Our Mission Statement


"Professionals acting locally and globally to improve the health and well-being of children and young people with a focus on social pediatrics and child health."

International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health, ISSOP is a group of health professionals interested in sharing our experiences and knowledge in the field of social pediatrics and child health. 

About ISSOP

ISSOP acts for the benefit of children and young people all children so they have access to health care in society:

  • Health Promotion
  • Disease Prevention
  • Curative Pediatrics
  • Rehabilitation
  • Health problems from social causes
  • Health problems from social consequences

We believe in – working together to use our skills, resources and knowledge to develop local and global strategies to improve the health and well being of children and young people.

Our methods include – improving communication between all those involved in child and adolescent health and well being, bringing you the latest on the relevant research worldwide, developing tools for as well as carrying out advocacy, developing tools for teaching, developing tools for involving children and young people themselves, circulating and publishing position statements and by providing information about effectiveness and efficacy of interventions, meeting together at conferences, setting a lead for action in all these fields.

We work with – national and international social/community pediatric organizations, NGOs working in the same field, child advocacy groups, health professionals involved with child health, governments, economists, sociologists, lawyers and others with the same interests and aspirations.

Executive Committee

Jeffrey Goldhagen, USA, President
Nicholas Spencer, UK, Past President
Barbara Rubio, Spain, General Secretary
Olivier Duperrex, Switzerland, Treasurer

Anna Battersby, UK
Ayesha Kadir , DK
Gonca Yilmaz, Turkey
Rosie Kyeremetang, UK
Shanti Raman, Australia
Tony Waterston, UK

Council

Geir Gunnlaugsonn, Iceland
Gilles Julien, Canada
Gülbin Gökçay, Turkey
Harald Bode, Germany
John Eastwood, Australia
Laszlo Szabo, Hungary
Lennart Kohler, Sweden
Luis Martin-Alvarez, Spain
Manuel Katz, Israel
Milivoj Jovancovic, Croatia
Mitch Blair, UK
Nataliya Ustinova, Russia
Raul Mercer, Argentina
Staffan Jansson, Sweden
Stavroula Papadakou, Greece
Thea van Zeben, The Netherlands
Zsuzsanna Kovacs, Hungary


Become a Member

Membership Information


ISSOP is an interdisciplinary, non-governmental, non-profit making, scientific body open to all child health professionals.

The purpose of the organization is to promote knowledge of social pediatrics, to stimulate research in this field, to disseminate such knowledge at meetings and to work together with national and international agencies.

The benefits of ISSOP membership include the following:

  • Advocacy on behalf of children
  • Contributing to the development of Social Paediatrics
  • Stimulation of research/evidence based health care
  • Networking in Social Paediatrics
  • Training and Continuous Medical Education events


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