scholarly journals 10.C. Round table: European public health week: how to unite a continent to celebrate healthy populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
European Public ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Association

Abstract The first two editions of the European Public Health Week (EUPHW) took place in May 2019 and May 2020. Both exceeded all expectations, registering more than 140 events in more than 30 countries each year - despite the pandemic context and a fully online format in 2020. In this session we will share insights from both editions, with the round table format allowing for a wider discussion of experiences with other countries from around the world. Under the motto “celebrating healthy populations” in 2019 and “joining forces for healthier populations” in 2020, EUPHW aims to raise awareness about public health, maximise existing messages around the five themes that are set each year, and encourage collaboration among all professionals contributing to public health at local, national, regional and European level. Amid the COVID-19 public health emergency, the importance of ensuring that populations remain healthy and that the public health community joins forces gained momentum. The five days of the 2020 edition were dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals, primary care in the digital age, staying together for mental health, equal health for all, and healthy ageing - under the exceptional overarching theme of 'COVID-19 Collaboration, Coordination, Communication'. Last year's edition covered physical activity, healthy environments, the healthcare workforce, healthy and sustainable diets, and youth mental health. The EUPHW Coordinator will explain what the initiative consists of and reveal key figures from both editions. The different types of involvement in the EUPHW will also be described: Event host, Disseminator and Participant. Three panelists will represent the EUPHW Steering Committee, providing important insights into the backstage preparation of this large-scale initiative. One is the communications coordinator of the EUPHAnxt network, representing contributions from the young generation of public health professionals in Europe. A second panelist will not only share the experience of hosting EUPHW events but also represent EUPHA Sections, which play an important role in fact-checking resources and messages about each of the annual themes. The fourth panelist will share their experiences at country level through the Austrian Public Health Association and its own National Public Health Week. The final panelist will share examples of activities hosted by the community of public health schools across Europe. Although the focus of the EUPHW is the European region, its online reach enables the participation from anywhere in the world. In fact, both editions saw registered activities in Brazil, USA, South Africa, Kenya, Australia and Colombia. The EUPHW is an initiative by the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), receives co-funding under an operating grant from the European Union's Health Programme (2014-2020) and is supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Key messages The European Public Health Week brings together a continent to raise awareness about important public health issues. The workshop unveils how public health themes are explored on different contexts, across different cultures and in different formats. Panelists: Debora Miranda EUPHA, Portugal Contact: [email protected] Thomas Dorner Austrian Public Health Association, Austria Contact: [email protected] Nicole Rosenkötter NRW Centre for Health - Health Information, Germany Contact: [email protected] Pasquale Cacciatore EUPHAnxt, Italy Contact: [email protected] Robert Otok AASPHER, Belgium Contact: [email protected]

scholarly journals A public health perspective on mental health: lessons for population health in the 21st century

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
James V. Lucey
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Royal College ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
Shared Commitment

In December 2019, clinicians and academics from the disciplines of public health and psychiatry met in Dublin at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), to restate their shared commitment to population health. The purpose of this review is to bring our discussion to a wider audience. The meeting could not have been more timely. Six weeks later, the COVID-19 emergency emerged in China and within 12 months it had swept the world. This paper, the contents of which were presented at that meeting in December recommended that future healthcare would be guided more by public health perspectives and informed by an understanding of health economics, population health and the lessons learned by psychiatry in the 20th century. Ultimately two issues are at stake in 21st century healthcare: the sustainability of our healthcare systems and the maintenance of public support for population health. We must plan for the next generation of healthcare. We need to do this now since it is clear that COVID-19 marks the beginning of 21st century medicine.

