Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/10316/90492
Title: | Advancing tools to promote health equity across European Union regions: the EURO-HEALTHY project | Authors: | Santana, Paula Freitas, Ângela Stefanik, Iwa Costa, Cláudia Oliveira, Mónica Rodrigues, Teresa C. Vieira, Ana Ferreira, Pedro Lopes Borrell, Carme Dimitroulopoulou, Sani Rican, Stéphane Mitsakou, Christina Marí-Dell’Olmo, Marc Schweikart, Jürgen Corman, Diana Costa, Carlos A. Bana e Grupo EURO-HEALTH Investigators |
Keywords: | Health equity; European Union regions; Geographic inequalities; Population Health Index; Participatory approach; Foresight; Scenarios; Policy evaluation; WebGIS | Issue Date: | 13-Feb-2020 | Publisher: | BMC | Project: | European Union (EU) Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT) - Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology |
Serial title, monograph or event: | HEALTH RESEARCH POLICY AND SYSTEMS | Volume: | 18 | Issue: | 1 | Place of publication or event: | CAMPUS, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON N1 9XW, ENGLAND | Abstract: | Background Population health measurements are recognised as appropriate tools to support public health monitoring. Yet, there is still a lack of tools that offer a basis for policy appraisal and for foreseeing impacts on health equity. In the context of persistent regional inequalities, it is critical to ascertain which regions are performing best, which factors might shape future health outcomes and where there is room for improvement. Methods Under the EURO-HEALTHY project, tools combining the technical elements of multi-criteria value models and the social elements of participatory processes were developed to measure health in multiple dimensions and to inform policies. The flagship tool is the Population Health Index (PHI), a multidimensional measure that evaluates health from the lens of equity in health determinants and health outcomes, further divided into sub-indices. Foresight tools for policy analysis were also developed, namely: (1) scenarios of future patterns of population health in Europe in 2030, combining group elicitation with the Extreme-World method and (2) a multi-criteria evaluation framework informing policy appraisal (case study of Lisbon). Finally, a WebGIS was built to map and communicate the results to wider audiences. Results The Population Health Index was applied to all European Union (EU) regions, indicating which regions are lagging behind and where investments are most needed to close the health gap. Three scenarios for 2030 were produced - (1) the 'Failing Europe' scenario (worst case/increasing inequalities), (2) the 'Sustainable Prosperity' scenario (best case/decreasing inequalities) and (3) the 'Being Stuck' scenario (the EU and Member States maintain the status quo). Finally, the policy appraisal exercise conducted in Lisbon illustrates which policies have higher potential to improve health and how their feasibility can change according to different scenarios. Conclusions The article makes a theoretical and practical contribution to the field of population health. Theoretically, it contributes to the conceptualisation of health in a broader sense by advancing a model able to integrate multiple aspects of health, including health outcomes and multisectoral determinants. Empirically, the model and tools are closely tied to what is measurable when using the EU context but offering opportunities to be upscaled to other settings. | URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/10316/90492 | ISSN: | 1478-4505 | DOI: | 10.1186/s12961-020-0526-y | Rights: | openAccess |
Appears in Collections: | I&D IBILI - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
document.pdf | 1.45 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
SCOPUSTM
Citations
10
checked on Nov 17, 2022
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
10
10
checked on May 2, 2023
Page view(s)
426
checked on Oct 16, 2024
Download(s)
191
checked on Oct 16, 2024
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
Altmetric
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License