Determinants of health and disability in ageing population: the COURAGE in Europe Project (collaborative research on ageing in Europe).

Science.gov (United States)

Leonardi, Matilde; Chatterji, Somnath; Koskinen, Seppo; Ayuso-Mateos, Jose Luis; Haro, Josep Maria; Frisoni, Giovanni; Frattura, Lucilla; Martinuzzi, Andrea; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Gmurek, Michal; Serrano, Ramon; Finocchiaro, Carla

2014-01-01

COURAGE in Europe was a 3-year project involving 12 partners from four European countries and the World Health Organization. It was inspired by the pressing need to integrate international studies on disability and ageing in light of an innovative perspective based on a validated data-collection protocol. COURAGE in Europe Project collected data on the determinants of health and disability in an ageing population, with specific tools for the evaluation of the role of the built environment and social networks on health, disability, quality of life and well-being. The main survey was conducted by partners in Finland, Poland and Spain where the survey has been administered to a sample of 10,800 persons, which was completed in March 2012. The newly developed and validated COURAGE Protocol for Ageing Studies has proven to be a valid tool for collecting comparable data in ageing population, and the COURAGE in Europe Project has created valid and reliable scientific evidence, demonstrating cross-country comparability, for disability and ageing research and policy development. It is therefore recommended that future studies exploring determinants of health and disability in ageing use the COURAGE-derived methodology. COURAGE in Europe Project collected data on the determinants of health and disability in an ageing population, with specific tools for the evaluation of the role of built environment and social networks on health, disability quality of life and well-being. The COURAGE Protocol for Ageing Studies has proven to be a valid tool for collecting comparable data in the ageing population. The COURAGE in Europe Consortium recommends that future studies exploring determinants of health and disability in ageing use COURAGE-derived methodology. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Public mental health research in Europe : A systematic mapping for the ROAMER project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Forsman, A.K.; Ventus, D.B.J.; van der Feltz, C.M.; Wahlbeck, K.

2014-01-01

Background: As part of the ROAMER (ROAdmap for MEntal health Research in Europe) project, aiming to create an integrated European roadmap for mental health research, we set out to map the hitherto unmapped territory of public mental health research in Europe. Methods: Five electronic databases

ICRP putting wealth before health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, P.

1990-01-01

Reductions in recommended dose limits for radiation workers set by the International Commission for Radiological Protection do not go far enough. The ICRP has put industry profitability before worker safety, and their recommendations should not be the basis for UK or European law. (author)

A microeconometric analysis of health care utilization in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Majo, M.C.

2010-01-01

By analyzing the relationship between socio-economic status, health, and health care use for a variety of developed countries (with a main focus on Europe), this thesis attempts to address several questions: • What are the socio-economic factors driving the use of health care services: income,

Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU).

Science.gov (United States)

Sørensen, Kristine; Pelikan, Jürgen M; Röthlin, Florian; Ganahl, Kristin; Slonska, Zofia; Doyle, Gerardine; Fullam, James; Kondilis, Barbara; Agrafiotis, Demosthenes; Uiters, Ellen; Falcon, Maria; Mensing, Monika; Tchamov, Kancho; van den Broucke, Stephan; Brand, Helmut

2015-12-01

Health literacy concerns the capacities of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. In spite of the growing attention for the concept among European health policymakers, researchers and practitioners, information about the status of health literacy in Europe remains scarce. This article presents selected findings from the first European comparative survey on health literacy in populations. The European health literacy survey (HLS-EU) was conducted in eight countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain (n = 1000 per country, n = 8000 total sample). Data collection was based on Eurobarometer standards and the implementation of the HLS-EU-Q (questionnaire) in computer-assisted or paper-assisted personal interviews. The HLS-EU-Q constructed four levels of health literacy: insufficient, problematic, sufficient and excellent. At least 1 in 10 (12%) respondents showed insufficient health literacy and almost 1 in 2 (47%) had limited (insufficient or problematic) health literacy. However, the distribution of levels differed substantially across countries (29-62%). Subgroups within the population, defined by financial deprivation, low social status, low education or old age, had higher proportions of people with limited health literacy, suggesting the presence of a social gradient which was also confirmed by raw bivariate correlations and a multivariate linear regression model. Limited health literacy represents an important challenge for health policies and practices across Europe, but to a different degree for different countries. The social gradient in health literacy must be taken into account when developing public health strategies to improve health equity in Europe. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

Declaration on action for environment and health in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-06-01

The Ministers of the Environment and the Ministers of Health of the European Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Members of the European Commission have met in Helsinki, Finland, and issued this declaration on Action for Environment and Health in Europe. The declaration primarily deals with environmental pollution protection, public health

Religiousness and health in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrenfeldt, Linda Juel; Möller, Sören; Andersen-Ranberg, Karen

2017-01-01

% CI 0.75, 0.98) and depressive symptoms 0.80 (95% CI 0.69, 0.93), whereas being religiously educated lowered odds of poor self-rated health (SRH) 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.93) and long-term health problems 0.84 (95% CI 0.74, 0.95). The more religious had lower odds of limitations with activities of daily......Recent research suggests that epidemiological forces in religion and health can have opposed effects. Using longitudinal data of people aged 50+ included in wave 1 (2004-2005) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and followed up through waves 2 (2006-2007), 4 (2011......) and 5 (2013), we examined two forms of religious internalization and their association with health. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine all associations. Taking part in a religious organization was associated with lower odds of GALI (global activity limitation index) (OR = 0.86, 95...

Nuclear power in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perera, J.

2000-01-01

Currently nuclear power accounts for more than 25% of total electricity production in Europe (including Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union) However, significant new construction is planned in Central and Eastern Europe only, apart from some in France and, possibly in Finland. Many countries in Western Europe have put nuclear construction plans on hold and several have cancelled their nuclear programs. This report looks at the history of nuclear power and its current status in both Eastern and Western Europe. It provides an outline of nuclear fuel cycle facilities, from uranium procurement to final waste disposal. Economic and environmental issues are discussed, as well as the prospect of increased East-West trade and cooperation in the new poso-cold war world. Detailed profiles are provided of all the countries in Western Europe with significant nuclear power programs, as well as profiles of major energy and nuclear companies

Education for public health in Europe and its global outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Bjegovic-Mikanovic, Vesna; Jovic-Vranes, Aleksandra; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Otok, Robert

2014-01-01

Introduction At the present time, higher education institutions dealing with education for public health in Europe and beyond are faced with a complex and comprehensive task of responding to global health challenges. Review Literature reviews in public health and global health and exploration of internet presentations of regional and global organisations dealing with education for public health were the main methods employed in the work presented in this paper. Higher academic institutions are searching for appropriate strategies in competences-based education, which will increase the global attractiveness of their academic programmes and courses for continuous professional development. Academic professionals are taking advantage of blended learning and new web technologies. In Europe and beyond they are opening up debates about the scope of public health and global health. Nevertheless, global health is bringing revitalisation of public health education, which is recognised as one of the core components by many other academic institutions involved in global health work. More than ever, higher academic institutions for public health are recognising the importance of institutional partnerships with various organisations and efficient modes of cooperation in regional and global networks. Networking in a global setting is bringing new opportunities, but also opening debates about global harmonisation of competence-based education to achieve functional knowledge, increase mobility of public health professionals, better employability and affordable performance. Conclusions As public health opportunities and threats are increasingly global, higher education institutions in Europe and in other regions have to look beyond national boundaries and participate in networks for education, research and practice. PMID:24560263

Utilization of health care services by migrants in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Graetz, V.; Rechel, B.; Groot, W.

2017-01-01

: Compared with previous systematic reviews, the results indicate a clearer picture of the differences in health service utilization between migrants and non-migrants in Europe. Areas timely for developing research: A comprehensive comparison across European countries is impossible because the number......Introduction: Our study reviewed the empirical evidence on the utilization of health care services by migrants in Europe, and on differences in health service utilization between migrants and non-migrants across European countries. Sources of data: A systematic literature review was performed......, searching the databases Medline, Cinahl and Embase and covering the period from January 2009 to April 2016. The final number of articles included was 39. Areas of agreement: Utilization of accident and emergency services and hospitalizations were higher among migrants compared with non-migrants in most...

Health problems of newly arrived migrants and refugees in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavli, Androula; Maltezou, Helena

2017-07-01

The number of migrants and refugees in Europe in the past few years has increased dramatically due to war, violence or prosecutions in their homeland. Migration may affect physical, mental and social health. The objective of this article is to assess migrants and refugees' health problems, and to recommend appropriate interventions. A PubMed search of published articles on health problems of newly arrived migrants and refugees was conducted from 2003 through 2016, focusing on the current refugee crisis in Europe. In addition to communicable diseases, such as respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatologic infections, non-communicable diseases, including chronic conditions, mental and social problems, account for a significant morbidity burden in newly arrived migrants and refugees. Vaccine-preventable diseases are also of outmost importance. The appropriate management of newly arrived refugees and migrants' health problems is affected by barriers to access to health care including legal, communication, cultural and bureaucratic difficulties. There is diversity and lack of integration regarding health care provision across Europe due to policy differences between health care systems and social services. There is a notable burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases among newly arrived migrants and refugees. Provision of health care at reception and temporary centres should be integrated and provided by a multidisciplinary team Appropriate health care of migrants and refugees could greatly enhance their health and social status which will benefit also the host countries at large. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Mapping research on health systems in Europe: a bibliometric assessment.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velasco Garrido, M.; Hansen, J.; Busse, R.

2011-01-01

Objective: Europe's health care decision-makers are facing an increasingly complex and rapidly changing landscape. It is crucial that health care problems are addressed with evidence-informed policy and that evidence finding is aimed at those topics most urgent on policy agendas. Research on health

Unmet Need for Specialty Mental Health Services Among Children Across Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovess-Masfety, Viviane; Van Engelen, Julia; Stone, Lisanne; Otten, Roy; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Bitfoi, Adina; Koc, Ceren; Goelitz, Dietmar; Lesinskiene, Sigita; Mihova, Zlatka; Fermanian, Christophe; Pez, Ondine; Husky, Mathilde

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of use of mental health services for children across Europe, with a specific focus on differences in the availability of mental health resources. Data were drawn from the School Children Mental Health in Europe Project. Parent- and teacher-reported child mental health status was based on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Sociodemographic characteristics of parents and children, as well as academic performance and use of mental health services in the previous 12 months, were collected. Countries were categorized as having high versus low mental health resources. The sample comprised 4,894 schoolchildren in seven countries. Across Europe, only 25.6% of children with a mental disorder had received mental health services in the previous 12 months, including 31.5% in high-resources countries and 18.9% in low-resources countries (p=.001) (N=4,867). The presence of any mental disorder, maternal psychological distress, gender, living in a single-parent home, and low academic performance were determinants of service use. The effect of resources group on the likelihood of receiving services remained significant when the analyses controlled for all predictors (odds ratio=1.41, pchildren with mental disorders, especially in low-resources countries.

Developing Consensus on the CompHP Professional Standards for Health Promotion in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Speller, Viv; Parish, Richard; Davison, Heather; Zilnyk, Anna

2012-01-01

Building on the CompHP Core Competencies for health promotion the Professional Standards for Health Promotion have been developed and consulted on across Europe. The standards were formulated to fit within the complexity of professional, occupational and educational standards frameworks in Europe as learning outcome standards with performance…

Exploring Health Impact Assessment in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Wismar

2007-09-01

Full Text Available

Background: Health impact assessment (HIA prospectively judges the potential health impacts of pending decisions and feeds the assessment back into the decision making process. HIA is considered as a key tool for intersectoral collaboration. This article presents selected results of a mapping exercise on HIA in Europe. The mapping exercise is complemented by the presentation of a conceptual framework on the effectiveness of HIA and illustrative examples.

Method: Two methodologies are employed in this article: First, the use of HIA across Europe is based on a survey conducted by 21 teams in 19 countries. A semi standardized questionnaire was employed, using a wide variety of sources. Second, for the discussion on the effectiveness of HIA, a conceptual framework using four types of effectiveness was employed. Results: HIA is a common practice only in a handful of European countries. In most of Europe, HIA is at an early developmental stage. The mapping exercise, however, provides evidence that HIA can work across all sectors and at all political level, although there is currently a focus on the local level. HIA is conducted in different countries by different sets of actors and organizations, reflecting the existing setup. The evidence on the effectiveness of HIA is still inconclusive. However, single case studies and upcoming evidence suggests that HIA has the capacity to inform and influence the decision making process.

Conclusions: HIA can work and deliver. The variations in context across European countries have resulted in different forms of implementation and different dynamics of developing HIA.

Self-perceived health among Eastern European immigrants over 50 living in Western Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Lanari, D; Bussini, O; Minelli, L

2015-01-01

This paper examines whether Eastern European immigrants aged 50 and over living in Northern and Western Europe face a health disadvantage in terms of self-perceived health, with respect to the native-born. We also examined health changes over time (2004-2006-2010) through the probabilities of transition among self-perceived health states, and how they vary according to nativity status and age group. Data were obtained from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Logistic regressions and probabilities of transition were used. Results emphasise the health disadvantage of Eastern European immigrants living in Germany, France and  Sweden with respect to the native-born, even after controlling for socio-economic status. Probabilities of transition also evidenced that people born in Eastern Europe were more likely to experience worsening health and less likely to recover from sickness. This paper suggests that health inequalities do not affect immigrant groups in equal measure and confirm the poorer and more steeply deteriorating health status of Eastern European immigrants.

Restricted health care entitlements for child migrants in Europe and Australia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Liv Stubbe; Norredam, Marie; Mock-Munoz de Luna, Claire

2017-01-01

Background: More than 300 000 asylum seeking children were registered in Europe alone during 2015. In this study, we examined entitlements for health care for these and other migrant children in Europe and Australia in a framework based on United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC......). Methods: Survey to child health professionals, NGO's and European Ombudspersons for Children in 30 EU/EEA countries and Australia, supplemented by desktop research of official documents. Migrant children were categorised as asylum seekers and irregular/undocumented migrants. Results: Five countries....... Twelve European countries have limited entitlements to health care for asylum seeking children, including Germany that stands out as the country with the most restrictive health care policy for migrant children. In Australia entitlements for health care are restricted for asylum seeking children...

Oceans and Human Health: A Rising Tide of Challenges and Opportunities for Europe

OpenAIRE

Fleming, L. E.; Mcdonough, N.; Austen, M.; Mee, L.; Moore, Michelle; Hess, Philipp; Depledge, M. H.; White, M.; Philippart, Katja; Bradbrook, P.; Smalley, A.

2014-01-01

The European Marine Board recently published a position paper on linking oceans and human health as a strategic research priority for Europe. With this position paper as a reference, the March 2014 Cornwall Oceans and Human Health Workshop brought together key scientists, policy makers, funders, business, and non governmental organisations from Europe and the US to review the recent interdisciplinary and cutting edge research in oceans and human health specifically the growing evidence of the...

Migrant integration policies and health inequalities in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Giannoni, Margherita; Franzini, Luisa; Masiero, Giuliano

2016-06-01

Research on socio-economic determinants of migrant health inequalities has produced a large body of evidence. There is lack of evidence on the influence of structural factors on lives of fragile groups, frequently exposed to health inequalities. The role of poor socio-economic status and country level structural factors, such as migrant integration policies, in explaining migrant health inequalities is unclear. The objective of this paper is to examine the role of migrant socio-economic status and the impact of migrant integration policies on health inequalities during the recent economic crisis in Europe. Using the 2012 wave of Eurostat EU-SILC data for a set of 23 European countries, we estimate multilevel mixed-effects ordered logit models for self-assessed poor health (SAH) and self-reported limiting long-standing illnesses (LLS), and multilevel mixed-effects logit models for self-reported chronic illness (SC). We estimate two-level models with individuals nested within countries, allowing for both individual socio-economic determinants of health and country-level characteristics (healthy life years expectancy, proportion of health care expenditure over the GDP, and problems in migrant integration policies, derived from the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX). Being a non-European citizen or born outside Europe does not increase the odds of reporting poor health conditions, in accordance with the "healthy migrant effect". However, the country context in terms of problems in migrant integration policies influences negatively all of the three measures of health (self-reported health status, limiting long-standing illnesses, and self-reported chronic illness) in foreign people living in European countries, and partially offsets the "healthy migrant effect". Policies for migrant integration can reduce migrant health disparities.

The CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, Margaret M.; Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Dempsey, Colette

2012-01-01

Background: The CompHP Project on Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion in Europe was developed in response to the need for new and changing health promotion competencies to address health challenges. This article presents the process of developing the CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion across…

Health care for irregular migrants: pragmatism across Europe: a qualitative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dauvrin, M.; Lorant, V.; Sandhu, S.; Devillé, W.; Dia, H.; Dias, S.; Gaddini, A.; Ioannidis, E.; Jensen, N.K.; Kluge, U.; Mertaniemi, R.; Puigpinós i Riera, R.; Sárváry, A.; Straßmayr, C.; Stankunas, M.; Soares, J.J.F.; Welbel, M.; Priebe, S.

2012-01-01

Background Health services in Europe face the challenge of delivering care to a heterogeneous group of irregular migrants (IM). There is little empirical evidence on how health professionals cope with this challenge. This study explores the experiences of health professionals providing care to IM in

The role of risk assessment in the work of the World Health Organization in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heijden, Kees A. van der; Stern, Richard M.