European Public Health Association

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-301
Author(s):  
Louise J. Gunning-Schepers
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Public ◽  
Health Association

scholarly journals Round table: Re-thinking health inequalities

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Government

Abstract Health inequalities - systematically higher rates of morbidity and mortality among people with a lower socioeconomic position - have been on the public health agenda for decades now. However, despite massive research efforts (and somewhat less massive policy efforts) health inequalities have not narrowed - on the contrary, relative inequalities have widened considerably. It is therefore time for a re-think: after decades of research we need to step back and ask ourselves: what went wrong? Johan Mackenbach argues, in a book published by Oxford University Press (2019), that the main problem is that public health researchers and policy-makers have misunderstood the nature of health inequalities. They have too often ignored insights from other disciplines, such as economics (which has a stricter attitude to issues of causality) and sociology (which has a subtler understanding the nature of social inequality). They have also failed to integrate contradictory research findings into mainstream thinking. This workshop will focus on three such contradictions, and will discuss whether it is possible to re-think health inequalities in a way that will allow more effective policy approaches. (1) It has been surprisingly difficult to find convincing scientific evidence for a causal effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on health. Should public health reconsider its idea that health inequalities are caused by social inequalities, and widen their scope to give more room to social selection, genetic factors and other non-causal pathways in their analysis? (2) There is not a single country in Europe where over the past decades health inequalities, as measured on a relative scale, have narrowed. This is due to the fact that all groups have improved their health, but higher socioeconomic groups have improved more. This is even true in the only European country (i.e., England) in which the government has pursued a large-scale policy program to reduce health inequalities. Should public health accept that reducing relative inequalities in health is impossible, and focus on reducing absolute health inequalities instead? (3) The Nordic countries, which have been more successful than other European countries in reducing inequalities in material living conditions, do not have smaller health inequalities. It is as if inequalities in other factors, such as psychosocial and behavioural factors, in these countries have filled the gap left by reduced inequalities in material living conditions. Should public health reconsider its idea that material living conditions are the foundation for health, and re-focus on psychological, cultural and other less tangible factors instead? In this round table Johan Mackenbach will present and illustrate these contradictions and propose his answers to these contentious issues. Then, the four panelists will present their view-points, followed by a general discussion between panelists and the audience. Key messages After four decades of research into health inequalities, it is necessary to step back and ask ourselves why it has so far been impossible to reduce health inequalities. More effective policies to tackle health inequalities will only be possible when public health has come to grips with contradictory research findings. Johan Mackenbach Contact: [email protected] Johannes Siegrist Contact: [email protected] Alastair Leyland Contact: [email protected] Olle Lundberg Contact: [email protected] Ramune Kalediene Contact: [email protected]

scholarly journals Workshop: EUPHA and Europe-wide action on digital public health

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
World Health ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
European Public ◽  
The World

Abstract The World Health Assembly Resolution on Digital Health unanimously approved by WHO Member States in May 2018 demonstrated a collective recognition of the value of digital technologies to contribute to advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and other health aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Health Organization has just released first ever guideline on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Et the European level, in June 2018 the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the WHO/Europe initiative for Digitalization of Health Systems and in February 2019 organized the first Symposium on the Future of Digital Health Systems in the European Region. The European Commission in April 2018 published a Communication on Digital transformation of health and care in the digital single market and requested the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in health (EXPH) to release an evidence-based opinion on how to assess the impact of digital transformation of health services. In such context, the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) has at an early stage acknowledged and understood the crucial importance of applying the potential offered by digitalization to public health. Not only its most prominent members work and research as WHO and EC experts on how to plan, implement and evaluate effective digital public health interventions, but EUPHA itself - as umbrella organization representing public health associations and institutes across Europe had: i) actively participated to the WHO Euro Symposium successfully co-organizing a session on the ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health, ii) supported the publication of a EJPH supplement on digital health and iii) has planned to create a EUPHA Section on Digital Health. With the overall goal of positioning the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health in the enriching and constructive context of the European Public Health Conference the workshop specifically aims to: present a comprehensive conceptual framework for the application of digital technologies to public health in Europe;present and report on EUPHA collaborative action on digital health, aligned with European institutions;present the structure and content of the EJPH supplement on digital health;present the general aim, specific objectives, scope, mission and preliminary outputs of the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health, as well as its synergy with other EUPHA’s Section workPresent the results of two/three specific projects on digital public health to serve as concrete examples of the application of digital solutions to public healthEngage with the audience to promote the active participation of the broader EUPHA community to the activities of the Section, collect interests and best practices, and share ideas and projects worth scaling up at the Section-level. Key messages The ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health has to be concretely planned, implemented and evaluated. EUPHA action on digital public health can be further strengthened through the collaborative action and work of its dedicated Section.

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