sweden is experiencing increased immigration coupled with the rise of far-right parties, a phenomenon that is influencing immigration policy and its enforcement. These changes have the potential to affect various facets of immigrant life, from social stigmatisation and stress to potential resource limitations. This study examines the effects on migrant perinatal health, such as preterm birth and low birthweight.

Previous research identified the influence of public policies, particularly those with anti-immigrant sentiments, on health. Within this context, migrant women, and especially refugees, emerge as a particularly vulnerable demographic, susceptible to stigmatisation and associated stresses.

Using Swedish registry data, we aim to ascertain the relationship between political dynamics (ascendance of far-right), and the perinatal health of migrants. This line of enquire is pertinent, as compromised perinatal health has been linked to adverse outcomes in later life, setting a disadvantaged trajectory for the second generation.

We employ causal inference methods (interrupted time series analysis) to examine differences between native-born and foreign-born mothers. This study endeavours to contribute valuable insights to broader research on the interplay between political climate, immigration policy, and migrant health. It ultimately aims to inform policy and practice for the betterment of wellbeing and potentially prevent adverse intergenerational effects.

Out-of-home care is the state intervention of last resort for safeguarding children’s healthy development and a key indicator of child wellbeing, but measuring it is difficult. This is because children often have many care episodes with varying entry and exit probabilities, and there are many dimensions of care that are important for children and their families, such as the length and the stability of care. There are currently no available metrics for comparing these dimensions of out-of-home care across populations. We use multistate models to derive tangible metrics that describe the average life course of a synthetic cohort, that is, a cohort experiencing the current risk across their childhood. Our work answers questions such as how likely it is that a newborn child will ever enter out-of-home care, how many years on average this child will spend in care, and how likely it is that the child will ever reunify with their family after being placed in care. Our headline finding is that despite declarations of intent to prioritise foster family-based care, increasing numbers of children are being placed in residential care in Finland.