1992-01-01

The World Health Organization, through its Headquarters in Geneva (WHO/HQ), and its Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO) in Copenhagen, has the responsibility for providing national governments with advice on formulation and implementation of public health policy globally and in Europe, respectively. Globally, the major areas for health related risk assessment/management is the provision of adequate and safe drinking water and food and control of vector borne and parasitic disease. In the industrialized countries of Europe, a wide number of issues are dealt with which require the development and application of risk assessment and risk management tools and strategies. Primary areas of application are in monitoring trends and status of public health, harmonization of issues of chemical safety, development of criteria documents for environmental pollutants, and providing decision support and technical cooperation, especially in the area of development policies and environment management and their potential health impact. An emerging concern is the need for the introduction of these methodologies in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and harmonization of approaches used by international and intergovernmental organizations and the Member States. One of the first steps towards the management of the environment as a resource for health in Europe, the mandate given WHO/EURO by the European Charter for Environment and Health (Frankfurt, 1989), has been the creation of the European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) with support from the Netherlands and Italian Governments. The initial task of EDEH is a description of the current state of the environment and the current state of public health in the European Region, using harmonized methodologies for information gathering. The production of this report, 'Concern for Europe's tomorrow', provides the basic elements of a unified region wide approach to priority setting for the risk assessment and risk

The role of risk assessment in the work of the World Health Organization in Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heijden, Kees A. van der; Stern, Richard M [World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, European Centre for Environment and Health, Bilthoven Division, Copenhagen (Denmark)

1992-07-01

The World Health Organization, through its Headquarters in Geneva (WHO/HQ), and its Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO) in Copenhagen, has the responsibility for providing national governments with advice on formulation and implementation of public health policy globally and in Europe, respectively. Globally, the major areas for health related risk assessment/management is the provision of adequate and safe drinking water and food and control of vector borne and parasitic disease. In the industrialized countries of Europe, a wide number of issues are dealt with which require the development and application of risk assessment and risk management tools and strategies. Primary areas of application are in monitoring trends and status of public health, harmonization of issues of chemical safety, development of criteria documents for environmental pollutants, and providing decision support and technical cooperation, especially in the area of development policies and environment management and their potential health impact. An emerging concern is the need for the introduction of these methodologies in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and harmonization of approaches used by international and intergovernmental organizations and the Member States. One of the first steps towards the management of the environment as a resource for health in Europe, the mandate given WHO/EURO by the European Charter for Environment and Health (Frankfurt, 1989), has been the creation of the European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) with support from the Netherlands and Italian Governments. The initial task of EDEH is a description of the current state of the environment and the current state of public health in the European Region, using harmonized methodologies for information gathering. The production of this report, 'Concern for Europe's tomorrow', provides the basic elements of a unified region wide approach to priority setting for the risk assessment and risk

Health technology assessment: research trends and future priorities in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Camilla Palmhøj; Funch, Tina Maria; Kristensen, Finn Børlum

2011-07-01

To provide an overview of health services research related to health technology assessment (HTA) and to identify research priorities from a European perspective. Several methods were used: systematic review of articles indexed with the MeSH term 'technology assessment' in PubMed from February 1999-2009; online survey among experts; and conference workshop discussions. Research activity in HTA varies considerably across Europe. The research was categorised into six areas: (1) the breadth of analysis in HTA (such as economic, organizational and social aspects); (2) HTA products developed to meet the needs of policy-makers (such as horizon scanning, mini-HTA, and core HTA); (3) handling life-cycle perspectives in relation to technologies; (4) topics that challenge existing methods and for which HTA should be developed to address the themes more comprehensively (such as public health interventions and organizational interventions); (5) development of HTA capacity and programmes; and (6) links between policy and HTA. An online survey showed that the three areas that were given priority were the relationship between HTA and policy-making (71%), the impact of HTA (62%) and incorporating patient aspects in HTA (50%). Policy-makers highlighted HTA and innovation processes as their main research priority (42%). Areas that the systematic review identified as future priorities include issues within the six existing research areas such as disinvestment, developing evidence for new technologies, assessing the wider effects of technology use, and determining how HTA affects decision-making. In addition, relative effectiveness and individualized treatments are areas of growing interest. The research priorities identified are important for obtaining high quality and cost-effective health care in Europe. Managing the introduction, use and phasing out of technologies challenges health services throughout Europe, and these processes need to be improved to successfully manage future

Putting culture in the curriculum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sairanen, Raija; Richardson, Eileen; Kelly, Hélène

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for and the method of designing a framework for a European curriculum to promote intercultural competence in health care students. The background relating to the migration of people into and across Europe is cited as the factor driving the need...... for such a project. The project group emerged from the European organisation known as COHEHRE (Consortium of Higher Education Institutes in Health and Rehabilitation in Europe). Composed of a group of nurse educators from 5 European countries it charts the process which led them to create a curriculum framework...

'FIFA 11 for Health' for Europe. 1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuller, Colin W; Ørntoft, Christina Øyangen; Larsen, Malte Nejst

2017-01-01

AIM: To modify the 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme to the European situation, and to assess its effects on health knowledge and well-being in Danish school children. METHOD: A two-cohort study with seven intervention and two control schools. Of the 546 Danish children (boys 269; girls 277) of mean...... age 11.1 (±0.4) years from five city and four country-side schools, 402 undertook the 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme and 144 acted as controls. As part of each school's PE curriculum, seven intervention schools received a 45 min Play Football period (football skills and 3 vs 3 games) and a 45 min Play...... negatively. CONCLUSIONS: The 'FIFA 11 for Health' programme modified for Europe demonstrated positive effects on children's health knowledge and social dimension of well-being, thereby providing evidence that the football-based health education programme can be used effectively within a European school...

PHIRE (Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe): methods, structures and evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnhoorn, Floris; McCarthy, Mark; Devillé, Walter; Alexanderson, Kristina; Voss, Margaretha; Conceição, Claudia

2013-11-01

Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe (PHIRE), building on previous European collaborative projects, was developed to assess national uptake and impacts of European public health innovations, to describe national public health research programmes, strategies and structures and to develop participation of researchers through the organizational structures of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). This article describes the methods used. PHIRE was led by EUPHA with seven partner organisations over 30 months. It was conceived to engage the organisation of EUPHA--working through its thematic Sections, and through its national public health associations--and assess innovation and research across 30 European countries. Public health research was defined broadly as health research at population and organisational level. There were seven Work Packages (three covering coordination and four for technical aspects) led by partners and coordinated through management meetings. Seven EUPHA Sections identified eight innovations within the projects funded by the Public Health Programme of the European Commission Directorate for Health and Consumers. Country informants, identified through EUPHA thematic Sections, reported on national uptake of the innovations in eight public health projects supported by the European Union Public Health Programme. Four PHIRE partners, each taking a regional sector of Europe, worked with the public health associations and other informants to describe public health research programmes, calls and systems. A classification was created for the national public health research programmes and calls in 2010. The internal and external evaluations were supportive. PHIRE described public health innovations and research across Europe through national experts. More work is needed to conceptualize and define public health 'innovations' and to develop theories and methods for the assessment of their uptake and impacts at country and cross

Health Care Performance and Health Financing Systems in Countries from Central and Eastern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorin Gabriel ANTON

2012-02-01

Full Text Available A common feature of all health systems from emerging economies is the shortage of financial resources. This fact is currently exacerbated by the economic crisis that has led many governments to reconsider the level of public spending in the health sector. Starting from the Romanian experience, the paper aims to highlight the linkage between the performance of the health system and the total health spending for selected countries from Central and Eastern Europe. Romania has the lowest level of health expenditure as percentage of GDP in Europe, even if its growth rate for 2003-2008 was the highest. In addition, empirical evidence shows that these resources are used inefficiently. Despite the increasing resources allocated to the health sector, statistical analysis shows that health system efficiency, as measured by under-5 (child mortality rate, is still low. We use regression analysis based on crosssection data in order to explain the differences in health expenditure and their implication on the system efficiency. Health data have been provided by international organizations. Crosssection regression results suggest that totalhealth spending and GDP per capita are the most important factors explaining differences in health status across Central and Eastern European countries, though other lifestyle factors could play important roles.

Haemoglobinopathies in Europe: health & migration policy perspectives

OpenAIRE

Aguilar Martinez, Patricia; Angastiniotis, Michael; Eleftheriou, Androulla; Gulbis, Beatrice; Mañú Pereira, Maria Del Mar; Petrova-Benedict, Roumyana; Corrons, Joan-Lluis Vives

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Major haemoglobinopathies (MH), such as thalassaemia syndromes (Thal) and sickle cell disorders (SCD), are genetic defects associated with chronic anaemia and other complications. In Europe, MH are rare diseases (RD) but their prevalence is significantly growing in many countries due to mobility and migration flows. This creates a growing health problem in the EU that has not yet been effectively addressed by Member States (MS) authorities. The present study has been conducted wit...

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 2--Northern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Dollfuss, Helmut; Bauer, Bruno; Declève, Ghislaine; Verhaaren, Henri; Utard-Wlerick, Guillemette; Bakker, Suzanne; Leclerq, Edith; Murphy, Jeannette

2012-06-01

This is the third in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors were asked to reflect on developments in their country--viz. Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Future issues will track trends in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and Latin America. JM. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.

[Health and social inequality in Europe: changes of the basic conditions for municipal health services].

Science.gov (United States)

Huster, E U

1998-11-01

Good health is not distributed equally, neither in life conditions--including the individual ability to act--nor according to the supply grid. These interrelations, shown in several empirical investigations, assume more importance in view of the groving tendency to social polarisation in the countries of Europe, different in fact in the single countries, but clear in respect of tendency: social exclusion does not only mean to have less financial resources but also social disadvantages in other realms of living, especially in health. Migration, not only from East to West, but also inside and between the countries of the European Union and inside of Eastern Europe too, is only an especially dear expression that social problems have their origin in international problems and casualities, but become visible in local and regional structures and thus in the responsibility of the municipalities. Globalisation, Europe etc., terms mostly connected with positive connotations, have not only a positive side, but also another one, namely, the re-regionalisation of social problems especially in the municipalities. Normally the municipalities have to counterbalance and to regulate the negative consequences of these European--and moreover international--changes of the structures, although their financial means are declining. The municipal health service is integrated in this contradictory constellation. To prevent irrational social and/or political developments, the reasons and possible strategies of reform policy will have to be discussed carefully.

Health status in Europe: comparison of 24 urban areas to the corresponding 10 countries (EURO-URHIS 2).

Science.gov (United States)

Koster, E M; de Gelder, R; Di Nardo, F; Williams, G; Harrison, A; van Buren, L P; Lyshol, H; Patterson, L; Birt, C A; Higgerson, J; Achterberg, P W; Verma, A; van Ameijden, E J C

2017-05-01

: In Europe, over 70% of the population live in urban areas (UAs). Most international comparative health research is done using national level data, as reliable and comparable urban data are often unavailable or difficult to access. This study aims to investigate whether population health is different in UAs compared with their corresponding countries. : Routinely available health-related data were collected by the EURO-URHIS 2 project, for 10 European countries and for 24 UAs within those countries. National and UA level data for 11 health indicators were compared through the calculation of relative difference, and geographical patterns within Europe were investigated using the Mann Whitney U test. Linear regression modelling was used to adjust for population density, gross domestic product and urbanicity. : In general, the urban population in Eastern Europe is less healthy than the Western European urban population. However, people in Eastern Europe have significantly better broad health outcomes in UAs as compared with the corresponding country as a whole, whereas people in Western Europe have generally worse broader health outcomes in UAs. : For most European countries and UAs that were investigated, the national level health status data does not correspond with the health status at UA level. In order to identify health problems in UAs and to provide information for local health policy, health monitoring and international benchmarking should also be conducted at the local level. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe: introduction to the supplement.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Mark; Zeegers Paget, Dineke

2013-11-01

PHIRE (Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe) was developed for the national member associations and individual researchers of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) to engage collectively with the health research agenda in Europe. It was co-funded by the European Commission's Directorate for Health and Consumers within the EU Health Programme. It was coordinated by EUPHA in a partnership of eight organizations. This article introduces the Supplement in the European Journal of Public Health presenting the results of PHIRE. PHIRE used mixed methods to collect data across 30 European countries (European Union 27 plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). Seven thematic Sections of EUPHA identified eight cross-national public health innovation projects, and Country Informants to report on national uptake and impact of these innovations. Public health was considered broadly--health determinants and interventions, health services and practice. Through EUPHA's member national public health associations, and by direct country contacts, PHIRE described country public health research strategies and structures, reviewed calls and programmes for research in 1 year and organized stakeholder workshops. PHIRE was reported to the European Commission, and the component reports placed on the EUPHA web page. A draft of the Final Summary Report was sent by email for commentary by selected experts. PHIRE data from the work packages were organized into eight themes for the Supplement. Through the EUPHA thematic Sections, experts described the uptake and impact of eight innovation projects from the EU Health Programme. National reports indicated a positive impact of the innovations in public health 'markets'. Through national public health associations, 75 programmes and calls for public health research were found for 2010, but systems are not comparable and nor is information exchanged or coordinated. Only a few countries have public health research strategies. Having

Health at risk in immigration detention facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioanna Kotsioni

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Since 2004 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF has provided medical and psychosocial support for asylum seekers and migrants held in different immigration detention facilities across Europe (in Greece, Malta, Italy and Belgium where the life, health and human dignity of vulnerable people are being put at risk.

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 6 Central Europe series.

Science.gov (United States)

Viragos, Marta

2013-06-01

This is the 6th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship with a focus on Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Hungry, Poland and Czech Republic. Future issues will track trends the Middle East and then the Far East. JM. © 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.

Changing views of the interconnections between the oceans and human health in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Depledge, M H; Harvey, A J; Brownlee, C; Frost, M; Moore, M N; Fleming, L E

2013-05-01

Early steps in the emergence of the discipline of "Oceans and Human Health" are charted in the USA and discussed in relation to past and present marine environment and human health research activities in Europe. Differences in terminology are considered, as well as differences in circumstances related to the various seas of Europe and the intensity of human coastal activity and impact. Opportunities to progress interdisciplinary research are described, and the value of horizon scanning for the early identification of emerging issues is highlighted. The challenges facing researchers and policymakers addressing oceans and human health issues are outlined and some suggestions offered regarding how further progress in research and training into both the risks and benefits of Oceans and Human Health might be made on both sides of the Atlantic.

Social Participation and Health among Ageing People in East-Central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Makai, Alexandra; Prémusz, Viktória; Füge, Kata; Figler, Mária; Lampek, Kinga

2015-01-01

In this study we examined the health of the ageing population of East-Central Europe. Data derived from the 6th round of the European Social Survey. The aim of our research was to examine the most important factors that determine ageing people's health status. We paid particular attention to the social ties of our target group.

Religiousness and health in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahrenfeldt, Linda Juel; Möller, Sören; Andersen-Ranberg, Karen; Vitved, Astrid Roll; Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune; Hvidt, Niels Christian

2017-10-01

Recent research suggests that epidemiological forces in religion and health can have opposed effects. Using longitudinal data of people aged 50+ included in wave 1 (2004-2005) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and followed up through waves 2 (2006-2007), 4 (2011) and 5 (2013), we examined two forms of religious internalization and their association with health. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine all associations. Taking part in a religious organization was associated with lower odds of GALI (global activity limitation index) (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.75, 0.98) and depressive symptoms 0.80 (95% CI 0.69, 0.93), whereas being religiously educated lowered odds of poor self-rated health (SRH) 0.81 (95% CI 0.70, 0.93) and long-term health problems 0.84 (95% CI 0.74, 0.95). The more religious had lower odds of limitations with activities of daily living 0.76 (95% CI 0.58, 0.99) and depressive symptoms 0.77 (95% CI 0.64, 0.92) than other respondents, and compared to people who only prayed and did not have organizational involvement, they had lower odds of poor SRH 0.71 (95% CI 0.52, 0.97) and depressive symptoms 0.66 (95% CI 0.50, 0.87). Conversely, people who only prayed had higher odds of depressive symptoms than non-religious people 1.46 (95% CI 1.15, 1.86). Our findings suggest two types of religiousness: 1. Restful religiousness (praying, taking part in a religious organization and being religiously educated), which is associated with good health, and 2. Crisis religiousness (praying without other religious activities), which is associated with poor health.

The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Kesternich, Iris; Siflinger, Bettina; Smith, James P.; Winter, Joachim K.

2013-01-01

We investigate long-run effects of World War II on socio-economic status and health of older individuals in Europe. We analyze data from SHARELIFE, a retrospective survey conducted as part of SHARE in Europe in 2009. SHARELIFE provides detailed data on events in childhood during and after the war for over 20,000 individuals in 13 European countries. We construct several measures of war exposure—experience of dispossession, persecution, combat in local areas, and hunger periods. Exposure to war and more importantly to individual-level shocks caused by the war significantly predicts economic and health outcomes at older ages. PMID:24850973

Health systems' responses to 25 years of HIV in Europe: inequities persist and challenges remain.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat A; McKee, Martin; Coker, Richard; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek

2008-05-01

Europe is currently experiencing the fastest rate of growth of HIV of any region of the world. An analysis of policy and health system responses to the HIV epidemic in Europe and central Asia (hereafter referred to as Europe) over the last 25 years reveals considerable heterogeneity. In general, while noting hazards of broad generalisations and the differences that exist across countries in a particular grouping, effective policies to control HIV have been implemented more widely in western than in central and eastern Europe. However, the evidence suggests persistence of inequalities in access to preventive and treatment services, with those at highest risk, such as commercial sex workers, prisoners, intravenous drug users, and migrants often particularly disadvantaged, despite many targeted programmes. Responses in individual countries, especially in the early stages of the epidemic, were influenced by specific cultural and political factors. Strong leadership and active involvement by civil society organisations emerge as important factors for success but also a limiting factor to the response observed in eastern Europe, where civil society or NGO culture is weak as compared to western Europe. Scaling up of effective responses in many countries in eastern Europe will be challenging-where increased financial resources will have to be accompanied by broader changes to health system organization with greater involvement of the civil society in planning and delivery of client-focused services.

Storage in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabanes, J.M.; Rottenberg, J.; Abiad, A.; Caudron, S.; Girault, Ph.

2007-01-01

Storage represents one of the key elements among the different modulation tools. How the problem of storage is put forward in Europe in front of the increasing uncertainty of the gas demand and prices? What are the policies implemented by storage facility operators? To what extend storage can amortize gas prices volatility or allow the market actors to take the best profit of this volatility? These are the questions debated at this workshop by four specialists of this domain. (J.S.)

Research priorities for public mental health in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forsman, Anna K; Wahlbeck, Kristian; Aarø, Leif Edvard

2015-01-01

experts were involved in the priority setting process. RESULTS: Twenty priorities for public mental health research were identified through the consensus process. The research priorities were divided into summary principles-encompassing overall recommendations for future public mental health research...... field. METHODS: Experts were invited to compile and discuss research priorities in a series of topic-based scientific workshops. In addition, a Delphi process was carried out to reach consensus on the list of research priorities and their rank order. Three web-based surveys were conducted. Nearly 60...... in Europe-and thematic research priorities, including area-specific top priorities on research topics and methods. The priorities represent three overarching goals mirroring societal challenges, that is, to identify causes, risk and protective factors for mental health across the lifespan; to advance...

Attention capacity in European adolescents: role of different health-related factors. The HELENA study.

Science.gov (United States)

Esteban-Cornejo, Irene; Cadenas-Sanchez, Cristina; Vanhelst, Jérémy; Michels, Nathalie; Lambrinou, Christina-Paulina; González-Gross, Marcela; Widhalm, Kurt; Kersting, Mathilde; de la O Puerta, Alejandro; Kafatos, Anthony; Moreno, Luis A; Ortega, Francisco B

2017-10-01

We compared the level of attention capacity between adolescents from the center and south of Europe. The study included 627 European adolescents (54% girls), aged 12.5-17.5 years, who participated in the HELENA Study. The d2 Test of Attention was administered to assess attention capacity. The main results showed that adolescents from the south of Europe had significantly higher score in attention capacity compared with adolescents from central Europe (score + 8.1; 95%CI, 2.44-13.61) after adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic indicators, body mass index, cardiorespiratory fitness and diet quality index (p = 0.012). Adolescents from the south of Europe had higher levels of attention capacity than their counterparts from central Europe independently of sociodemographic and health-related factors. These differences should be taken into account by educational institutions when promoting new approaches for putting into the practice student's capacities. What is Known? • Attention is a crucial capacity during adolescence. • Several health-related factors (i.e., physical activity, fitness or fatness) may influence attention capacity in adolescents. What is New? • Adolescents from the south of Europe had higher levels of attention capacity than their counterparts from the center, after accounting for socioeconomic factors, fitness, fatness and quality of diet. • These differences should be taken into account by educational institutions when promoting new approaches for putting into the practice student's capacities.

Oceans and human health: a rising tide of challenges and opportunities for Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fleming, L.E.; McDonough, N.; Austen, M.; Mee, L.; Moore, M.; Hess, P.; Depledge, M.H.; White, M.; Philippart, K.; Bradbrook, P.; Smalley, A.

2014-01-01

The European Marine Board recently published a position paper on linking oceans and human health as a strategic research priority for Europe. With this position paper as a reference, the March 2014 Cornwall Oceans and Human Health Workshop brought together key scientists, policy makers, funders,

Do Performance-based Health Measures Reflect Differences in Frailty Among Immigrants Age 50+ in Europe?

