17th Essen Health Conference
The Links Between Health, Education and Work
- 01.06.2026
How do educational opportunities affect health? What role does work play in social participation? Questions like these are at the centre of the 17th Essen Health Conference, which will bring together researchers from around the world from 3 to 5 June. The highly regarded conference is organised by CINCH, the health economics research centre at the UDE, together with Lund University, Sweden.
Since 2009, the Essen Health Conference has established itself as an internationally recognised forum for empirical social and economic research. Each year, renowned experts from across the globe – including scholars from leading universities such as Oxford, Princeton and the London School of Economics – discuss new findings and methodological approaches related to health care, educational inequality and labour market participation.
The 40 studies presented this year address pressing social issues from different countries and perspectives. One study, for example, examines whether promotions to management positions also shape health and family life. Another analyses the effects of criminal exposure in schools. Further contributions focus on topics such as teachers’ mental health, career trajectories following gender transition, and the relationship between biological sleep patterns and academic performance.
“The conference demonstrates how empirical research can help us better understand social challenges and provide a scientific basis for political decision-making,” says health economist and CINCH director Prof. Dr Martin Karlsson. “At the same time, the exchange between researchers from different countries and disciplines creates the foundation for long-term international collaborations.”
Many studies first presented in Essen later appear in leading academic journals. At the same time, the conference helps strengthen the Ruhr region’s visibility as an internationally connected hub for research and higher education.
Participation in the conference is limited to registered attendees.
More:
https://cinch.uni-due.de/en/news/singleview/essen-health-conference-2026-25524/
https://www.goek.wiwi.uni-due.de/en/research/conferences/