ReviewRevista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health2020
Theoretical and practical challenges of proportionate universalism: a review.
Review in Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancing equity and value in United States healthcare: an umbrella review.International journal for equity in health · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of interventions to increase cervical cancer screening among underserved women in Europe.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2024Pooled it
- Development of a Health Equity Framework for the US Preventive Services Task Force.JAMA network open · 2024Guideline
- Considering equity and cost-effectiveness in assessing a parenting intervention to promote early childhood development in rural Vietnam.Health policy and planning · 2023Trial
- Trial
- 'The evidence is out there…': perspectives of healthcare providers on improving asthma and COPD prevention and care within a major health authority region of British Columbia, Canada.BMJ open quality · 2026Article
- Addressing Access Barriers in Rural America: A Mixed-Methods Study of Wisconsin's Family Resource Centers.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026Article
- The need to strengthen Australian health and social policy to support survivors of the Stolen Generations.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Targeting equity in early childhood: resource allocation in Sweden's Extended Home Visiting Program.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Intersectional inequalities in social-emotional problems among three-year-old children in Sweden: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Annual Research Review: Improving school climate to improve child and adolescent mental health and reduce inequalities.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Review
- Commonly cited approaches to reducing health inequalities: a call for more clarity around their definition and underlying assumptions.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2026Review
- Refined utilitarianism in practice: reinterpreting the ethical foundations of the NHS.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2026Article
- Toward better home visits: a mixed-methods study identifying disparities in early childhood program delivery to promote health equity.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Can the Care Need Index Identify Healthcare Centres With Higher Proportions of Children at Risk?Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2026Article
- Effects of household and neighbourhood attributes on four definitions of multimorbidity: a comparative multilevel analysis of linked clinical and census data of Wales.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Ethnic Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity and the Contribution of Deprivation: A Population-Based Causal Analysis.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Socio-geographical disparities in cardiometabolic multimorbidity in Sweden: an Intersectional Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (I-MAIHDA).International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Translating 'proportionate universal healthcare' into meaningful system design to optimize equity in child and family services.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn 2010, the principle of proportionate universalism (PU) has been proposed as a solution to reduce health inequalities. It had a great resonance but does not seem to have been widely applied and no guidelines exist on how to implement it.The two specific objectives of this scoping review were: (1) to describe the theoretical context in which PU was established, (2) to describe how researchers apply PU and related methodological issues.
methodsWe searched for all articles published until 6
resultsThis review of 55 articles allowed us a global vision around the question of PU regarding its theoretical foundations and practical implementation. PU principle is rooted in the social theories of universalism and targeting. It proposes to link these two aspects in order to achieve an effective reduction of health inequalities. Regarding practical implementation, PU interventions were rare and led to different interpretations. There are still many methodological and ethical challenges regarding conception and evaluation of PU interventions, including how to apply proportionality, and identification of needs.
conclusionThis review mapped available scientific literature on PU and its related concepts. PU principle originates from social theories. As highlighted by authors who implemented PU interventions, application raises many challenges from design to evaluation. Analysis of PU applications provided in this review answered to some of them but remaining methodological challenges could be addressed in further research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.