Science.gov (United States)

Brothers, Thomas D; Theou, Olga; Rockwood, Kenneth

2014-09-01

Life course influences, including country of residence and country of birth, are associated with frailty index scores. We investigated these associations using performance-based health measures. Among 33,745 participants age 50+ (mean age 64.8 ± 10.1; 55% women) in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, grip strength, delayed word recall, and semantic verbal fluency were assessed. Participants were grouped by country of residence (Northern/Western Europe or Southern/Eastern Europe), and by country of birth (native-born, immigrants born in low- and middle-income countries [LMICs], or immigrants born in high-income countries [HICs]). Participants in Southern/Eastern Europe had lower mean test scores than those in Northern/Western Europe, and their scores did not differ by country of birth group. In Northern/Western Europe, compared with native-born participants, LMIC-born immigrants demonstrated lower mean grip strength (32.8 ± 7.6 kg vs. 35.7 ± 7.7 kg), delayed recall (2.9 ± 1.9 vs. 3.6 ± 1.9), and verbal fluency scores (16.0 ± 6.9 vs. 20.3 ± 7.0). HIC-born immigrants had mean scores higher than LMIC-born immigrants, but lower than native-born participants (all pnational income levels of both country of residence and country of birth. This was similar to previously observed differences in frailty index scores.

Assessing heat-related health risk in Europe via the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)

Science.gov (United States)

Di Napoli, Claudia; Pappenberger, Florian; Cloke, Hannah L.

2018-03-01

In this work, the potential of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) as a heat-related health risk indicator in Europe is demonstrated. The UTCI is a bioclimate index that uses a multi-node human heat balance model to represent the heat stress induced by meteorological conditions to the human body. Using 38 years of meteorological reanalysis data, UTCI maps were computed to assess the thermal bioclimate of Europe for the summer season. Patterns of heat stress conditions and non-thermal stress regions are identified across Europe. An increase in heat stress up to 1 °C is observed during recent decades. Correlation with mortality data from 17 European countries revealed that the relationship between the UTCI and death counts depends on the bioclimate of the country, and death counts increase in conditions of moderate and strong stress, i.e., when UTCI is above 26 and 32 °C. The UTCI's ability to represent mortality patterns is demonstrated for the 2003 European heatwave. These findings confirm the importance of UTCI as a bioclimatic index that is able to both capture the thermal bioclimatic variability of Europe, and relate such variability with the effects it has on human health.

Oceans and Human Health: a rising tide of challenges and opportunities for Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, L E; McDonough, N; Austen, M; Mee, L; Moore, M; Hess, P; Depledge, M H; White, M; Philippart, K; Bradbrook, P; Smalley, A

2014-08-01

The European Marine Board recently published a position paper on linking oceans and human health as a strategic research priority for Europe. With this position paper as a reference, the March 2014 Cornwall Oceans and Human Health Workshop brought together key scientists, policy makers, funders, business, and non governmental organisations from Europe and the US to review the recent interdisciplinary and cutting edge research in oceans and human health specifically the growing evidence of the impacts of oceans and seas on human health and wellbeing (and the effects of humans on the oceans). These impacts are a complex mixture of negative influences (e.g. from climate change and extreme weather to harmful algal blooms and chemical pollution) and beneficial factors (e.g. from natural products including seafood to marine renewable energy and wellbeing from interactions with coastal environments). Integrated approaches across disciplines, institutions, and nations in science and policy are needed to protect both the oceans and human health and wellbeing now and in the future. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Tokai carbon: A processing sales position is put on Europe; Tokai kabon: oshu ni kako hanbai kyoten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-07-30

It went through the same company with increase in England establishing a business generalization company in Europe, and Tokai carbon purchased the processing sales company graphite-technology (GT Company, England and Birmingham City) of fine carbon. The thing that it aimed at the expansion of the fine carbon business in Europe. A system from the middle product to the final product is prepared, and the reclamation of the new field is included, and it starts active business development by the bribery of the GT Company. Moreover, the head office is set up in London, and Tokai carbon Europe where it was established newly is capital 3400000 pounds. (translated by NEDO)

Putting children forward for epilepsy surgery: A qualitative study of UK parents' and health professionals' decision-making experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Heath, Gemma; Abdin, Shanara; Begum, Rahima; Kearney, Shauna

2016-08-01

Against a backdrop of recommendations for increasing access to and uptake of early surgical intervention for children with medically intractable epilepsy, it is important to understand how parents and professionals decide to put children forward for epilepsy surgery and what their decisional support needs are. The aim of this study was to explore how parents and health professionals make decisions regarding putting children forward for pediatric epilepsy surgery. Individual interviews were conducted with nine parents of children who had undergone pediatric epilepsy surgery at a specialist children's hospital and ten healthcare professionals who made up the children's epilepsy surgery service multidisciplinary healthcare team (MDT). Three MDT meetings were also observed. Data were analyzed thematically. Four themes were generated from analysis of interviews with parents: presentation of surgery as a treatment option, decision-making, looking back, and interventions. Three themes were generated from analysis of interviews/observations with health professionals: triangulating information, team working, and patient and family perspectives. Parents wanted more information and support in deciding to put their child forward for epilepsy surgery. They attempted to balance the potential benefits of surgery against any risks of harm. For health professionals, a multidisciplinary approach was seen as crucial to the decision-making process. Advocating for the family was perceived to be the responsibility of nonmedical professionals. Decision-making can be supported by incorporating families into discussions regarding epilepsy surgery as a potential treatment option earlier in the process and by providing families with additional information and access to other parents with similar experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental protection in Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabala, S.

1990-01-01

There is a need for the development of institutional structures to make the transfer of technology work to improve the ability of Eastern Europe to find solutions to its environmental problems. Envisioned is technical assistance: U.S. experts who will work on-site with Eastern European experts. The idea is to technically train individuals in pollution-prevention methods. Trained experts could then upgrade processes to save input, energy, and materials. In the exchange of environmental information, discussions have led to four issues: it is expensive to transfer equipment and make qualified personnel available for a long period; information is comparatively inexpensive to convey; in Eastern Europe there are trained and competent personnel; the theoretical knowledge, academic knowledge, and education are at a very high level but little of this knowledge has been put into practice. The technology transfer goal is to develop a response to needs identified by partner institutions and counterpart professionals that will enable Eastern Europe to tap resources that do exist- scientific, managerial, and economic resources and tap information resources in the US in order to address the environmental problems that exist in Eastern Europe

Multi-model assessment of health impacts of air pollution in Europe and the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Ulas; Brandt, Jørgen; Christensen, Jesper H.; Geels, Camilla; Hansen, Kaj M.; Andersen, Mikael S.; Solazzo, Efisio; Hogrefe, Christian; Galmarini, Stefano

2017-04-01

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is now the world's largest single environmental health risk. Assessments of health impacts and the associated external costs related to air pollution are estimated based on observed and/or modelled air pollutant levels. Chemistry and transport models (CTMs) are useful tools to calculate the concentrations of health-related pollutants taking into account the non-linearities in the chemistry and the complex interactions between meteorology and chemistry. However, the CTMs include different chemical and aerosol schemes that introduce differences in the representation of the processes. Likewise, will differences in the emissions and boundary conditions used in the models add to the overall uncertainties. These uncertainties are introduced also into the health impact estimates using output from the CTMs. Multi-model (MM) ensembles can be useful to minimize these uncertainties introduced by the individual CTMs. In the present study, the simulated surface concentrations of health related air pollutants for the year 2010 from fifteen modelling groups participating in the AQMEII exercise, serve as input to the Economic Valuation of Air Pollution model (EVA), in order to calculate the impacts of these pollutants on human health and the associated external costs in Europe and U.S. In addition, the impacts of a 20% global emission reduction scenario on the human health and associated costs have been calculated. Preliminary results show that in Europe and U.S., the MM mean number of premature deaths due to air pollution is calculated to be 400 000 and 160 000, respectively. Estimated health impacts among different models can vary up to a factor of 3 and 1.2 in Europe and U.S., respectively. PM is calculated to be the major pollutant affecting the health impacts and the differences in models regarding the treatment of aerosol composition, physics and dynamics is a key factor. The total MM mean costs due to health

The associations between early life circum-stances and later life health and employment in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flores, M.; Kalwij, Adriaan

2014-01-01

We use data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe to estimate for thirteen European countries the associations of early life circumstances—measured by childhood health and socioeconomic status (SES)—with educational attainment, and later life health and employment (at ages

VET Teachers in Europe: Policies, Practices and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Pradeep Kumar

2011-01-01

The objective of making vocational education and training (VET) globally competitive and attractive by the European Union has put vocational teachers in the spotlight. As a result, the VET teacher profession in Europe is facing many challenges and demands expressed constantly by the general public, representatives from the world of work, public…

Health Categorisation of Fish Farms in Europe In 2011

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Niels Jørgen; Nicolajsen, Nicole

2012-01-01

The Questionnaire on Surveillance and Diagnosis (S&D) included questions on how fish farms are health categorised according to Council Directive 2006/88/EC in the respective countries. More than half of the authorised farms in Europe are in category III for VHS and IHN and the remaining in category...... I or II. According to these official data almost no farms are infected with either of these diseases. This might be more due to a significant underreporting than of the de facto situation. For KHV most carp farms are in category III, unknown status. Many farms in Europe are not categorised yet......, and unfortunately the situation have not improved much from 2010.. In the questionnaire we ask for the number of APBs in these areas. There are several different views on how categorisation shall be performed, e.g. should VHS free marine rainbow trout farms be placed in Category III or I? If Isavirus HPR0 is found...

Research for food and health in Europe: themes, needs and proposals

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McCarthy, Mark

2011-09-29

Abstract Background Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE) is a collaborative project commissioned by the European Union. Among its tasks is the description of national research systems for food and health and, in work reported here, the identification of strengths and gaps in the European research base. Methods A typology of nine research themes was developed, spanning food, society, health and research structures. Experts were selected through the FAHRE partners, with balance for individual characteristics, and reported using a standardised template. Results Countries usually commission research on food, and on health, separately: few countries have combined research strategies or programmes. Food and health are also strongly independent fields within the European Commission\\'s research programmes. Research programmes have supported food and bio-technology, food safety, epidemiological research, and nutritional surveillance; but there has been less research into personal behaviour and very little on environmental influences on food choices - in the retail and marketing industries, policy, and regulation. The research is mainly sited within universities and research institutes: there is relatively little published research contribution from industry. Discussion National food policies, based on epidemiological evidence and endorsed by the World Health Organisation, recommend major changes in food intake to meet the challenge of chronic diseases. Biomedical and biotechnology research, in areas such as \\'nutrio-genomics\\

Research inventory of child health: A report on roadmaps for the future of child health research in Europe

OpenAIRE

Ottova, Veronika; Alexander, Denise; Rigby, Michael; Staines, Anthony; Hjern, Anders; Leonardi, Matilde; Blair, Mitch; Tamburlini, Giorgio; Gaspar de Matos, Margarida; Bourek, Ales; Köhler, Lennart; Gunnlaugsson, Geir; Tomé, Gina; Ramiro, Lucia; Santos, Teresa

2013-01-01

RICHE was the response to a call under HEALTH-2009-3.3-5, with the title of 'European child health research platform'. The call text asked us to “address the diversity and fragmentation in child health research in Europe in an inclusive multidisciplinary way, identifying existing research programmes in Member States, recent advances and identification of gaps to explore road maps for the future of child health research in Europe”. Project structure A consortium, with a final total of 23 pa...

Health facilities safety in natural disasters: experiences and challenges from South East Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Radovic, Vesela; Vitale, Ksenija; Tchounwou, Paul B

2012-05-01

The United Nations named 2010 as a year of natural disasters, and launched a worldwide campaign to improve the safety of schools and hospitals from natural disasters. In the region of South East Europe, Croatia and Serbia have suffered the greatest impacts of natural disasters on their communities and health facilities. In this paper the disaster management approaches of the two countries are compared, with a special emphasis on the existing technological and legislative systems for safety and protection of health facilities and people. Strategic measures that should be taken in future to provide better safety for health facilities and populations, based on the best practices and positive experiences in other countries are recommended. Due to the expected consequences of global climate change in the region and the increased different environmental risks both countries need to refine their disaster preparedness strategies. Also, in the South East Europe, the effects of a natural disaster are amplified in the health sector due to its critical medical infrastructure. Therefore, the principles of environmental security should be implemented in public health policies in the described region, along with principles of disaster management through regional collaborations.

Health Facilities Safety in Natural Disasters: Experiences and Challenges from South East Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesela Radovic

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The United Nations named 2010 as a year of natural disasters, and launched a worldwide campaign to improve the safety of schools and hospitals from natural disasters. In the region of South East Europe, Croatia and Serbia have suffered the greatest impacts of natural disasters on their communities and health facilities. In this paper the disaster management approaches of the two countries are compared, with a special emphasis on the existing technological and legislative systems for safety and protection of health facilities and people. Strategic measures that should be taken in future to provide better safety for health facilities and populations, based on the best practices and positive experiences in other countries are recommended. Due to the expected consequences of global climate change in the region and the increased different environmental risks both countries need to refine their disaster preparedness strategies. Also, in the South East Europe, the effects of a natural disaster are amplified in the health sector due to its critical medical infrastructure. Therefore, the principles of environmental security should be implemented in public health policies in the described region, along with principles of disaster management through regional collaborations.

A comprehensive evaluation of health effects in Europe-two decades after Chernobyl

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seidel, C.; Maringer, F.J. [University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Science Vienna, Low-Level Counting Lab. Arsenal, Wien (Austria); Maringer, F.J. [BEV-Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV), Wien (Austria); Bossew, P. [BEV-Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV), Mathematics and analytics, Vienna (Austria)

2006-07-01

This report sums up radioactive environmental contamination due to the Chernobyl accident in 1986 in various regions all over Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Sweden, Austria and Greece). Most of the radionuclides released with the reactor accident possess short-lives (e.g. 131 I) of a few hours or several days and weeks or were deposed in low quantities (e.g. 90 Sr). So the main focus was put on 137 Cs, because this radionuclide has a long half-life (30 years), is measurable till this day and gives a presentable view of radiation exposure in contaminated regions. The decrease of 137 Cs activity concentrations in soil, surface water, foodstuffs and air was shown in the course of time. The comparison of radioactive environmental contamination shows, that the 137 Cs-activity concentration in nearly all media has decreased faster than the physical half-life. Part of this elaboration was also to describe the contribution of the reactor accident to the radiation exposure of selected population groups in the last 20 years. The second part of the report follows a valuation of European studies, which are linked to late health effects of the Chernobyl accident specially thyroid cancer, leukaemia and other solid tumours. These studies has been discussed and evaluated. Only in countries with the highest impact like Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, an increased number of infant thyroid cancer has been observed but up to now no increases in leukaemia or malignant deceases in this or other European countries can be detected. (authors)

A comprehensive evaluation of health effects in Europe-two decades after Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seidel, C.; Maringer, F.J.; Maringer, F.J.; Bossew, P.

2006-01-01

This report sums up radioactive environmental contamination due to the Chernobyl accident in 1986 in various regions all over Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Sweden, Austria and Greece). Most of the radionuclides released with the reactor accident possess short-lives (e.g. 131 I) of a few hours or several days and weeks or were deposed in low quantities (e.g. 90 Sr). So the main focus was put on 137 Cs, because this radionuclide has a long half-life (30 years), is measurable till this day and gives a presentable view of radiation exposure in contaminated regions. The decrease of 137 Cs activity concentrations in soil, surface water, foodstuffs and air was shown in the course of time. The comparison of radioactive environmental contamination shows, that the 137 Cs-activity concentration in nearly all media has decreased faster than the physical half-life. Part of this elaboration was also to describe the contribution of the reactor accident to the radiation exposure of selected population groups in the last 20 years. The second part of the report follows a valuation of European studies, which are linked to late health effects of the Chernobyl accident specially thyroid cancer, leukaemia and other solid tumours. These studies has been discussed and evaluated. Only in countries with the highest impact like Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, an increased number of infant thyroid cancer has been observed but up to now no increases in leukaemia or malignant deceases in this or other European countries can be detected. (authors)

Gender Policies and Gender Inequalities in Health in Europe: Results of the SOPHIE Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Palència, Laia; De Moortel, Deborah; Artazcoz, Lucía; Salvador-Piedrafita, María; Puig-Barrachina, Vanessa; Hagqvist, Emma; Pérez, Glòria; Ruiz, Marisol E; Trujillo-Alemán, Sara; Vanroelen, Christophe; Malmusi, Davide; Borrell, Carme

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to explain the results of the SOPHIE project regarding the effect of gender policies on gender inequalities in health in Europe. We start with the results of a systematic review on how gender regimes and gender equality policies at the country level impact women's health and gender inequalities in health. Then, we report on three empirical analyses on the relationship between different family policy models existing in Europe and gender inequalities in health. Finally we present four case studies on specific examples of gender policies or determinants of gender inequalities in health. The results show that policies that support women's participation in the labor force and decrease their burden of care, such as public services and support for families and entitlements for fathers, are related to lower levels of gender inequality in terms of health. In addition, public services and benefits for disabled and dependent people can reduce the burden placed on family caregivers and hence improve their health. In the context of the current economic crisis, gender equality policies should be maintained or improved. © The Author(s) 2016.

Health status of children with cerebral palsy living in Europe: a multi-centre study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beckung, E; White-Koning, M; Marcelli, M

2008-01-01

AIM: The aim of this report is to describe the health status of 8-12-year-old children with cerebral palsy (CP) of all severities in Europe using the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). METHOD: A total of 818 children with CP from nine centres in defined geographical areas participated. CP type...

Unravelling the impact of ethnicity on health in Europe: the HELIUS study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stronks, Karien; Snijder, Marieke B.; Peters, Ron J. G.; Prins, Maria; Schene, Aart H.; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.

2013-01-01

Populations in Europe are becoming increasingly ethnically diverse, and health risks differ between ethnic groups. The aim of the HELIUS (HEalthy LIfe in an Urban Setting) study is to unravel the mechanisms underlying the impact of ethnicity on communicable and non-communicable diseases. HELIUS is a

Why has the health promoting prison concept failed to translate to the US?

OpenAIRE

Woodall, JR

2016-01-01

Two decades since the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe published a report on health promotion in prison that stimulated further debate on the concept of the “health-promoting prison,” this article discusses the extent to which the concept has translated to the United States. One predicted indicator of success for the health-promoting prison movement was the expansion of activity beyond European borders; yet 2 decades since the European model was put forward, there has been...

Policy implications of differential health status in East and West Europe. The case of Hungary.

Science.gov (United States)

Makara, P

1994-11-01

Morbidity and mortality trends in Western and Eastern Europe have differed considerably during the past three decades, although the major unfavourable processes have been essentially the same in each of the Central European countries. The most striking feature has been the decline in average life expectancy and deterioration of age-specific mortality rates for the middle-aged, especially men. The former socialist government took no effective action. Due to the denial of social and environmental problems, social, health and environmental policy were underdeveloped and deformed. Partly inherited from previous historical traditions, wishful thinking, victimization and a patronizing attitude were primary ways of dealing with problems. In these circumstances even the few specially supported health education campaigns were doomed to fail. People depended on the omnipotent central state in vain to solve their problems so that health promotion based on the community and self-empowerment did not develop. During the early nineties, in Eastern and Central Europe no central political strategies were initiated or launched to combat the mortality and morbidity tendences. The economic and social prerequisites of a long-term gradual improvement in the health status are missing in Central and Eastern Europe. A declining standard of living due to recession, growing deprivation, poverty, unemployment and migration are unfavourable to improvements in health. In a time of crisis, with stress but without adequate skills of coping, forced adaptation associated with sudden changes and perceived failure have only made matters worse. There are no short-term 'solutions'.

Industrial aspects of radioactive waste management in Western Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcus, F.R.

