A message for World Heart Day, by Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety: “I am a big fan of a Mediterranean style diet, rich in fruit and vegetables that is good for heart health. Unfortunately the numbers seem to suggest that not so many of us adopt this kind of regime. Indeed, only […]
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European women’s probability of developing breast cancer over a lifetime is approximately 1 in 8*. A woman’s individual risk of breast cancer may be higher or lower than this average, depending on a number of factors, including age, family history, reproductive history (such as menstrual and childbearing history), race/ethnicity, and others. The ECIBC is developing
European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer Read More »
Cross-country variation in health expenditure may be the result of differences in the prices of goods and services or differences in the volume of care, or a mix of both. Separating health spending into volume and price measures helps policy makers better understand the drivers of cross-country variations, and helps them decide what policy responses
International comparisions of health prices and volumes Read More »
The European Parliament funds a number of pilot projects designed to test the feasibility and usefulness of action, develop evidence-based strategies to address a problem, identify good practices, and provide policy guidance in the area of health inequalities. One such pilot is VulnerABLE: Improving the health of those in isolated and vulnerable situations It targets
Pilot projects on Health Inequalities Read More »
Public health officials regularly collect and analyse data to map disease, spot patterns, identify causes and respond to outbreaks. Surveillance, when conducted ethically, is the foundation for programs to promote human well-being at the population level and can contribute to reducing inequalities. However, it is not without risks for participants and sometimes poses ethical dilemmas.
The ethics of PH surveillance Read More »
The EU has published its Action Plan to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – a growing threat that is responsible for 25,000 deaths and a loss of €1.5 billion in the EU every year. The plan includes guidelines for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospital administrators and others who play a role in antimicrobial use to promote their
EU Action Plan on AMR Read More »
Unhealthy diets and low physical activity contribute to many chronic diseases and disability; they are responsible for some 2 in 5 deaths worldwide and for about 30{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of the global disease burden. Yet surprisingly little is known about the economic costs that these risk factors cause, both for health care and society more widely. This
The economic costs of unhealthy diets and low physical activity Read More »
More than 85{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of bathing water sites monitored across Europe in 2016 met the most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards — meaning they were mostly free from pollutants harmful to human health and the environment, according to the latest annual bathing water quality report. Over 96{ddf8d179d1bf712bb2a88ff2ad95ebdf63eaa5463c845d2f093b25848387ba96} of bathing water sites met the minimum quality requirements set
Where to swim in Europe Read More »
The EU has produced new rules on medical devices to enhance patient safety and modernise public health. There are over 500,000 types of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic medical devices on the EU market. Examples of medical devices are contact lenses, x-ray machines, pacemakers, breast implants and hip replacements and sticking plasters. In vitro diagnostic
EU rules on medical devices Read More »
The European Commission has produced two new guides about blood management: Building national programmes of patient blood management (PBM) in the EU – a guide for health authorities Supporting patient blood management (PBM) in the EU – a practical implementation guide for hospitals To download these guides on patient blood management from the ec.europa.eu website
