Health Equity: 09/08/09

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

[EQ] Health statistics - Atlas on mortality in the European Union

Health statistics – Atlas on mortality in the European Union

Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities - 2009

Available online as PDF [215p.] at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-30-08-357/EN/KS-30-08-357-EN.PDF

“…This Atlas describes the mortality of the regions of the Member States of the European Union, Candidate countries (except Turkey) as well as EEA/EFTA countries.

They describe the European mortality by age and gender, by main causes of death and by 272 European regions. Levels of mortality indicate general levels of ill health, while causes of death provide useful information for an understanding of these differences in mortality levels. Different risk factors such as biological factors, lifestyle, smoking behaviour, alcohol consumption, and cultural or economic circumstances may cause the different mortality profiles. Differences in mortality across countries and regions indicate potentials for public health interventions in order to eliminate and control avoidable mortality in the future….”

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Overall mortality

4. ‘Premature’ and older age mortality

5. Life expectancies

6. Infectious and parasitic diseases

7. Tuberculosis

8. AIDS (HIV disease)

9. All malignant neoplasms

10. Malignant neoplasms of larynx and trachea/bronchus/lung

11. Malignant neoplasms of colon, rectum and anus

12. Malignant neoplasms of breast (women)

13. Malignant neoplasms of cervix uteri and other parts of uterus (women)

14. Malignant neoplasms of prostate (men)

15. Diseases of the circulatory system

16. Ischaemic heart diseases

17. Cerebrovascular diseases

18. Pneumonia and influenza

19. External causes of injury and poisoning
20. Transport accidents

21. Suicide and intentional self-harm

22. Alcohol related causes of death

23. Typologies of mortality based on factor analysis

ANNEXES

Who dies of what in Europe before the age of 65

High life expectancy but large differences in mortality

EUROSTAT - Population and social conditions - Statistics in focus - 2009

Elodie Cayotte, Hartmut Buchow

Available online at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-09-067/EN/KS-SF-09-067-EN.PDF

“…..An atlas on mortality in the European Union has just been published. This Statistics in Focus highlights important causes of avoidable mortality below age 65, namely ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, alcohol-related mortality, suicide, transport accidents, cervical cancer and AIDS.

These causes of death are described at NUTS 2 level in 2002-2004. In the EU, men lost twice as many life years before age 65 as women. In the Baltic regions, men lost more than twice the number of years as compared to the EU-27 average. The lowest mortality in women before age 65 was found in the Mediterrane of Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Greece. …”

Related information:

Data: Eurostat Website: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Data on "Health statistics":

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/health/public_health/database

More information about "Health statistics":

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/health/introduction

* * * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO website: http://66.101.212.219/equity/
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.

[EQ] Increasing the use of evidence in health policy: practice and views of policy makers and researchers

Increasing the use of evidence in health policy:
practice and views of policy makers and researchers

Danielle M Campbell1 , Sally Redman1 , Louisa Jorm1 , Margaret Cooke2 , Anthony B Zwi3 and Lucie Rychetnik4

1 The Sax Institute, Australia

2 Honorary Associate, Centre for Midwifery and Family Health, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia

3 School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia

4 Sydney Health Projects Group, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia

Australia and New Zealand Health Policy 2009, 6:21doi:10.1186/1743-8462-6-21

Available online at: http://www.anzhealthpolicy.com/content/6/1/21

“….Better communication is often suggested as fundamental to increasing the use of research evidence in policy, but little is known about how researchers and policy makers work together or about barriers to exchange.

This study explored the views and practice of policy makers and researchers regarding the use of evidence in policy, including:
(i) current use of research to inform policy;
(ii) dissemination of and access to research findings for policy;
(iii) communication and exchange between researchers and policy makers; and
(iv) incentives for increasing the use of research in policy.

Methods

Separate but similar interview schedules were developed for policy makers and researchers. Senior policy makers from NSW Health and senior researchers from public health and health service research groups in NSW were invited to participate. Consenting participants were interviewed by an independent research company.

Results

Thirty eight policy makers (79% response rate) and 41 researchers (82% response rate) completed interviews. Policy makers reported rarely using research to inform policy agendas or to evaluate the impact of policy; research was used more commonly to inform policy content. Most researchers reported that their research had informed local policy, mainly by increasing awareness of an issue. Policy makers reported difficulty in accessing useful research syntheses, and only a third of researchers reported developing targeted strategies to inform policy makers of their findings. Both policy makers and researchers wanted more exchange and saw this as important for increasing the use of research evidence in policy; however, both groups reported a high level of involvement by policy makers in research.

Conclusion

Policy makers and researchers recognise the potential of research to contribute to policy and are making significant attempts to integrate research into the policy process. These findings suggest four strategies to assist in increasing the use of research in policy: making research findings more accessible to policy makers; increasing opportunities for interaction between policy makers and researchers; addressing structural barriers such as research receptivity in policy agencies and a lack of incentives for academics to link with policy; and increasing the relevance of research to policy….”

* * * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.

[EQ] Analysis of social determinants of health and health inequities - a multi-country event on approaches and policy

Analysis of social determinants of health and health inequities
A multi-country event on approaches and policy

Kosice, Slovakia 12-17 October 2009

Event website: http://www.lf.upjs.sk/omek/

http://www.euro.who.int/socialdeterminants/news/20090714_1

Routine monitoring of health inequities and the social determinants of health are critical to improving population health and in reducing avoidable difference in health opportunities and risks. However, this area remains generally limited or marginal within health intelligence functions and mainstream policy practice.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe through its Office for Investment for Health and Development (WHO Venice Office) is organizing a multi-country event, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of P.J. Safarik University and the Kosice Institute for Society and Health (KISH), focusing on applied research and policy analysis on social determinants of health and health inequities.

Aims

1. Provide a forum for policy-makers, planners and analysts specifically from countries of central and eastern Europe (CCEE) the Baltic states and Balkans republics, to debate, test and apply know-how, tools and practical techniques to monitor and analyze social inequities in health.

2. Strengthen and guide existing capacity and intelligence in using evidence and analytical tools to advance national and sub-national strategies and targets to reduce social inequities in health.

Thematic areas include

§ Contemporary issues in the research and analysis of Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities (SDHI)

§ Explanatory frameworks for social inequities in health

§ Health equity surveillance - data availability and equity stratifiers in routine statistics and reporting

§ Approaches and methods in analysis of social determinants of health and health inequities.

§ Ethnicity in research and policy

§ Translation of research findings into policy and programs. Equity focused policy analyses and option generation

§ Economic analyses and incentives for addressing social determinants of health. Public awareness of Social Inequities

Cristina Comunian WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

European Office for Investment for Health and Development

Campo Santo Stefano San Marco 2847

30124 Venice, Italy

Tel. +39 041 279 3842/65 Fax +39 041 279 3869 E-mail: cco@ihd.euro.who.int URL www.euro.who.int/socialdeterminants

* * * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.