ABSTRACT
Despite the family having an obvious, central, day-to-day role in our lives, it has been studied relatively little as a determinant of health trends. Comparative studies are especially thin on the ground. This chapter aims to show how unfortunate this neglect has been, for the family is a key element in understanding health. The European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and Family has provided an important comparative perspective on this issue, and the Observatory’s annual seminar in 2003 took as its theme ‘The Family in the Health System.’