1976-01-01

Various aspects of waste management are discussed from the viewpoint of the nuclear industry. Future amounts of waste generated in the 15 Foratom countries in Western Europe are estimated. Industrial waste questions--as seen by electricity producers, reprocessors, and waste operators--are discussed; questions concerning decommissioning are also dealt with. A number of recommendations for further action, primarily on the part of national authorities and international organizations, are put forward. One conclusion of the study is that there is no reason for waste-management problems to impede the timely development of nuclear energy as a large-scale industrial activity in Western Europe

Modeled effects of an improved building insulation scenario in Europe on air pollution, health and societal costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bønløkke, Jakob Hjort; Holst, Gitte Juel; Sigsgaard, Torben

2015-01-01

scenario in Europe would have substantial benefits on health through improvements in air pollution. Health effects and societal cost savings may significantly counterbalance investment costs and should be taken into account when evaluating strategies for mitigation of global warming....... with extensions. Mean annual changes in the main air pollutants were derived for each country. World Health Organization (WHO) and European Union (EU) data on populations and on impacts of pollutants were used to derive health effects and costs. Effects on indoor air quality were not assessed. Results: Projected...... 78678 LY in Europe. A total of 7173 cases of persistent chronic bronchitis could be avoided annually. Several other health outcomes improved similarly. The saved societal costs totaled 6.64 billion € annually. Conclusions: In addition to carbon emission reductions, an improved building insulation...

Veterinary dairy herd health management in Europe: constraints and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Cannas da Silva, J; Noordhuizen, J P T M; Vagneur, M; Bexiga, R; Gelfert, C C; Baumgartner, W

2006-03-01

The nature of veterinary work in dairy health management in Europe has changed over the past years and will change even more dramatically in the near future. The consumers and the media show increasing concern about animal welfare, safety of products of animal origin and traceability of animal products. Farmers in Europe have to produce under strict, often expensive and laborious regulations, while still commercially competing with farmers outside the EU and not subject to the same rules. Veterinarians should adapt their knowledge and skills to the new challenges and developments of the dairy sector. Dairy farmers nowadays ask for support in areas that go beyond clinical activities: environmental protection, welfare, nutrition, grassland management, economics and business management. Bovine practitioners should be able to advise in many different areas and subjects--that is the challenge to our profession. Veterinary education with regards to cattle health management should start with individual animal clinical work, which constitutes the basis of herd health advisory programmes. The bovine practitioner should then look beyond that and regard the herd as the unit. Each diseased cow or group of cows should be detected early enough to avoid financial losses or such losses should be prevented altogether by detecting and managing risk factors contributing to disease occurrence. Herd health and production management programmes represent the first level to optimise dairy farm performance. Expansions to that should further be considered, comprising both animal health and welfare issues, as well as food safety and public health issues. The latter could be addressed by quality risk management programmes following the HACCP-principles. Cattle veterinarians should follow recent developments and invest in new skills and knowledge in order to maintain their usefulness to the modern dairy farmer. Finally we are convinced that the cattle practitioner should evolve into this

Source of Iodine-131 in Europe Identified

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Full text: The IAEA has received information from the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) that the source of the iodine-131 (I-131) detected in Europe was most probably a release to the atmosphere from the Institute of Isotopes Ltd., Budapest. The Institute of Isotopes Ltd. produces radioisotopes for healthcare, research and industrial applications. According to the HAEA, the release occurred from September 8 to November 16, 2011. The cause of the release is under investigation. As previously mentioned, the levels of I-131 that have been detected in Europe are extremely low. There is no health concern to the population. If any member of the public were to breathe iodine for a whole year at the levels measured in European countries, then they would receive a dose in the range of 0.01 microsieverts for the year. To put this into perspective, the average annual background is 2 400 microsieverts per year. The IAEA was first notified of the presence of trace levels of I-131 by authorities from the Czech Republic on 11 November. Since this notification, the IAEA contacted several member states throughout the region to determine the cause and origin. The IAEA also worked with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to conduct air dispersion modelling, as part of efforts to determine the source. (IAEA)

Research for food and health in Europe: themes, needs and proposals.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Mark; Aitsi-Selmi, Amina; Bánáti, Diána; Frewer, Lynn; Hirani, Vasant; Lobstein, Tim; McKenna, Brian; Mulla, Zenab; Rabozzi, Giulia; Sfetcu, Raluca; Newton, Rachel

2011-09-29

Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE) is a collaborative project commissioned by the European Union. Among its tasks is the description of national research systems for food and health and, in work reported here, the identification of strengths and gaps in the European research base. A typology of nine research themes was developed, spanning food, society, health and research structures. Experts were selected through the FAHRE partners, with balance for individual characteristics, and reported using a standardised template. Countries usually commission research on food, and on health, separately: few countries have combined research strategies or programmes. Food and health are also strongly independent fields within the European Commission's research programmes. Research programmes have supported food and bio-technology, food safety, epidemiological research, and nutritional surveillance; but there has been less research into personal behaviour and very little on environmental influences on food choices - in the retail and marketing industries, policy, and regulation. The research is mainly sited within universities and research institutes: there is relatively little published research contribution from industry. National food policies, based on epidemiological evidence and endorsed by the World Health Organisation, recommend major changes in food intake to meet the challenge of chronic diseases. Biomedical and biotechnology research, in areas such as 'nutrio-genomics', 'individualised' diets, 'functional' foods and 'nutri-pharmaceuticals' appear likely to yield less health benefit, and less return on public investment, than research on population-level interventions to influence dietary patterns: for example policies to reduce

Health sector reforms in Central and Eastern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2004-04-01

Full Text Available The political and economic transition of the 1990s in the countries of central and eastern Europe has been accompanied by wide ranging health care reform. The initial Soviet model has given way to a variety of forms of health insurance. Yet, as this paper argues, reform has too often been preoccupied with ideological imperatives, such as provider autonomy and the creation of funds separate from government, and has given much less thought to the contribution that health care can make to population health. The paper begins by examining the changing nature of health care. It recalls how the Soviet model was able to provide basic care to dispersed populations at low cost but notes how this is no longer sufficient in the face of an increasingly complex health care environment. This complexity reflects several factors, such as the growth in chronic disease, the emergence of new forms of infectious disease, and the introduction of new treatments requiring integrated delivery systems. It reviews evidence on how the former communist countries failed to keep up with developments in the west from the 1970s onwards, at a time when the complexity of health care was becoming apparent. It continues by setting out a framework for the organisation of health care based on the goal of health gain. This involves a series of activities that can be summarised as active purchasing, and which include assessment of health needs, designing effective packages of care, and monitoring outcomes. It concludes by arguing that a new relationship is needed between the state and the organisations involved in funding and delivering health care, to design a system that will tackle the considerable health needs of the people who live in this region.

Europe's Environment. The Third Assessment. A summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

This is the third pan-European state of the environment report produced by the EEA. It was prepared for the 'Environment for Europe' Ministerial Conference being held under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Kiev, Ukraine on 21-23 May 2003. This assessment is the most comprehensive up-to-date overview currently available of the state of the environment on this continent. In contrast to previous reports issued in 1995 and 1998, it covers for the first time the entire Russian Federation and the 11 other Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian (EECCA) states. The report also analyses how the main economic driving forces put pressure on the European environment and identifies key areas where further action is needed [nl

Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Harriet; Snell, Carolyn; Bouzarovski, Stefan

2017-05-31

Despite growing pan-European interest in and awareness of the wide-ranging health and well-being impacts of energy poverty-which is characterised by an inability to secure adequate levels of energy services in the home-the knowledge base is largely British-centric and dominated by single-country studies. In response, this paper investigates the relationship between energy poverty, health and well-being across 32 European countries, using 2012 data from the European Quality of Life Survey. We find an uneven concentration of energy poverty, poor health, and poor well-being across Europe, with Eastern and Central Europe worst affected. At the intersection of energy poverty and health, there is a higher incidence of poor health (both physical and mental) amongst the energy poor populations of most countries, compared to non-energy poor households. Interestingly, we find the largest disparities in health and well-being levels between energy poor and non-energy poor households occur within relatively equal societies, such as Sweden and Slovenia. As well as the unique challenges brought about by rapidly changing energy landscapes in these countries, we also suggest the relative deprivation theory and processes of social comparison hold some value in explaining these findings.

Instruments for the Financing Investment Opportunities in Post-Crisis Europe: The Investment Plan for Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Trandafir

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The study is based on an analysis of the opportunities provided by The Investment Plan for Europe. The Plan, launched in December 2014, aims at stimulating additional investment at least EUR 315 billion in real economy in the 2015-2017 period and making the most of every public euro mobilized through both new and existing instrument, in order to achieve the high multiplier effect. The challenge for the Member States is to put the funds made available by these instruments to productive use in order to support sustainable jobs and growth in Europe. In this context, Romania is facing a major challenge: to promote projects of interest to investors, economically viable, sufficiently mature and consistent with EU policy priorities. According official sources, until the mid - March 2016, only two projects was selected for financing through The Investment Plan for Europe. The study contributes to the identification of the new innovative financial instruments that could improve the access to finance in general and to Romanian projects especially. The analysis uses the most recent official data, official documents published by the European Commission and other institutions in the field.

The School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) Project: Design and First Results

OpenAIRE

Kovess, Viviane; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Pez, Ondine; Bitfoi, Adina; Ko?, Ceren; Goelitz, Dietmar; Kuijpers, Rowella; Lesinskiene, Sigita; Mihova, Zlatka; Otten, Roy

2015-01-01

Background : The School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) project aims to build up a set of indicators to collect and monitor children's mental health in an efficient and comparable methodology across the EU countries. It concerns primary schools children aged 6 to 11 years a range where few data are available whereas school interventions are promising. Methods : Three informants were used: parents, teachers and children. In selecting instruments language, instruments were selected acc...

Disparities in multimorbidity across Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Camilla Riis; Halling, Anders; Andersen-Ranberg, Karen

2017-01-01

Introduction: Europe is the continent with the highest share of older adults, many of which suffer from multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) and the associated negative outcomes. Health inequalities across European regions exist, but little is known about regional differences in multimorb......Introduction: Europe is the continent with the highest share of older adults, many of which suffer from multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) and the associated negative outcomes. Health inequalities across European regions exist, but little is known about regional differences...... in multimorbidity. Material and methods: Cross-sectional analyses of data collected in the 5th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) during 2013. The study population included 50+-year-olds from 14 European countries and Israel. Results: Across all regions age and gender adjusted...... multimorbidity prevalence was 31.4% [30.7; 32.2]. Northern Europe had the lowest multimorbidity prevalence of 26.2% [25.2; 27.1], while Eastern and Central Europe had the highest, 35.2% [33.8; 36.5] and 34.8% [33.8; 35.9], respectively. In all regions female gender, increasing age, lower education, and lower...

Energy, North Africa and Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boussena, S.

1995-01-01

The energy situation in the North African countries not only offers a multitude of opportunities for regional cooperation, but also for consolidating ties with the European Union. What are the medium-term chances of putting these possibilities to use ? This article reviews the energy issues in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, all in the middle of a complete economic, political, and cultural mutations. It identifies the intra-regional cooperative projects and certain potential obstacles, and analyzes the energy relations between North Africa and Europe from the strategic viewpoint of both regions. (author). 7 tabs

A spatially explicit and quantitative vulnerability assessment of ecosystem service change in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Metzger, M.J.; Schröter, D.; Leemans, R.; Cramer, W.

2008-01-01

Environmental change alters ecosystem functioning and may put the provision of services to human at risk. This paper presents a spatially explicit and quantitative assessment of the corresponding vulnerability for Europe, using a new framework designed to answer multidisciplinary policy relevant

Unemployment transitions and self-rated health in Europe: A longitudinal analysis of EU-SILC from 2008 to 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Tøge, Anne Grete; Blekesaune, Morten

2015-10-01

The Great Recession of 2008 has led to elevated unemployment in Europe and thereby revitalised the question of causal health effects of unemployment. This article applies fixed effects regression models to longitudinal panel data drawn from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for 28 European countries from 2008 to 2011, in order to investigate changes in self-rated health around the event of becoming unemployed. The results show that the correlation between unemployment and health is partly due to a decrease in self-rated health as people enter unemployment. Such health changes vary by country of domicile, and by individual age; older workers have a steeper decline than younger workers. Health changes after the unemployment spell reveal no indication of adverse health effects of unemployment duration. Overall, this study indicates some adverse health effects of unemployment in Europe--predominantly among older workers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Institutionalizing policy-level health impact assessment in Europe: is coupling health impact assessment with strategic environmental assessment the next step forward?

OpenAIRE

Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward

2005-01-01

European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into o...

Institutionalizing policy-level health impact assessment in Europe: is coupling health impact assessment with strategic environmental assessment the next step forward?

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward

2005-06-01

European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into other forms of impact assessment has been resisted, for fear of losing its focus on health issues to environmental concerns, and compromising its social model of health with the introduction of biophysical indicators. But can these fears be substantiated? In this paper, we investigate the grounds for such concerns by reviewing the relevant policy documents and departmental guidelines of four non-European countries that have considered the use of integrated assessment. We found that the case for associating HIA with SEA in Europe is strong, and offers potential solutions to problems of screening, theoretical framework, causal pathways and ready entry to the policy process. Coupling HIA with SEA may thus be the next step forward in a longer journey towards institutionalizing HIA as an independent policy-linked device.

Socio-economic position and subjective health and well-being among older people in Europe: a systematic narrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Sanna; Grundy, Emily; Foverskov, Else

2016-01-01

Previous studies of older European populations have established that disability and morbidity vary with indicators of socio-economic position (SEP). We undertook a systematic narrative review of the literature to ascertain to what extent there is evidence of similar inequalities in the subjective health and well-being of older people in Europe. Relevant original research articles were searched for using Medline, Global Health, Embase, Social Policy and Practice, Cinahl, Web of Science and International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS). We included studies of SEP and indicators of subjective health and well-being (self-rated health; life satisfaction; quality of life) conducted since 1991 using population-based samples of older people in Europe and published 1995-2013. A total of 71 studies were identified. Poorer SEP was associated with poorer subjective health and well-being. Associations varied somewhat depending on the SEP measure and subjective health and well-being outcome used. Associations were weaker when social support and health-related behaviours were adjusted for suggesting that these factors mediate the relationship between SEP and subjective health and well-being. Associations tended to be weaker in the oldest age groups. The patterns of associations by gender were not consistent and tended to diminish after adjusting for indicators of health and life circumstances. The results of this systematic narrative review of the literature demonstrate the importance of social influences on later life subjective health and well-being and indicate areas which need further investigation, such as more studies from Eastern Europe, more longitudinal studies and more research on the role of mediating factors.

Occupational safety and health in Europe: lessons from the past, challenges and opportunities for the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagliardi, Diana; Marinaccio, Alessandro; Valenti, Antonio; Iavicoli, Sergio

2012-01-01

Europe has always played a key role in the field of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and can be considered the cradle of Occupational Health. The European policy framework has been set since the establishment of the European Union, but its strength lies in the enactment of the Framework Directive on Occupational Health and Safety (89/391/EC), which has had a strong positive impact on the assessment and management of occupational risk factors and has promoted the quick diffusion of common standards across Europe. Yet, some implementation issues still remain to be addressed, due to changes in the world of work, fragmentation, economic crisis and, more generally, to the impact of globalization. Therefore, actions need to be reviewed with respect to research plans and policy implementation so as to support the OHS social dimension fostering a broader concept of wellbeing at work.

Oral cleanliness and gingival health among Special Olympics athletes in Europe and Eurasia

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez #, Carla; Kaschke, Imke; Perlman, Steven

2015-01-01

Background Special Olympics athletes, as well as the general population of people with intellectual disabilities, are expected to have poorer gingival health. The aim of the study is to explore the prevalence of gingival signs of inflammation and its relationship to oral cleanliness and age among Special Olympics athletes from Europe and Eurasia. Material and Methods A retrospective longitudinal study was performed with data collected through standardized oral from 15.941 athletes from annual Special Olympics events held in 49 countries, from Europe and Eurasia between 2007 and 2012. The data was analysed descriptively, with One-Way ANOVA test and Chi-Square test. Results The level of significance was predetermined at a p value disability, Special Olympics. PMID:26241452

Putting politics first.

Science.gov (United States)

Hacker, Jacob S

2008-01-01

The greatest lesson of the failure of comprehensive health reform in the early 1990s is that politics comes first. Even the best-laid policy plans are worthless if they lack the political support to pass. Putting politics first means avoiding the overarching mistake of the Clinton reformers: envisioning a grand policy compromise rather than hammering out a real political compromise. It also means addressing the inevitable fears of those who believe that they are well protected by our eroding employment-based system. And it means formulating political strategies that are premised on the contemporary realities of the hyperpolarized U.S. political environment, rather than wistfully recalled images of the bipartisan politics of old.

Recruitment and retention of health professionals across Europe : A literature review and multiple case study research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kroezen, Marieke; Dussault, Gilles; Craveiro, Isabel; Dieleman, Marjolein; Jansen, Christel; Buchan, James; Barriball, Louise; Rafferty, Anne Marie; Bremner, Jeni; Sermeus, Walter

2015-01-01

Many European countries are faced with health workforce shortages and the need to develop effective recruitment and retention (R&R) strategies. Yet comparative studies on R&R in Europe are scarce. This paper provides an overview of the measures in place to improve the R&R of health professionals

Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harriet Thomson

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Despite growing pan-European interest in and awareness of the wide-ranging health and well-being impacts of energy poverty—which is characterised by an inability to secure adequate levels of energy services in the home—the knowledge base is largely British-centric and dominated by single-country studies. In response, this paper investigates the relationship between energy poverty, health and well-being across 32 European countries, using 2012 data from the European Quality of Life Survey. We find an uneven concentration of energy poverty, poor health, and poor well-being across Europe, with Eastern and Central Europe worst affected. At the intersection of energy poverty and health, there is a higher incidence of poor health (both physical and mental amongst the energy poor populations of most countries, compared to non-energy poor households. Interestingly, we find the largest disparities in health and well-being levels between energy poor and non-energy poor households occur within relatively equal societies, such as Sweden and Slovenia. As well as the unique challenges brought about by rapidly changing energy landscapes in these countries, we also suggest the relative deprivation theory and processes of social comparison hold some value in explaining these findings.

Research for food and health in Europe: themes, needs and proposals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McKenna Brian

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE is a collaborative project commissioned by the European Union. Among its tasks is the description of national research systems for food and health and, in work reported here, the identification of strengths and gaps in the European research base. Methods A typology of nine research themes was developed, spanning food, society, health and research structures. Experts were selected through the FAHRE partners, with balance for individual characteristics, and reported using a standardised template. Results Countries usually commission research on food, and on health, separately: few countries have combined research strategies or programmes. Food and health are also strongly independent fields within the European Commission's research programmes. Research programmes have supported food and bio-technology, food safety, epidemiological research, and nutritional surveillance; but there has been less research into personal behaviour and very little on environmental influences on food choices - in the retail and marketing industries, policy, and regulation. The research is mainly sited within universities and research institutes: there is relatively little published research contribution from industry. Discussion National food policies, based on epidemiological evidence and endorsed by the World Health Organisation, recommend major changes in food intake to meet the challenge of chronic diseases. Biomedical and biotechnology research, in areas such as 'nutrio-genomics', 'individualised' diets, 'functional' foods and 'nutri-pharmaceuticals' appear likely to yield less health benefit, and less return on public investment, than research on population-level interventions

Research for food and health in Europe: themes, needs and proposals

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE) is a collaborative project commissioned by the European Union. Among its tasks is the description of national research systems for food and health and, in work reported here, the identification of strengths and gaps in the European research base. Methods A typology of nine research themes was developed, spanning food, society, health and research structures. Experts were selected through the FAHRE partners, with balance for individual characteristics, and reported using a standardised template. Results Countries usually commission research on food, and on health, separately: few countries have combined research strategies or programmes. Food and health are also strongly independent fields within the European Commission's research programmes. Research programmes have supported food and bio-technology, food safety, epidemiological research, and nutritional surveillance; but there has been less research into personal behaviour and very little on environmental influences on food choices - in the retail and marketing industries, policy, and regulation. The research is mainly sited within universities and research institutes: there is relatively little published research contribution from industry. Discussion National food policies, based on epidemiological evidence and endorsed by the World Health Organisation, recommend major changes in food intake to meet the challenge of chronic diseases. Biomedical and biotechnology research, in areas such as 'nutrio-genomics', 'individualised' diets, 'functional' foods and 'nutri-pharmaceuticals' appear likely to yield less health benefit, and less return on public investment, than research on population-level interventions to influence dietary

Strategic challenges in upgrading the population’s health in the transition countries of South Eastern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesna Bjegovic-Mikanovic

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Since the devastating nineties of the last century a slow but steady improvement of the living conditions in the region of South Eastern Europe (SEE has be observed. However, so far only three countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia, have managed to ascent to the European Union and only Slovenia has joined the European currency. All others are still struggling with a difficult heritage of inappropriate vertical management structures, overstaffing and outmigration of the well educated young. This résumé applies also to the field of public health where, for example, the old hygienic tradition remained dominant, often maintaining huge laboratory facilities in the institutes of public health and very small numbers of staff being allocated to health promotion and modern participative management. This situation cannot be overcome easily nor in short term. Supported by funds from the German contribution to the European Stability Pact, the Forum for Public Health in South Eastern Europe (FPH-SEE: www.snz.hr/fphsee has established a permanent collaboration between the public health institutions in the region, including foremost the Schools of Public Health (SPH, the National Public Health Associations (PHA and some national Institutes of Public Health (IPH.

Europe of electricity and gas - Actors, markets, regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grand, Emmanuelle; Veyrenc, Thomas; Chevalier, Jean-Marie

2011-01-01

In about 20 years, radical transformations have deeply changed the electricity and natural gas sectors in Europe. Liberalization, deregulation and Europeanization have been the key words of a flood of change which is still going on today. With time, new issues have appeared: climate change, security of supplies, fossil fuels exhaustion, promotion of renewable energy sources have become part of energy policies. This book tackles this reconfiguration face on and offers some tools to understand the present day complexity of the electricity and gas sector in Europe. Using several schemes and taking into consideration the most recent data, it combines theory and practice to explain the evolutions in progress. It put them into perspective in a synthetic and pedagogical way with several concrete examples

Climate-change-induced range shifts of three allergenic ragweeds (Ambrosia L. in Europe and their potential impact on human health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Rasmussen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Invasive allergenic plant species may have severe health-related impacts. In this study we aim to predict the effects of climate change on the distribution of three allergenic ragweed species (Ambrosia spp. in Europe and discuss the potential associated health impact. We built species distribution models based on presence-only data for three ragweed species, using MAXENT software. Future climatic habitat suitability was modeled under two IPCC climate change scenarios (RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5. We quantify the extent of the increase in ‘high allergy risk’ (HAR areas, i.e., parts of Europe with climatic conditions corresponding to the highest quartile (25% of present day habitat suitability for each of the three species. We estimate that by year 2100, the distribution range of all three ragweed species increases towards Northern and Eastern Europe under all climate scenarios. HAR areas will expand in Europe by 27–100%, depending on species and climate scenario. Novel HAR areas will occur mostly in Denmark, France, Germany, Russia and the Baltic countries, and overlap with densely populated cities such as Paris and St. Petersburg. We conclude that areas in Europe affected by severe ragweed associated allergy problems are likely to increase substantially by year 2100, affecting millions of people. To avoid this, management strategies must be developed that restrict ragweed dispersal and establishment of new populations. Precautionary efforts should limit the spread of ragweed seeds and reduce existing populations. Only by applying cross-countries management plans can managers mitigate future health risks and economical consequences of a ragweed expansion in Europe.

Climate-change-induced range shifts of three allergenic ragweeds (Ambrosia L.) in Europe and their potential impact on human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, Karen; Thyrring, Jakob; Muscarella, Robert; Borchsenius, Finn

2017-01-01

Invasive allergenic plant species may have severe health-related impacts. In this study we aim to predict the effects of climate change on the distribution of three allergenic ragweed species ( Ambrosia spp.) in Europe and discuss the potential associated health impact. We built species distribution models based on presence-only data for three ragweed species, using MAXENT software. Future climatic habitat suitability was modeled under two IPCC climate change scenarios (RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5). We quantify the extent of the increase in 'high allergy risk' (HAR) areas, i.e., parts of Europe with climatic conditions corresponding to the highest quartile (25%) of present day habitat suitability for each of the three species. We estimate that by year 2100, the distribution range of all three ragweed species increases towards Northern and Eastern Europe under all climate scenarios. HAR areas will expand in Europe by 27-100%, depending on species and climate scenario. Novel HAR areas will occur mostly in Denmark, France, Germany, Russia and the Baltic countries, and overlap with densely populated cities such as Paris and St. Petersburg. We conclude that areas in Europe affected by severe ragweed associated allergy problems are likely to increase substantially by year 2100, affecting millions of people. To avoid this, management strategies must be developed that restrict ragweed dispersal and establishment of new populations. Precautionary efforts should limit the spread of ragweed seeds and reduce existing populations. Only by applying cross-countries management plans can managers mitigate future health risks and economical consequences of a ragweed expansion in Europe.

Photovoltaics: New Policy Challenges for Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luís Alexandre Duque Moreira De Sousa

2013-12-01

Full Text Available During the past decade governments across Europe have set in place a series ofprogrammes to expand investment on grid-connected solar power technology, mostespecially Photovoltaics (PV. Recently most of these programmes have beenrolled back, in face of rapidly declining costs. Using a simple model thisarticle shows that basic PV electricity costs are presently below 0.10 €/kWh inlarge swaths of the continent, entering levels where previously only nuclear andfossil fired electricity where found. Due to the scalable nature of PV, manyhouseholds in Europe are now able to produce their own electricity at a costconsiderably lower that the rates demanded by grid utilities. If governmentsproceed with the complete roll back of fixed electricity rates to PV suppliersthe most likely result is a shift to off-the-grid systems. Long term thistrend presents serious challenges to utilities and traditional electricitysuppliers, putting at stake the traditional electricity market framework.

The Models of Personal Bankruptcy in Western Europe

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Roxana Hetes-Gavra

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Personal bankruptcy is regulated in all the countries from Western Europe. We selected a groupof three countries: France, Ireland and Germany, to analyze the ways in which physical personsare put under bankruptcy law protection, while considering that implementation of the personalbankruptcy law is constantly delayed in Romania. Taking into account some comparative studies,we have found out that in all three countries is applied the principle of “consumer-friendlylegislation”.

Global payment for health services as a solution in the financial crisis in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrijvers, Guus

2012-10-01

In these financial difficult years many European governments used global ceilings to control costs of health services. Two scenarios are thinkable. The first is that all individual providers get a budget for their own costs: general practitioners, specialists, hospitals, nursing homes and mental health institutes. The second scenario is to work with global budgets for health care providers servicing a total population. Scientists and policy makers in Europe, North America and Asia need time to design new payment systems based on the idea of global budgeting, bundled payment and shared savings.

Preservation of wilderness areas in Europe

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Zoltán Kun

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A unique momentum has been created over the past few years for strengthening the protection of wilderness in Europe. Policy makers started to pay attention to the importance of truly untouched and non-managed areas and the European Parliament adopted a special report on wilderness in February 2009. The report was followed by the EC Presidency Conference in Prague, May 2009, on Wilderness Areas. The most important outcome of this event was the approval of the ‘Agenda for Wilderness’, which eventually led to the inclusion of wilderness in the new EU Biodiversity Strategy. This paper argues that these political successes have yet to be put into practice. Threats to wilderness areas are still increasing and there have been no improvements in the management of these areas. There are emerging threats, especially from tree felling and mining, which is driven by increase in commodity prices. In order to save the last pieces of wilderness in Europe and utilize the current opportunities to restore wilderness areas, science and field conservation must develop a common Wilderness Research Agenda for Europe. The main questions are: (i What are the ecosystem services and benefits that humans obtain for wilderness areas? (ii What is the potential contribution of such wilderness areas for reducing biodiversity loss, halt species extinctions and support biodiversity restoration in Europe? (iii What is the social perception of wilderness in different countries and across different sectors of society? (iv What should be considered wilderness in a densely populated area such as Europe?

Could cut-price cardiovascular procedures in India help Europe's hard-pressed health-care systems?

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-01

Until recently, travelling to India for a cardiovascular procedure was unheard of, but huge improvements in the quality of medical care available in the subcontinent, and its relative cheapness, have fostered the growth of 'medical tourism' and could impact on health care in Europe, reports Barry Shurlock, PhD.

The impact of ill health on exit from paid employment in Europe among older workers.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Berg, Tilja; Schuring, Merel; Avendano, Mauricio; Mackenbach, Johan; Burdorf, Alex

2010-12-01

To determine the impact of ill health on exit from paid employment in Europe among older workers. Participants of the Survey on Health and Ageing in Europe (SHARE) in 11 European countries in 2004 and 2006 were selected when 50-63 years old and in paid employment at baseline (n=4611). Data were collected on self-rated health, chronic diseases, mobility limitations, obesity, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and work characteristics. Participants were classified into employed, retired, unemployed and disabled at the end of the 2-year follow-up. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of different measures of ill health on exit from paid employment. During the 2-year follow-up, 17% of employed workers left paid employment, mainly because of early retirement. Controlling for individual and work related characteristics, poor self-perceived health was strongly associated with exit from paid employment due to retirement, unemployment or disability (ORs from 1.32 to 4.24). Adjustment for working conditions and lifestyle reduced the significant associations between ill health and exit from paid employment by 0-18.7%. Low education, obesity, low job control and effort-reward imbalance were associated with measures of ill health, but also risk factors for exit from paid employment after adjustment for ill health. Poor self-perceived health was strongly associated with exit from paid employment among European workers aged 50-63 years. This study suggests that the influence of ill health on exit from paid employment could be lessened by measures targeting obesity, problematic alcohol use, job control and effort-reward balance.

The School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) Project: Design and First Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovess, Viviane; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Pez, Ondine; Bitfoi, Adina; Koç, Ceren; Goelitz, Dietmar; Kuijpers, Rowella; Lesinskiene, Sigita; Mihova, Zlatka; Otten, Roy

2015-01-01

Background : The School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) project aims to build up a set of indicators to collect and monitor children's mental health in an efficient and comparable methodology across the EU countries. It concerns primary schools children aged 6 to 11 years a range where few data are available whereas school interventions are promising. Methods : Three informants were used: parents, teachers and children. In selecting instruments language, instruments were selected according to the easiness to translate them: SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) for parents and teachers and DI (Dominic Interactive). A two-step procedure was used: schools randomization then six children by class in each grade. Results : 9084 children from seven countries (Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Turkey) completed the Dominic Interactive in their own language. 6563 teachers and 6031 parents completed their questionnaire, and a total of 5574 interviews have been completed by the 3 informants. The participation rate of the children with parents in the participating schools was about 66.4%. As expected teachers report more externalised problems and less internalised problems than parents. Children report more internalised problems than parents and teachers. Boys have consistently more externalised problems than girls and this is the reverse for internalised problems. Combining the diverse informants and impairment levels children with problems requiring some sort of mental health care were about 9.9%: 76% did not see any mental health professional: 78.7% In Eastern countries 63.1% in Western Europe.

[Reform of public health in Central Europe during the 18th century].

Science.gov (United States)

Kapronczay, Károly

2010-01-01

Author outlines the history of making and of development of public health during the period of enlightenment in Central Europe, with special regards on the Habsurg Empire, on Poland and on Russia. This development--including the foundation or reforms of medical education--was highly influenced by the ideas of the enlightened absolutism and by other international trends of the age as well. The detailed analysis of the factors shaping the history of public health in the three rather different countries shows an interesing parallelism regarding main issues. While re-organization of public health in all these countries was initiated and directed by the government and shaped according to western models, it was strongly influenced by local possibilities, culture and history.

Health consumer and patients' organizations in Europe: towards a comparative analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Baggott, Rob; Forster, Rudolf

2008-01-01

Abstract Despite the rise of health consumer and patients’ organizations (HCPOs) in modern health‐care systems, studies are few and far between. In particular there is a lack of comparative research across Europe and at the pan‐European level. In an effort to address this gap, an expert workshop was held in Vienna in February 2006. This involved 22 delegates from 10 European Countries and was funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF). The workshop reviewed the development of HCPOs in Europe and their role in the policy process in order to establish a platform for further research in this field. It found evidence of an increase in HCPOs across European countries, increased engagement with policy makers and political institutions, and the creation of alliance organizations bringing together HCPOs across the sector. However, variations between countries were observed, relating to different political, cultural and health system contexts. There was no consensus on whether the rise of HCPOs constituted a new social movement. An increase in HCPO activity at the pan‐European level was noted, reflecting the increased interest of EU institutions in health policy. At both domestic and European levels, concerns about the representativeness and legitimacy of HCPOs were raised as well as questions about their independence (notably with regard to the drugs industry). HCPOs face a number of obstacles including: lack of capacity and resources, fragmentation and the power of more established interests within the health‐care system. The workshop concluded that further research is needed in this field, in the form of a comparative study of HCPOs in European countries and an analysis of their activities at the pan‐European level. PMID:18275405

Why Has the Health-Promoting Prison Concept Failed to Translate to the United States?

Science.gov (United States)

Woodall, James

2018-05-01

Two decades since the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe published a report on health promotion in prison that stimulated further debate on the concept of the "health-promoting prison," this article discusses the extent to which the concept has translated to the United States. One predicted indicator of success for the health-promoting prison movement was the expansion of activity beyond European borders; yet 2 decades since the European model was put forward, there has been very limited activity in the United States. This "Critical Issues and Trends" article suggests reasons why this translation has failed to occur.

Political regimes, political ideology, and self-rated health in Europe: a multilevel analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Huijts, Tim; Perkins, Jessica M; Subramanian, S V

2010-07-22

Studies on political ideology and health have found associations between individual ideology and health as well as between ecological measures of political ideology and health. Individual ideology and aggregate measures such as political regimes, however, were never examined simultaneously. Using adjusted logistic multilevel models to analyze data on individuals from 29 European countries and Israel, we found that individual ideology and political regime are independently associated with self-rated health. Individuals with rightwing ideologies report better health than leftwing individuals. Respondents from Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics report poorer health than individuals from social democratic, liberal, Christian conservative, and former Mediterranean dictatorship countries. In contrast to individual ideology and political regimes, country level aggregations of individual ideology are not related to reporting poor health. This study shows that although both individual political ideology and contextual political regime are independently associated with individuals' self-rated health, individual political ideology appears to be more strongly associated with self-rated health than political regime.

Protecting human health and security in digital Europe: how to deal with the "privacy paradox"?

Science.gov (United States)

Büschel, Isabell; Mehdi, Rostane; Cammilleri, Anne; Marzouki, Yousri; Elger, Bernice

2014-09-01

This article is the result of an international research between law and ethics scholars from Universities in France and Switzerland, who have been closely collaborating with technical experts on the design and use of information and communication technologies in the fields of human health and security. The interdisciplinary approach is a unique feature and guarantees important new insights in the social, ethical and legal implications of these technologies for the individual and society as a whole. Its aim is to shed light on the tension between secrecy and transparency in the digital era. A special focus is put from the perspectives of psychology, medical ethics and European law on the contradiction between individuals' motivations for consented processing of personal data and their fears about unknown disclosure, transferal and sharing of personal data via information and communication technologies (named the "privacy paradox"). Potential benefits and harms for the individual and society resulting from the use of computers, mobile phones, the Internet and social media are being discussed. Furthermore, the authors point out the ethical and legal limitations inherent to the processing of personal data in a democratic society governed by the rule of law. Finally, they seek to demonstrate that the impact of information and communication technology use on the individuals' well-being, the latter being closely correlated with a high level of fundamental rights protection in Europe, is a promising feature of the socalled "e-democracy" as a new way to collectively attribute meaning to large-scale online actions, motivations and ideas.

Convergent Validity of the PUTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Cathérine Brandt

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Premonitory urges are a cardinal feature in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Severity of premonitory urges can be assessed with the Premonitory Urge for Tic Disorders Scale (PUTS. However, convergent validity of the measure has been difficult to assess due to the lack of other urge measures.We investigated the relationship between average real-time urge intensity assessed by an in-house developed real-time urge monitor, measuring urge intensity continuously for 5mins on a visual analogue scale, and general urge intensity assessed by the PUTS in 22 adult Tourette patients (mean age 29.8+/- 10.3; 19 male. Additionally, underlying factors of premonitory urges assessed by the PUTS were investigated in the adult sample using factor analysis and were replicated in 40 children and adolescents diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (mean age 12.05 +/- 2.83 SD, 31 male.Cronbach’s alpha for the PUTS10 was acceptable (α = .79 in the adult sample. Convergent validity between average real-time urge intensity scores (as assessed with the real-time urge monitor and the 10-item version of the PUTS (r = .64 and the 9-item version of the PUTS (r = .66 was good. A factor analysis including the 10 items of the PUTS and average real-time urge intensity scores revealed three factors. One factor included the average real-time urge intensity score and appeared to measure urge intensity, while the other two factors can be assumed to reflect the (sensory quality of urges and subjective control, respectively. The factor structure of the 10 PUTS items alone was replicated in a sample of children and adolescents.The results indicate that convergent validity between the PUTS and the real-time urge assessment monitor is good. Furthermore, the results suggest that the PUTS might assess more than one dimension of urges and it may be worthwhile developing different sub-scales of the PUTS assessing premonitory urges in terms of intensity and quality, as well as subjectively

Changes in dietary habits after migration and consequences for health: a focus on South Asians in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd Holmboe-Ottesen

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Immigrants from low-income countries comprise an increasing proportion of the population in Europe. Higher prevalence of obesity and nutrition related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D and cardiovascular disease (CVD is found in some immigrant groups, especially in South Asians. Aim: To review dietary changes after migration and discuss the implication for health and prevention among immigrants from low-income countries to Europe, with a special focus on South Asians. Method: Systematic searches in PubMed were performed to identify relevant high quality review articles and primary research papers. The searches were limited to major immigrant groups in Europe, including those from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Articles in English from 1990 and onwards from Europe were included. For health implications, recent review articles and studies of particular relevance to dietary changes among South Asian migrants in Europe were chosen. Results: Most studies report on dietary changes and health consequences in South Asians. The picture of dietary change is complex, depending on a variety of factors related to country of origin, urban/rural residence, socio-economic and cultural factors and situation in host country. However, the main dietary trend after migration is a substantial increase in energy and fat intake, a reduction in carbohydrates and a switch from whole grains and pulses to more refined sources of carbohydrates, resulting in a low intake of fiber. The data also indicate an increase in intake of meat and dairy foods. Some groups have also reduced their vegetable intake. The findings suggest that these dietary changes may all have contributed to higher risk of obesity, T2D and CVD. Implications for prevention: A first priority in prevention should be adoption of a low-energy density – high fiber diet, rich in whole grains and grain products, as well as fruits, vegetables and pulses. Furthermore

A health risk assessment for fluoride in Central Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Fordyce, F M; Vrana, K; Zhovinsky, E; Povoroznuk, V; Toth, G; Hope, B C; Iljinsky, U; Baker, J

2007-04-01

Like many elements, fluorine (which generally occurs in nature as fluoride) is beneficial to human health in trace amounts, but can be toxic in excess. The links between low intakes of fluoride and dental protection are well known; however, fluoride is a powerful calcium-seeking element and can interfere with the calcified structure of bones and teeth in the human body at higher concentrations causing dental or skeletal fluorosis. One of the main exposure routes is via drinking water and the World Health Organisation currently sets water quality guidelines for the element. In Central Europe, groundwater resources that exceed the guideline value of 1.5 mg l-1 are widespread and effects on health of high fluoride in water have been reported. The aim of the current project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to aid the identification of areas where high-fluoride waters and fluorosis may be a problem; hence, where water treatment technologies should be targeted. The development of the GIS was based upon the collation and digitisation of existing information relevant to fluoride risk in Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia assembled for the first time in a readily accessible form. In addition, geochemistry and health studies to examine in more detail the relationships between high-fluoride drinking waters and health effects in the population were carried out in Moldova and Ukraine demonstrating dental fluorosis prevalence rates of 60-90% in adolescents consuming water containing 2-7 mg l-1 fluoride.

Putting the spiritual into practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia von Boguslawski

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to examine how Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical ideas were reflected and put into practice in the lives of the Finnish couple Olly (Olga Donner (1881–1956, neé Sinebrychoff and Uno Donner (1872–1958. They encountered anthroposophy in 1913 and subsequently embraced it as the guiding principle of their lives. Through a close examination of these two people we aim to shed light on how a new worldview like anthroposophy, which was gaining followers in early twentieth-century Finland, was also a manifestation of wider changes in religious culture in Europe. Our perspective could be described as biographical in the sense that it has been characterised by Simone Lässig (2008: 11 who writes that ‘the reconstruction of individual life courses helps to discover more about the context – for example, about daily rituals, pious practices, or kinship relationship’. Thus, the biographical perspective serves as a tool for grasping how something as deeply personal as an anthroposophical worldview was understood and practised, not only by Olly and Uno Donner, but also by a larger group of people who in the early twentieth century were looking for new ways to make sense of the surrounding world.

Putting instruction sequences into effect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergstra, J.A.

2011-01-01

An attempt is made to define the concept of execution of an instruction sequence. It is found to be a special case of directly putting into effect of an instruction sequence. Directly putting into effect of an instruction sequences comprises interpretation as well as execution. Directly putting into

Choices Behind Numbers: a Review of the Major Air Pollution Health Impact Assessments in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Malmqvist, E; Oudin, A; Pascal, M; Medina, S

2018-03-01

The aim of this review is to identify the key contextual and methodological differences in health impact assessments (HIA) of ambient air pollution performed for Europe. We limited our review to multi-country reviews. An additional aim is to quantify some of these differences by applying them in a HIA template in three European cities. Several HIAs of ambient air pollution have been performed for Europe, and their key results have been largely disseminated. Different studies have, however, come up with substantial differences in attributed health effects. It is of importance to review the background contributing to these differences and to quantify their importance for decision makers who will use them. We identified several methodological differences that could explain the discrepancy behind the number of attributable deaths or years of life lost. The main differences are due to the exposure-response functions chosen, the ways of assessing air pollution levels, the air pollution scenarios and the study population. In the quantification part, we found that using risk estimates from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) instead of the American Cancer Society (ACS) study could nearly double the attributable burden of ambient air pollution. This study provides some insights into the differential results in previously published HIAs on air pollution in Europe. These results are important for stakeholders in order to make informed decisions.

Genetic education and the challenge of genomic medicine: development of core competences to support preparation of health professionals in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skirton, Heather; Lewis, Celine; Kent, Alastair

2010-01-01

in professional education and regulation between European countries, setting curricula may not be practical. Core competences are used as a basis for health professional education in many fields and settings. An Expert Group working under the auspices of the EuroGentest project and European Society of Human...... Genetics Education Committee agreed that a pragmatic solution to the need to establish common standards for education and practice in genetic health care was to agree to a set of core competences that could apply across Europe. These were agreed through an exhaustive process of consultation with relevant......The use of genetics and genomics within a wide range of health-care settings requires health professionals to develop expertise to practise appropriately. There is a need for a common minimum standard of competence in genetics for health professionals in Europe but because of differences...

Forecasting extreme temperature health hazards in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Di Napoli, Claudia; Pappenberger, Florian; Cloke, Hannah L.

2017-04-01

Extreme hot temperatures, such as those experienced during a heat wave, represent a dangerous meteorological hazard to human health. Heat disorders such as sunstroke are harmful to people of all ages and responsible for excess mortality in the affected areas. In 2003 more than 50,000 people died in western and southern Europe because of a severe and sustained episode of summer heat [1]. Furthermore, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change heat waves are expected to get more frequent in the future thus posing an increasing threat to human lives. Developing appropriate tools for extreme hot temperatures prediction is therefore mandatory to increase public preparedness and mitigate heat-induced impacts. A recent study has shown that forecasts of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) provide a valid overview of extreme temperature health hazards on a global scale [2]. UTCI is a parameter related to the temperature of the human body and its regulatory responses to the surrounding atmospheric environment. UTCI is calculated using an advanced thermo-physiological model that includes the human heat budget, physiology and clothing. To forecast UTCI the model uses meteorological inputs, such as 2m air temperature, 2m water vapour pressure and wind velocity at body height derived from 10m wind speed, from NWP models. Here we examine the potential of UTCI as an extreme hot temperature prediction tool for the European area. UTCI forecasts calculated using above-mentioned parameters from ECMWF models are presented. The skill in predicting UTCI for medium lead times is also analysed and discussed for implementation to international health-hazard warning systems. This research is supported by the ANYWHERE project (EnhANcing emergencY management and response to extreme WeatHER and climate Events) which is funded by the European Commission's HORIZON2020 programme. [1] Koppe C. et al., Heat waves: risks and responses. World Health Organization. Health and

Civil society organisations, social innovation and health research in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Beinare, Dace; McCarthy, Mark

2012-12-01

European Union strategies and programmes identify research and innovation as a critical dimension for future economic and social development. While European research policy emphasizes support for industry, the health field includes not-for-profit civil society organisations (CSOs) providing social innovation. Yet, the perspectives of CSOs towards health research in Europe are not well understood. STEPS (Strengthening Engagement in Public Health Research) was funded by the European Commission's Science in Society research programme. Within the study, we interviewed by telephone respondents of 13 European health CSOs, which represented collectively local and national organizations. Research was valued positively by the respondents. Health CSOs did not seek to do research themselves, but recognized the opportunity of funds in this field and welcomed the possibility of collaborating in research, of using the results from research and of providing input to research agendas. Links between research and users provides knowledge for the public and improves impacts on policy. Research and evaluation can help in demonstrating the benefit of innovative activities, and give support and legitimacy. However, the cultures of, and incentives for, researchers and health CSOs are different, and collaboration requires building trust, a shared language and for the power relations and objectives to match. Health CSOs contribute social innovation in organising services and activities such as advocacy that cannot be satisfactorily met by industry. Engaging CSOs in research and innovation will strengthen the European Research Area.

Climate-change-induced range shifts of three allergenic ragweeds (Ambrosia L.) in Europe and their potential impact on human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Karen; Thyrring, Jakob; Borchsenius, Finn

2017-01-01

Invasive allergenic plant species may have severe health-related impacts. In this study we aim to predict the effects of climate change on the distribution of three allergenic ragweed species (Ambrosia spp.) in Europe and discuss the potential associated health impact. We built species distribution...... models based on presence-only data for three ragweed species, using MAXENT software. Future climatic habitat suitability was modeled under two IPCC climate change scenarios (RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5). We quantify the extent of the increase in ‘high allergy risk’ (HAR) areas, i.e., parts of Europe...... with climatic conditions corresponding to the highest quartile (25%) of present day habitat suitability for each of the three species. We estimate that by year 2100, the distribution range of all three ragweed species increases towards Northern and Eastern Europe under all climate scenarios. HAR areas...

Exploring overweight, obesity and their behavioural correlates among children and adolescents: results from the Health-promotion through Obesity Prevention across Europe project.

Science.gov (United States)

Brug, Johannes; Lien, Nanna; Klepp, Knut-Inge; van Lenthe, Frank J

2010-10-01

The Health-promotion through Obesity Prevention across Europe (HOPE) project aims to bring the European scientific knowledge on overweight, obesity and their determinants together and use the expertise of researchers across Europe to contribute to tackling the obesity epidemic. This special issue of Public Health Nutrition presents important results from one of the work packages of the HOPE project that aims at gaining and integrating knowledge on the determinants of nutrition, physical activity and obesity among schoolchildren and adolescents (aged 10-18 years) in different European regions. It includes contributions from Northern Europe (Norway), Central and Eastern Europe (Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic), Southern Europe (Greece) and Western Europe (Belgium and The Netherlands), as well as an overview of the availability of good-quality data on prevalence rates and trends in overweight (including obesity) among adolescents in European Union (EU) countries. The studies that are included report prevalence differences, data on relevant nutrition and physical activity behaviours, as well as potential physical and environmental behavioural determinants. These papers provide further evidence on differences in obesity and overweight prevalence among different EU regions and countries, and contribute to the further exploration of risk factors that may or should be addressed in obesity prevention efforts for school-aged children and adolescents in EU countries.

Political Regimes, Political Ideology, and Self-Rated Health in Europe: A Multilevel Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Huijts, Tim; Perkins, Jessica M.; Subramanian, S. V.

2010-01-01

Background Studies on political ideology and health have found associations between individual ideology and health as well as between ecological measures of political ideology and health. Individual ideology and aggregate measures such as political regimes, however, were never examined simultaneously. Methodology/Principal Findings Using adjusted logistic multilevel models to analyze data on individuals from 29 European countries and Israel, we found that individual ideology and political regime are independently associated with self-rated health. Individuals with rightwing ideologies report better health than leftwing individuals. Respondents from Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics report poorer health than individuals from social democratic, liberal, Christian conservative, and former Mediterranean dictatorship countries. In contrast to individual ideology and political regimes, country level aggregations of individual ideology are not related to reporting poor health. Conclusions/Significance This study shows that although both individual political ideology and contextual political regime are independently associated with individuals' self-rated health, individual political ideology appears to be more strongly associated with self-rated health than political regime. PMID:20661433

Transport, environment and health in central and Eastern Europe. State of affairs and policy options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-05-01

The report provides a review of the current state of affairs and development trends in the transport sector in Central and Eastern Europe including the associated environmental and health effects. Focus in the report is on the challenges and policy options for counteracting the negative effects from transport as well as integrating environmental and health aspects in transport policies. The report is undertaken as a desk study supplemented by two case studies in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. (au)

Improving family and community health in eastern Europe--the lifecycle approach at WHO

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lazarus, Jeff; Bjørk, Christina; Ostergren, Mikael

2006-01-01

There are great differences in the health status of young children in the European Region. Central Asia and the Caucasus are the worst-off areas. After reviewing under-five mortality in the eight countries of this part of Eastern Europe, a new WHO strategy to improve child survival is presented. ....... Adopted in late 2005, the strategy has four main principles: a lifecycle approach, youth participation, equity and intersectoral collaboration....

Health Conditions and Passive Suicidal Ideation in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Kimberly; Turiano, Nicholas A.; Fiske, Amy

2016-01-01

Objectives: To examine the associations between health conditions and passive suicidal ideation in middle-aged and older adults. Method: Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted on data from 35,664 middle-aged and older adults from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Mediation analyses were also conducted to test the roles of disability and depression in risk of ideation. Results: After including demographic variables, disability, depression, and other health conditions as covariates, heart attack, diabetes/high blood sugar, chronic lung disease, arthritis, ulcer, and hip/femoral fractures were associated with increased odds of passive suicidal ideation. When grouped by organ systems, conditions affecting the endocrine, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems were associated with increased odds of passive suicidal ideation, as was the total number of conditions. Individuals with greater numbers of health conditions exhibited greater levels of disability and depression, which partially explained the increased risk of passive suicidal ideation among those with more health conditions. Discussion: Certain specific health conditions, as well as total number of conditions, are associated with passive suicidal ideation in middle age and older adulthood. Health is a critical risk factor for suicidal ideation in late life and should be further studied in this particularly at-risk population. PMID:27013533

Essential levels of health information in Europe: an action plan for a coherent and sustainable infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Carinci, Fabrizio

2015-04-01

The European Union needs a common health information infrastructure to support policy and governance on a routine basis. A stream of initiatives conducted in Europe during the last decade resulted into several success stories, but did not specify a unified framework that could be broadly implemented on a continental level. The recent debate raised a potential controversy on the different roles and responsibilities of policy makers vs the public health community in the construction of such a pan-European health information system. While institutional bodies shall clarify the statutory conditions under which such an endeavour is to be carried out, researchers should define a common framework for optimal cross-border information exchange. This paper conceptualizes a general solution emerging from past experiences, introducing a governance structure and overarching framework that can be realized through four main action lines, underpinned by the key principle of "Essential Levels of Health Information" for Europe. The proposed information model is amenable to be applied in a consistent manner at both national and EU level. If realized, the four action lines outlined here will allow developing a EU health information infrastructure that would effectively integrate best practices emerging from EU public health initiatives, including projects and joint actions carried out during the last ten years. The proposed approach adds new content to the ongoing debate on the future activity of the European Commission in the area of health information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is Europe putting theory into practice? A qualitative study of the level of self-management support in chronic care management approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Elissen, Arianne; Nolte, Ellen; Knai, Cécile; Brunn, Matthias; Chevreul, Karine; Conklin, Annalijn; Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle; Erler, Antje; Flamm, Maria; Frølich, Anne; Fullerton, Birgit; Jacobsen, Ramune; Saz-Parkinson, Zuleika; Sarria-Santamera, Antonio; Sönnichsen, Andreas; Vrijhoef, Hubertus

2013-03-26

Self-management support is a key component of effective chronic care management, yet in practice appears to be the least implemented and most challenging. This study explores whether and how self-management support is integrated into chronic care approaches in 13 European countries. In addition, it investigates the level of and barriers to implementation of support strategies in health care practice. We conducted a review among the 13 participating countries, based on a common data template informed by the Chronic Care Model. Key informants presented a sample of representative chronic care approaches and related self-management support strategies. The cross-country review was complemented by a Dutch case study of health professionals' views on the implementation of self-management support in practice. Self-management support for chronically ill patients remains relatively underdeveloped in Europe. Similarities between countries exist mostly in involved providers (nurses) and settings (primary care). Differences prevail in mode and format of support, and materials used. Support activities focus primarily on patients' medical and behavioral management, and less on emotional management. According to Dutch providers, self-management support is not (yet) an integral part of daily practice; implementation is hampered by barriers related to, among others, funding, IT and medical culture. Although collaborative care for chronic conditions is becoming more important in European health systems, adequate self-management support for patients with chronic disease is far from accomplished in most countries. There is a need for better understanding of how we can encourage both patients and health care providers to engage in productive interactions in daily chronic care practice, which can improve health and social outcomes.

The status of tularemia in Europe in a one-health context: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hestvik, G; Warns-Petit, E; Smith, L A; Fox, N J; Uhlhorn, H; Artois, M; Hannant, D; Hutchings, M R; Mattsson, R; Yon, L; Gavier-Widen, D

2015-07-01

The bacterium Francisella tularensis causes the vector-borne zoonotic disease tularemia, and may infect a wide range of hosts including invertebrates, mammals and birds. Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, or through arthropod vectors. Tularemia has a broad geographical distribution, and there is evidence which suggests local emergence or re-emergence of this disease in Europe. This review was developed to provide an update on the geographical distribution of F. tularensis in humans, wildlife, domestic animals and vector species, to identify potential public health hazards, and to characterize the epidemiology of tularemia in Europe. Information was collated on cases in humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and on reports of detection of the bacterium in arthropod vectors, from 38 European countries for the period 1992-2012. Multiple international databases on human and animal health were consulted, as well as published reports in the literature. Tularemia is a disease of complex epidemiology that is challenging to understand and therefore to control. Many aspects of this disease remain poorly understood. Better understanding is needed of the epidemiological role of animal hosts, potential vectors, mechanisms of maintenance in the different ecosystems, and routes of transmission of the disease.

Have Maryland local health departments effectively put in place the information technology relevant to emergency preparedness?

Science.gov (United States)

Nguh, Jonas

2013-01-01

Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the federal government has increased funding for emergency preparedness. However, the literature continues to document several areas of weaknesses in public health emergency management by local health departments (LHD). This lack of preparedness affects the entire public. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not Maryland LHDs have effectively put in place the information technology (IT) that is relevant for emergency preparedness. Base Firm-wide IT Infrastructure Services and the Feeny/Willcocks Framework for Core IS Capabilities are the two conceptual frameworks used in this study. This qualitative study used the survey method and the data were analyzed through content analysis. The results revealed that utilization, practice, and performance of IT by Maryland LHDs are not efficient or effective. Recommendations included the development of "best practices," increased funding for IT infrastructure and the establishment of strategic management framework for IT initiatives. Implications for positive social change include the development of recommendations to enhance emergency preparedness practice, and advancement of knowledge so as to facilitate the functions, and duties of health departments in emergency preparedness operations.

Nuclear energy development in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banal, Michel

1975-01-01

The present state of the nuclear development in Europe is discussed. Power plants already operating and those presently being built or to be put in operation before 1980 are considered. Only the large industrial countries near France are dealt with, the situation of the Eastern countries being too different to be envisaged in the same paper. A table gives the whole electric power production and its nuclear component for the more important industrial countries in 1974, the respective powers of the power plants operating on january 1, 1975 and those that must be in operation in 1980 and 1985, in the same countries, France, the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Belgium are successively considered [fr

Parental use of corporal punishment in Europe: intersection between public health and policy.

Science.gov (United States)

duRivage, Nathalie; Keyes, Katherine; Leray, Emmanuelle; Pez, Ondine; Bitfoi, Adina; Koç, Ceren; Goelitz, Dietmar; Kuijpers, Rowella; Lesinskiene, Sigita; Mihova, Zlatka; Otten, Roy; Fermanian, Christophe; Kovess-Masfety, Viviane

2015-01-01

Studies have linked the use of corporal punishment of children to the development of mental health disorders. Despite the recommendation of international governing bodies for a complete ban of the practice, there is little European data available on the effects of corporal punishment on mental health and the influence of laws banning corporal punishment. Using data from the School Children Mental Health Europe survey, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence and legal status of corporal punishment across six European countries and to evaluate the association between parental use of corporal punishment and children's mental health. The study found that odds of having parents who reported using occasional to frequent corporal punishment were 1.7 times higher in countries where its use is legal, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Children with parents who reported using corporal punishment had higher rates of both externalized and internalized mental health disorders.

Parental use of corporal punishment in Europe: intersection between public health and policy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathalie duRivage

Full Text Available Studies have linked the use of corporal punishment of children to the development of mental health disorders. Despite the recommendation of international governing bodies for a complete ban of the practice, there is little European data available on the effects of corporal punishment on mental health and the influence of laws banning corporal punishment. Using data from the School Children Mental Health Europe survey, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence and legal status of corporal punishment across six European countries and to evaluate the association between parental use of corporal punishment and children's mental health. The study found that odds of having parents who reported using occasional to frequent corporal punishment were 1.7 times higher in countries where its use is legal, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Children with parents who reported using corporal punishment had higher rates of both externalized and internalized mental health disorders.

Parental Use of Corporal Punishment in Europe: Intersection between Public Health and Policy

Science.gov (United States)

duRivage, Nathalie; Keyes, Katherine; Leray, Emmanuelle; Pez, Ondine; Bitfoi, Adina; Koç, Ceren; Goelitz, Dietmar; Kuijpers, Rowella; Lesinskiene, Sigita; Mihova, Zlatka; Otten, Roy; Fermanian, Christophe; Kovess-Masfety, Viviane

2015-01-01

Studies have linked the use of corporal punishment of children to the development of mental health disorders. Despite the recommendation of international governing bodies for a complete ban of the practice, there is little European data available on the effects of corporal punishment on mental health and the influence of laws banning corporal punishment. Using data from the School Children Mental Health Europe survey, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the prevalence and legal status of corporal punishment across six European countries and to evaluate the association between parental use of corporal punishment and children’s mental health. The study found that odds of having parents who reported using occasional to frequent corporal punishment were 1.7 times higher in countries where its use is legal, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Children with parents who reported using corporal punishment had higher rates of both externalized and internalized mental health disorders. PMID:25674788

The role and utilisation of public health evaluations in Europe: a case study of national hand hygiene campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Evaluations are essential to judge the success of public health programmes. In Europe, the proportion of public health programmes that undergo evaluation remains unclear. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control sought to determine the frequency of evaluations amongst European national public health programmes by using national hand hygiene campaigns as an example of intervention. Methods A cohort of all national hand hygiene campaigns initiated between 2000 and 2012 was utilised for the analysis. The aim was to collect information about evaluations of hand hygiene campaigns and their frequency. The survey was sent to nominated contact points for healthcare-associated infection surveillance in European Union and European Economic Area Member States. Results Thirty-six hand hygiene campaigns in 20 countries were performed between 2000 and 2012. Of these, 50% had undergone an evaluation and 55% of those utilised the WHO hand hygiene intervention self-assessment tool. Evaluations utilised a variety of methodologies and indicators in assessing changes in hand hygiene behaviours pre and post intervention. Of the 50% of campaigns that were not evaluated, two thirds reported that both human and financial resource constraints posed significant barriers for the evaluation. Conclusion The study identified an upward trend in the number of hand hygiene campaigns implemented in Europe. It is likely that the availability of the internationally-accepted evaluation methodology developed by the WHO contributed to the evaluation of more hand hygiene campaigns in Europe. Despite this rise, hand hygiene campaigns appear to be under-evaluated. The development of simple, programme-specific, standardised guidelines, evaluation indicators and other evidence-based public health materials could help promote evaluations across all areas of public health. PMID:24507086

JPRS Report, East Europe

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1991-01-01

Partial Contents: Eastern Europe, Interior's agreement, Political Health, Refugee, WOrking People, Saving Banks, Radio Telephones, Budget Draft, Reduced Inflation Rate, New Land, Land Management, Real Estate Laws...

The new institutionalist approaches to health care reform: lessons from reform experiences in Central Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Sitek, Michał

2010-08-01

This article discusses the applicability of the new institutionalism to the politics of health care reform in postcommunist Central Europe. The transition to a market economy and democracy after the fall of communism has apparently strengthened the institutional approaches. The differences in performance of transition economies have been critical to the growing understanding of the importance of institutions that foster democracy, provide security of property rights, help enforce contracts, and stimulate entrepreneurship. From a theoretical perspective, however, applying the new institutionalist approaches has been problematic. The transitional health care reform exposes very well some inherent weaknesses of existing analytic frameworks for explaining the nature and mechanisms of institutional change. The postcommunist era in Central Europe has been marked by spectacular and unprecedented radical changes, in which the capitalist system was rebuilt in a short span of time and the institutions of democracy became consolidated. Broad changes to welfare state programs were instituted as well. However, the actual results of the reform processes represent a mix of change and continuity, which is a challenge for the theories of institutional change.

SCOTLAND AND EUROPE, OR: ROOM AT THE TOP FOR 'CONSTITUTIONAL REGIONS'?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eberhard Bort

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Scotland, it is sometimes said, is more Euro-friendly than the rest of Britain. And, yes, some opinion polls would support that. Scotland is slightly more favourably disposed towards the Euro. And outright Euro-scepticism is not as thick on the ground as in the southern parts of England. But the differences are pretty marginal. Scotland's love for Europe might be more fiction than fact. And yet, as is often the case with myths, it is an important factor in Scottish politics. But the real issue for Scotland and Europe in the immediate future is its representation and participation in the governance of the European Union. With devolution in the UK, Scotland – with its own Parliament and Executive – has been firmly put on the political map of Europe. Together with similarly powered 'regions', Scotland's Parliament and Executive are making their case for an input of the 'third level' into a multi-level system of European governance. Is there room at the top for Scotland and the 'constitutional regions' of Europe? The answer to this question may play a significant role in determining Scotland's future: either as an integrated part of both the UK and Europe, or as an 'independent' state in the European Union.

Climate change impacts on human health over Europe through its effect on air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Ruth M; Heal, Mathew R; O'Connor, Fiona M

2017-12-05

This review examines the current literature on the effects of future emissions and climate change on particulate matter (PM) and O 3 air quality and on the consequent health impacts, with a focus on Europe. There is considerable literature on the effects of climate change on O 3 but fewer studies on the effects of climate change on PM concentrations. Under the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th assessment report (AR5) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), background O 3 entering Europe is expected to decrease under most scenarios due to higher water vapour concentrations in a warmer climate. However, under the extreme pathway RCP8.5 higher (more than double) methane (CH 4 ) abundances lead to increases in background O 3 that offset the O 3 decrease due to climate change especially for the 2100 period. Regionally, in polluted areas with high levels of nitrogen oxides (NO x ), elevated surface temperatures and humidities yield increases in surface O 3 - termed the O 3 climate penalty - especially in southern Europe. The O 3 response is larger for metrics that represent the higher end of the O 3 distribution, such as daily maximum O 3 . Future changes in PM concentrations due to climate change are much less certain, although several recent studies also suggest a PM climate penalty due to high temperatures and humidity and reduced precipitation in northern mid-latitude land regions in 2100.A larger number of studies have examined both future climate and emissions changes under the RCP scenarios. Under these pathways the impact of emission changes on air quality out to the 2050s will be larger than that due to climate change, because of large reductions in emissions of O 3 and PM pollutant precursor emissions and the more limited climate change response itself. Climate change will also affect climate extreme events such as heatwaves. Air pollution episodes are associated with stagnation events and sometimes heat waves. Air quality during

An entomological review of invasive mosquitoes in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Medlock, J M; Hansford, K M; Versteirt, V; Cull, B; Kampen, H; Fontenille, D; Hendrickx, G; Zeller, H; Van Bortel, W; Schaffner, F

2015-12-01

Among the invasive mosquitoes registered all over the world, Aedes species are particularly frequent and important. As several of them are potential vectors of disease, they present significant health concerns for 21st century Europe. Five species have established in mainland Europe, with two (Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus) becoming widespread and two (Ae. albopictus and Aedes aegypti) implicated in disease transmission to humans in Europe. The routes of importation and spread are often enigmatic, the ability to adapt to local environments and climates are rapid, and the biting nuisance and vector potential are both an ecomonic and public health concern. Europeans are used to cases of dengue and chikungunya in travellers returning from the tropics, but the threat to health and tourism in mainland Europe is substantive. Coupled to that are the emerging issues in the European overseas territorities and this paper is the first to consider the impacts in the remoter outposts of Europe. If entomologists and public health authorities are to address the spread of these mosquitoes and mitigate their health risks they must first be prepared to share information to better understand their biology and ecology, and share data on their distribution and control successes. This paper focusses in greater detail on the entomological and ecological aspects of these mosquitoes to assist with the risk assessment process, bringing together a large amount of information gathered through the ECDC VBORNET project.

Noise and children's health: research in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States.

Science.gov (United States)

Paunovic, Katarina

2013-01-01

Many reviews have documented the adverse effects of noise on children's health, but the international scientific community was previously unfamiliar with noise research in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South-East Europe (SEE), and Newly Independent States (NIS). The aim of this review was to present studies on the effects of noise on children's health, conducted in aforementioned countries in the second half of the 20 th century, interpret their findings, and criticize their methodology and results wherever possible. This review focused on 30 papers published in national journals in the period from 1965 to 2000. By design, 22 studies were observational and cross-sectional, and eight studies were experimental. The outcomes under the study included auditory changes, stress reactions, sleep disturbances, school performance, upright posture, and vegetative functions. Researchers from CEE, SEE, and NIS were the pioneers in the assessment of noise-induced changes of vegetative functions and blood pressure of children in urban areas, as well as of infants exposed to noise in incubators. Future research should focus on intervention studies and follow-up of children's health in relation to noise exposure.

Training in psychiatry throughout Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Brittlebank, Andrew; Hermans, Marc; Bhugra, Dinesh; Pinto da Costa, Mariana; Rojnic-Kuzman, Martina; Fiorillo, Andrea; Kurimay, Tamas; Hanon, Cecile; Wasserman, Danuta; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan

2016-03-01

Psychiatry is the largest medical specialty in Europe. Despite efforts to bring harmonisation, training in psychiatry in Europe continues to be very diverse. The Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes (UEMS) has issued as from 2000 a charter of requirements for the training in psychiatry with an additional European Framework for Competencies in Psychiatry in 2009. Yet these have not been implemented throughout Europe. In this paper, the diversity in training throughout Europe is approached from different angles: the cultural differences between countries with regards to how mental health care is considered and founded on, the cultural differences between people throughout Europe in all states. The position of psychotherapy is emphasised. What once was the cornerstone of psychiatry as medical specialty seems to have become a neglected area. Seeing the patient with mental health problems within his cultural context is important, but considering him within his family context. The purpose of any training is enabling the trainee to gain the knowledge and acquire the competencies necessary to become a well-equipped professional is the subject of the last paragraph in which trainees consider their position and early career psychiatrists look back to see whether what they were trained in matches with what they need in the working situation. Common standard for training and certification are a necessity within Europe, for the benefit of the profession of psychiatrist but also for patient safety. UEMS is advised to join forces with the Council of National Psychiatric Associations (NPAs) within the EPA and trainings and early career psychiatrist, to discuss with the users what standards should be implemented in all European countries and how a European board examination could ensure professional quality of psychiatrists throughout the continent.

Depression in Europe: does migrant integration have mental health payoffs? A cross-national comparison of 20 European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Levecque, Katia; Van Rossem, Ronan

2015-01-01

Objectives. Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability. As migrants form an increasing group in Europe, already making up about 8.7% of the population in 2010, knowledge on migrant-related inequalities in depression is of main public health interest. In this study, we first assess whether migrants in Europe are at higher risk for depression compared to the native population. Second, we assess whether the association between migration and depression is dependent on different forms of migrant integration. Migrant integration is looked at both from the individual and from the national level. Design. Hierarchical linear regression analyses based on data for 20 countries in the European Social Survey 2006/2007 (N = 37,076 individuals aged 15 or more). Depression is measured using the center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale. We consider migrant integration over time (first- and second-generation migrants, differentiated according to European Union (EU) or non-EU origin), barriers to integration (low educational level, financial difficulties, being out of the labor market, ethnic minority status, discrimination), and the host country environment (national migrant integration policy). Controls are gender, age, partner relationship, social support, and welfare state regime. Results. Natives and second-generation migrants do not differ significantly in their risk profile for depression. First-generation migrants show higher levels of depression, with those born outside of Europe to be the worst off. This higher risk for depression is not attributable to ethnic minority status but is mainly due to experienced barriers to socioeconomic integration and processes of discrimination. A country's national policy on migrant integration shows not to soften the depressing effect of being a first-generation migrant nor does it have indirect beneficial health effects by reducing barriers to integration. Conclusion. In Europe, first-generation EU and non-EU migrants

Biofuel production potentials in Europe: sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures. Part II: Land use scenarios

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, G.; Prieler, S.; van Velthuizen, H.; Berndes, G.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Londo, H.M.; de Wit, M.P.

2009-01-01

Europe's agricultural land (including Ukraine) comprise of 164 million hectares of cultivated land and 76 million hectares of permanent pasture. A “food first” paradigm was applied in the estimations of land potentially available for the production of biofuel feedstocks, without putting at risk food

Health impact and damage cost assessment of pesticides in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Fantke, Peter; Friedrich, Rainer; Jolliet, Olivier

2012-11-15

Health impacts from pesticide use are of continuous concern in the European population, requiring a constant evaluation of European pesticide policy. However, health impacts have never been quantified accounting for specific crops contributing differently to overall human exposure as well as accounting for individual substances showing distinct environmental behavior and toxicity. We quantify health impacts and related damage costs from exposure to 133 pesticides applied in 24 European countries in 2003 adding up to almost 50% of the total pesticide mass applied in that year. Only 13 substances applied to 3 crop classes (grapes/vines, fruit trees, vegetables) contribute to 90% of the overall health impacts of about 2000 disability-adjusted life years in Europe per year corresponding to annual damage costs of 78 million Euro. Considering uncertainties along the full impact pathway mainly attributable to non-cancer dose-response relationships and residues in treated crops, we obtain an average burden of lifetime lost per person of 2.6 hours (95% confidence interval between 22 seconds and 45.3 days) or costs per person over lifetime of 12 Euro (95% confidence interval between 0.03 Euro and 5142 Euro), respectively. 33 of the 133 assessed substances accounting for 20% of health impacts in 2003 are now banned from the European market according to current legislation. The main limitation in assessing human health impacts from pesticides is related to the lack of systematic application data for all used substances. Since health impacts can be substantially influenced by the choice of pesticides, the need for more information about substance application becomes evident. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Putting women's health in the picture.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

An Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) Workshop for the Production of Video Script on Women's Health was organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and JOICFP and held in Japan from November 29, through December 4, 1993. It produced 4 different prototypes for use in Asia that reflected the range of women's health issues and cultural differences involved. Representatives of family planning (FP) associations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), IEC experts, and health officials from both government and NGOs attended. Dr. Shizuko Sasaki spoke about various legal issues of women's health in Japan, while Colleen Cording spoke concerning the impact of social and policy changes on women's lives and health in New Zealand. Participants were then divided into 4 groups for discussion of target populations and their needs. 4 sets of illustrations were designed to stimulate discussion by instructors and were presented with 10-15 min scripts. The 4 videos included Christie and Me, Proud to Be a Girl, One Day at the Beach, and Happy to Be Me. The 1st film features a uterus as narrator who explains menstruation, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and contraception; the 2nd focuses on positive self images for girls; the 3rd, on a range of sexual topics discussed during a couple's seaside stroll; and the 4th, on a woman's love of self and cycle of life from puberty to old age. Participants are expected to produce similar material with adaptations to their specific countries from these prototypes. Participants also discussed their experiences in women's health education and methods of distributing and marketing educational materials.

Climate changes, environment and infection: facts, scenarios and growing awareness from the public health community within Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezirtzoglou, Christos; Dekas, Konstantinos; Charvalos, Ekatherina

2011-12-01

Climate change is a current global concern and, despite continuing controversy about the extent and importance of causes and of its effects, it seems likely that it will affect the incidence and prevalence of both residual and imported infections in Europe. Climate affects mainly the range of infectious diseases, whereas weather affects the timing and intensity of outbreaks. Climate change scenarios include a change distribution of infectious diseases with warming and changes in outbreaks associated with weather extremes. The largest health impact from climate change for Europe doesn't come from vector borne infectious diseases. This does not mean that these types of health impacts will not arise in Europe. The ranges of several vector-borne diseases or their vectors are already changing in altitude due to warming. In addition, more intense weather events create conditions conductive to outbreaks of infectious diseases: Heavy rains leave insect breeding sites, drive rodents from burrows, and contaminate clean water systems. The incidence of mosquito-borne parasitic and viral diseases, are among those diseases most sensitive to climate. Climate change affect disease transmission by shifting the vector's geographic range and by shortening the pathogen incubation period. climate-related increases in temperature in sea surface and level would lead to higher incidence of waterborne infectious and toxin-related illnesses, such as cholera and seafood intoxication. Climate changes all around the world with impact in Europe are demonstrated by the fact that recent cases of cholera have been imported to Europe from Kenya, where spreading epidemic has been linked to the El Niño phenomenon, originated from the Pacific Ocean. Human migration and damage to health infrastructures from aberrant climate changes could indirectly contribute to disease transmission. Human susceptibility to infections might be further compounded by alterations in the human immune system caused by

Speed limit on the Route de l’Europe

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

Construction work to create a cycle path is under way on the Route de l’Europe, between CERN’s Meyrin and Prévessin sites. The new cycle path is expected to be ready for use in August.   On the part of the road under construction, only one lane is open and the speed limit is 30 km/h. Unfortunately, drivers frequently exceed this limit. Those who drive too fast put their own lives at risk as well as those of the people working on the site.  Please respect the speed limit.  In addition, access to the Route de l’Europe from the SM18, SM19 and BA1 areas and from the tunnel may be in the part of the road where only one lane is open. In this case, please join the road only when the traffic lights allow travel in the relevant direction.

Essential to increase the use of generics in Europe to maintain comprehensive health care?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Godman

2012-12-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Reforms have been introduced across Europe to increase prescribing efficiency with existing drugs. These include measures to lower prices of generics as well as increase their prescribing versus originators and patented products in a class or related class. This is essential to maintain comprehensive health care in Europe given continued pressures. The alternative is insufficient funds for new innovative drugs and increasing drug volumes with ageing populations. OBJECTIVE: To review the influence of measures and initiatives to increase the prescribing and dispensing of generics at low prices on ambulatory care prescribing efficiency. In view of this, provide guidance as authorities strive to introduce further reforms to meet their goals. METHODOLOGY: A narrative review of published papers combined with case histories. RESULTS: The different supply- and demand-side measures have reduced generic prices to as low as 2% to 3% of pre-patent loss prices in some cases as well as appreciably enhanced their utilisation. As a result, prescribing efficiency has increased without compromising care. In some cases, the reforms have led to expenditure actually falling despite appreciably increased volumes. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing use of generics at low prices will help maintain the European ideals of comprehensive and equitable health care. However, countries will continually need to learn from each other.

Comment on: withdrawal of growth-promoting antibiotics in Europe and its effects in relation to human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hammerum, Anette Marie; Heuer, Ole Eske; Lester, Camilla H.

2007-01-01

In response to a review titled 'Withdrawal of growth-promoting antibiotics in Europe and its effects in relation to human health', published in this Journal by Ian Phillips, we hereby comment on the review. Phillips makes use of data from the Danish Integrated Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring...

Social Determinants of Economic Behavior of Older Adults in Europe

OpenAIRE

Youssim, Iaroslav

2015-01-01

This PhD thesis contributes to the growing economic literature which studies effects of social and cultural variables on economic behavior of older adults in Europe. Landes, cited in Guiso et al. (2006), states that "if we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes all the difference” (p. 29). Indeed, in the recent years economists put an effort to apply their analytical frameworks and empirical tools to study the role of culture on economic outcomes (Gu...

INTEGRATING ROMA IN MODERN EUROPEAN SOCIETY. NEW CHALLENGES, NEW OPPORTUNITIES. AN OVERVIEW OF THEIR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IN THE LIGHT OF AN ENLARGED EUROPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silviu COSTACHIE

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The Roma population, with approximately 10 million people, is the largest minority of Europe. Since the end of the communist era in Eastern Europe, mass emigration has occurred, mainly to Western Europe. Today across Western Europe the Roma still face huge problems in regard of discrimination and exclusion. A general change in the way they are perceived is necessary. In the last years, the European Union have put the Roma questions on the forefront of their discussions. Nevertheless, the situation of the minority is still very precarious and demands more concrete research and action.

Noise and children′s health: Research in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarina Paunovic

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Many reviews have documented the adverse effects of noise on children′s health, but the international scientific community was previously unfamiliar with noise research in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE, South-East Europe (SEE, and Newly Independent States (NIS. The aim of this review was to present studies on the effects of noise on children′s health, conducted in aforementioned countries in the second half of the 20 th century, interpret their findings, and criticize their methodology and results wherever possible. This review focused on 30 papers published in national journals in the period from 1965 to 2000. By design, 22 studies were observational and cross-sectional, and eight studies were experimental. The outcomes under the study included auditory changes, stress reactions, sleep disturbances, school performance, upright posture, and vegetative functions. Researchers from CEE, SEE, and NIS were the pioneers in the assessment of noise-induced changes of vegetative functions and blood pressure of children in urban areas, as well as of infants exposed to noise in incubators. Future research should focus on intervention studies and follow-up of children′s health in relation to noise exposure.

An Economic Analysis of Obesity in Europe: Health, Medical Care and Absenteeism Costs

OpenAIRE

Anna Sanz de Galdeano

2007-01-01

Obesity is not only a health but also an economic phenomenon with potentially important direct and indirect economic costs that are unlikely to be fully internalized by the obese. In the US, obesity prevalence is the highest among OECD countries and the issue has long been the focus of policy debate and academic research. However, European obesity rates are rising and there is still a lack of economic analysis of the obesity phenomenon in Europe. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by usi...

Cross-national differences in the gender gap in subjective health in Europe: does country-level gender equality matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlin, Johanna; Härkönen, Juho

2013-12-01

Multiple studies have found that women report being in worse health despite living longer. Gender gaps vary cross-nationally, but relatively little is known about the causes of comparative differences. Existing literature is inconclusive as to whether gender gaps in health are smaller in more gender equal societies. We analyze gender gaps in self-rated health (SRH) and limiting longstanding illness (LLI) with five waves of European Social Survey data for 191,104 respondents from 28 countries. We use means, odds ratios, logistic regressions, and multilevel random slopes logistic regressions. Gender gaps in subjective health vary visibly across Europe. In many countries (especially in Eastern and Southern Europe), women report distinctly worse health, while in others (such as Estonia, Finland, and Great Britain) there are small or no differences. Logistic regressions ran separately for each country revealed that individual-level socioeconomic and demographic variables explain a majority of these gaps in some countries, but contribute little to their understanding in most countries. In yet other countries, men had worse health when these variables were controlled for. Cross-national variation in the gender gaps exists after accounting for individual-level factors. Against expectations, the remaining gaps are not systematically related to societal-level gender inequality in the multilevel analyses. Our findings stress persistent cross-national variability in gender gaps in health and call for further analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photovoltaics: New Policy Challenges for Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousa, Luís de

2013-01-01

After the turn of the century governments across Europe set in place a series of programmes to expand investment on grid-connected solar power technology, especially photovoltaics (PV). But in face of rapidly declining costs most of these programmes have been tapered in recent months. Using a simple cost model this article shows that PV technologies can indeed supply electricity to the grid for less than 0.10 €/kWh in large swaths of the continent, apparently justifying this policy change. However, the roll back of fixed rates to PV suppliers will likely result in a market structure close to perfect competition, where profits are not expectable and the price should fall towards marginal generation cost: 0 €/kWh. Due to the scalable nature of PV, many consumers in Europe are now able to produce their own electricity at a cost considerably lower than the rates demanded by grid utilities. Investment on PV is thus set to continue in spite of recent policy changes, but henceforth on off-the-grid systems, conceived for self consumption. Long term this trend presents serious challenges to utilities and traditional electricity suppliers, putting at stake the existing electricity market framework.

Photovoltaics: New Policy Challenges for Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, Luís de, E-mail: luis.a.de.sousa@gmail.com [Resource Centre for Environmental Technologies (CRTE), Public Research Centre (CRP) Henri Tudor, Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg)

2013-12-09

After the turn of the century governments across Europe set in place a series of programmes to expand investment on grid-connected solar power technology, especially photovoltaics (PV). But in face of rapidly declining costs most of these programmes have been tapered in recent months. Using a simple cost model this article shows that PV technologies can indeed supply electricity to the grid for less than 0.10 €/kWh in large swaths of the continent, apparently justifying this policy change. However, the roll back of fixed rates to PV suppliers will likely result in a market structure close to perfect competition, where profits are not expectable and the price should fall towards marginal generation cost: 0 €/kWh. Due to the scalable nature of PV, many consumers in Europe are now able to produce their own electricity at a cost considerably lower than the rates demanded by grid utilities. Investment on PV is thus set to continue in spite of recent policy changes, but henceforth on off-the-grid systems, conceived for self consumption. Long term this trend presents serious challenges to utilities and traditional electricity suppliers, putting at stake the existing electricity market framework.

Improved cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children after the school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe - A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lind, Rune Rasmussen; Geertsen, Svend Sparre; Ørntoft, Christina; Madsen, Mads; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Dvorak, Jiri; Ritz, Christian; Krustrup, Peter

2018-02-01

Recent studies have shown promising effects of physical activity on cognitive function, but there is a need to investigate this link in real-life settings such as schools. Hence, the objective of the present pilot study was to investigate whether the school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe could improve cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children. The pilot study used an 11-week cluster-randomised intervention study design. School classes were randomly assigned to either a control group (CG) (n = 93 children, age = 11.8, s = 0.2 years), which performed the obligatory daily school-based physical activity (5 × 45 minutes per week); or an intervention group (IG) (n = 838 children, age = 11.9, s = 0.4 years), which substituted 2 × 45 minutes per week of the daily school physical activity with the "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe programme. The programme combines small-sided football games, drills and health education. Cognitive performance was evaluated at baseline and follow-up. The IG improved their cognitive performance compared to the CG for psychomotor function (56, s x -  = 22 ms, p school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe can improve cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish schoolchildren. Future studies should attempt to disentangle the effects of "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe on cognitive performance by investigating the characteristics of the programme's physical activity.

Climate change, extreme weather events, air pollution and respiratory health in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

De Sario, M; Katsouyanni, K; Michelozzi, P

2013-09-01

Due to climate change and other factors, air pollution patterns are changing in several urbanised areas of the world, with a significant effect on respiratory health both independently and synergistically with weather conditions; climate scenarios show Europe as one of the most vulnerable regions. European studies on heatwave episodes have consistently shown a synergistic effect of air pollution and high temperatures, while the potential weather-air pollution interaction during wildfires and dust storms is unknown. Allergen patterns are also changing in response to climate change, and air pollution can modify the allergenic potential of pollens, especially in the presence of specific weather conditions. The underlying mechanisms of all these interactions are not well known; the health consequences vary from decreases in lung function to allergic diseases, new onset of diseases, exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases, and premature death. These multidimensional climate-pollution-allergen effects need to be taken into account in estimating both climate and air pollution-related respiratory effects, in order to set up adequate policy and public health actions to face both the current and future climate and pollution challenges.

Impact of financial crisis on selected health outcomes in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumbach, Anja; Gulis, Gabriel

2014-06-01

A number of health outcomes were affected by previous financial crises, e.g. suicides, homicides and transport accident mortality. Aim of this study was to analyse the effects of the current financial crisis on selected health outcomes at population level in Europe. A mixed approach of ecologic and time trend design was applied, including correlation analysis. For eight countries, data on the economic situation (unemployment rate and economic growth) and health indicators (overall mortality, suicide and transport accident mortality) was drawn from EUROSTAT database for 2000-10. Spearman's rank correlation was applied to analyse the influence of social protection on the association between exposure and outcome variables. The financial crisis had no visible effect on overall mortality in any of the eight countries until 2010. Transport accident mortality decreased in all eight countries, in the range of 18% in Portugal to 52% in Slovenia. In contrast, suicide mortality increased in Germany (+5.3%), Portugal (+5.2%), Czech Republic (+7.6%), Slovakia (+22.7%) and Poland (+19.3%). The effect of unemployment on suicide is higher in countries with lower social spending (Spearman's r = -0.83). Clear cause-effect relations could not be established owing to the ecological study design and issues concerning data availability. However, there are clear changes in suicide and transport accident mortality after onset of the crisis, and findings are consistent with previous work. As part of this work, a comprehensive framework was developed, which can be applied to analyse health effects of financial crises in more detail. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Sensorimotor Rhythm Neurofeedback Enhances Golf Putting Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ming-Yang; Huang, Chung-Ju; Chang, Yu-Kai; Koester, Dirk; Schack, Thomas; Hung, Tsung-Min

2015-12-01

Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity has been related to automaticity during skilled action execution. However, few studies have bridged the causal link between SMR activity and sports performance. This study investigated the effect of SMR neurofeedback training (SMR NFT) on golf putting performance. We hypothesized that preelite golfers would exhibit enhanced putting performance after SMR NFT. Sixteen preelite golfers were recruited and randomly assigned into either an SMR or a control group. Participants were asked to perform putting while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded, both before and after intervention. Our results showed that the SMR group performed more accurately when putting and exhibited greater SMR power than the control group after 8 intervention sessions. This study concludes that SMR NFT is effective for increasing SMR during action preparation and for enhancing golf putting performance. Moreover, greater SMR activity might be an EEG signature of improved attention processing, which induces superior putting performance.

BlueHealth: a study programme protocol for mapping and quantifying the potential benefits to public health and well-being from Europe's blue spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Grellier, James; White, Mathew P; Albin, Maria; Bell, Simon; Elliott, Lewis R; Gascón, Mireia; Gualdi, Silvio; Mancini, Laura; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Sarigiannis, Denis A; van den Bosch, Matilda; Wolf, Tanja; Wuijts, Susanne; Fleming, Lora E

2017-06-14

Proximity and access to water have long been central to human culture and accordingly deliver countless societal benefits. Over 200 million people live on Europe's coastline, and aquatic environments are the top recreational destination in the region. In terms of public health, interactions with 'blue space' (eg, coasts, rivers, lakes) are often considered solely in terms of risk (eg, drowning, microbial pollution). Exposure to blue space can, however, promote health and well-being and prevent disease, although underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The BlueHealth project aims to understand the relationships between exposure to blue space and health and well-being, to map and quantify the public health impacts of changes to both natural blue spaces and associated urban infrastructure in Europe, and to provide evidence-based information to policymakers on how to maximise health benefits associated with interventions in and around aquatic environments. To achieve these aims, an evidence base will be created through systematic reviews, analyses of secondary data sets and analyses of new data collected through a bespoke international survey and a wide range of community-level interventions. We will also explore how to deliver the benefits associated with blue spaces to those without direct access through the use of virtual reality. Scenarios will be developed that allow the evaluation of health impacts in plausible future societal contexts and changing environments. BlueHealth will develop key inputs into policymaking and land/water-use planning towards more salutogenic and sustainable uses of blue space, particularly in urban areas. Throughout the BlueHealth project, ethics review and approval are obtained for all relevant aspects of the study by the local ethics committees prior to any work being initiated and an ethics expert has been appointed to the project advisory board. So far, ethical approval has been obtained for the BlueHealth International Survey and

The public health value of vaccination for seniors in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Esposito, Susanna; Franco, Elisabetta; Gavazzi, Gaetan; de Miguel, Angel Gil; Hardt, Roland; Kassianos, George; Bertrand, Isabelle; Levant, Marie-Cécile; Soubeyrand, Benoit; López Trigo, Jose Antonio

2018-05-03

Longer life expectancy and decreasing fertility rates mean that the proportion of older people is continually increasing worldwide, and particularly in Europe. Ageing is associated with an increase in the risk and severity of infectious diseases. These diseases are also more difficult to diagnose and manage in seniors who often have at least one comorbid condition (60% of seniors have two or more conditions). Infectious diseases increase the risk of hospitalization, loss of autonomy and death in seniors. Effective vaccines are available in Europe for infectious diseases such as influenza, pneumococcal diseases, herpes zoster, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated in terms of reducing the rates of hospitalization, disability, dependency and death. The prevention of diseases in seniors also results in savings in healthcare and societal costs each year in Europe. Despite the availability of vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases affect millions of European citizens annually, with the greatest burden of disease occurring in seniors, and the medical and economic benefits associated with are not being achieved. Vaccination coverage rates must be improved to achieve the full benefits of vaccination of seniors in Europe. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Households facing constraints. Fuel poverty put into context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubois, Ute; Meier, Helena

2014-01-01

The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made by households when they are facing economic constraints. Fuel poverty is still lacking a common definition throughout Europe: while the UK and France have (different) official definitions, there is still no definition in a country like Germany, or at the European level. Where definitions exist, they often consider that fuel poor households have high energy needs. The possibility of being fuel poor even without having high energy needs and the various arbitrage possibilities of households - i.e. to under-spend and use too little energy - are not systematically discussed. Our paper tries to fill that gap by putting fuel poverty into the larger context of constraints faced by households. Based on a graphical analysis, it shows that different situations of fuel poverty might occur. It results in the identification of two distinct fuel poverty problems: an ''energy inequality'' problem, reflected by the fact that some households pay disproportionately high energy bills, and an ''energy affordability'' problem that can affect a larger share of the population. It finally explores the two types of fuel poverty for European countries and discusses policy implications.

Perceived Discrimination and Health among Immigrants in Europe According to National Integration Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Borrell, Carme; Palència, Laia; Bartoll, Xavier; Ikram, Umar; Malmusi, Davide

2015-08-31

Discrimination harms immigrants' health. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between perceived discrimination and health outcomes among first and second generation immigrants from low-income countries living in Europe, while accounting for sex and the national policy on immigration. Cross-sectional study including immigrants from low-income countries aged ≥15 years in 18 European countries (European Social Survey, 2012) (sample of 1271 men and 1335 women). The dependent variables were self-reported health, symptoms of depression, and limitation of activity. The independent variables were perceived group discrimination, immigrant background and national immigrant integration policy. We tested for association between perceived group discrimination and health outcomes by fitting robust Poisson regression models. We only observed significant associations between perceived group discrimination and health outcomes in first generation immigrants. For example, depression was associated with discrimination among both men and women (Prevalence Ratio-, 1.55 (95% CI: 1.16-2.07) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.15-1.89) in the multivariate model, respectively), and mainly in countries with assimilationist immigrant integration policies. Perceived group discrimination is associated with poor health outcomes in first generation immigrants from low-income countries who live in European countries, but not among their descendants. These associations are more important in assimilationist countries.

Unresolved legal questions in cross-border health care in Europe: liability and data protection.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Molen, I N; Commers, M J

2013-11-01

Directive 2011/24/EU was designed to clarify the rights of EU citizens in evaluating, accessing and obtaining reimbursement for cross-border care. Based on three regional case studies, the authors attempted to assess the added value of the Directive in helping clarify issues in to two key areas that have been identified as barriers to cross-border care: liability and data protection. Qualitative case study employing secondary data sources including research of jurisprudence, that set up a Legal framework as a base to investigate liability and data protection in the context of cross-border projects. By means of three case studies that have tackled liability and data protection hurdles in cross-border care implementation, this article attempts to provide insight into legal certainty and uncertainty regarding cross-border care in Europe. The case studies reveal that the Directive has not resolved core uncertainties related to liability and data protection issues within cross-border health care. Some issues related to the practice of cross-border health care in Europe have been further clarified by the Directive and some direction has been given to possible solutions for issues connected to liability and data protection. Directive 2011/24/EU is clearly a transposition of existing regulations on data protection and ECJ case law, plus a set of additional, mostly, voluntary rules that might enhance regional border cooperation. Therefore, as shown in the case studies, a practical and case by case approach is still necessary in designing and providing cross-border care. © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Home care in Europe: a systematic literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Genet, N.; Boerma, W.G.W.; Kringos, D.S.; Bouman, A.; Francke, A.L.; Fagerström, C.; Melchiorre, M.G.; Greco, C.; Devillé, W.

2011-01-01

Background Health and social services provided at home are becoming increasingly important. Hence, there is a need for information on home care in Europe. The objective of this literature review was to respond to this need by systematically describing what has been reported on home care in Europe in

Home care in Europe: a systematic literature review.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Genet, N.; Boerma, W.G.W.; Kringos, D.S.; Bouman, A.; Francke, A.L.; Fagerstrom, C.; Melchiorre, M.G.; Greco, C.; Devillé, W.

2011-01-01

Background: Health and social services provided at home are becoming increasingly important. Hence, there is a need for information on home care in Europe. The objective of this literature review was to respond to this need by systematically describing what has been reported on home care in Europe

Home care in Europe: a systematic literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Genet, Nadine; Boerma, Wienke G. W.; Kringos, Dionne S.; Bouman, Ans; Francke, Anneke L.; Fagerström, Cecilia; Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella; Greco, Cosetta; Devillé, Walter

2011-01-01

Health and social services provided at home are becoming increasingly important. Hence, there is a need for information on home care in Europe. The objective of this literature review was to respond to this need by systematically describing what has been reported on home care in Europe in the

The influence of model spatial resolution on simulated ozone and fine particulate matter for Europe: implications for health impact assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Fenech, Sara; Doherty, Ruth M.; Heaviside, Clare; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Macintyre, Helen L.; O'Connor, Fiona M.

2018-04-01

We examine the impact of model horizontal resolution on simulated concentrations of surface ozone (O3) and particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5), and the associated health impacts over Europe, using the HadGEM3-UKCA chemistry-climate model to simulate pollutant concentrations at a coarse (˜ 140 km) and a finer (˜ 50 km) resolution. The attributable fraction (AF) of total mortality due to long-term exposure to warm season daily maximum 8 h running mean (MDA8) O3 and annual-average PM2.5 concentrations is then calculated for each European country using pollutant concentrations simulated at each resolution. Our results highlight a seasonal variation in simulated O3 and PM2.5 differences between the two model resolutions in Europe. Compared to the finer resolution results, simulated European O3 concentrations at the coarse resolution are higher on average in winter and spring (˜ 10 and ˜ 6 %, respectively). In contrast, simulated O3 concentrations at the coarse resolution are lower in summer and autumn (˜ -1 and ˜ -4 %, respectively). These differences may be partly explained by differences in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations simulated at the two resolutions. Compared to O3, we find the opposite seasonality in simulated PM2.5 differences between the two resolutions. In winter and spring, simulated PM2.5 concentrations are lower at the coarse compared to the finer resolution (˜ -8 and ˜ -6 %, respectively) but higher in summer and autumn (˜ 29 and ˜ 8 %, respectively). Simulated PM2.5 values are also mostly related to differences in convective rainfall between the two resolutions for all seasons. These differences between the two resolutions exhibit clear spatial patterns for both pollutants that vary by season, and exert a strong influence on country to country variations in estimated AF for the two resolutions. Warm season MDA8 O3 levels are higher in most of southern Europe, but lower in areas of northern and eastern Europe when

Epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe, a systematic review:Western Europe

OpenAIRE

Laranjo-González, Minerva; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Trevisan, Chiara; Allepuz, Alberto; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Abraham, Annette; Afonso, Mariana Boaventura; Blocher, Joachim; Cardoso, Luís; Correia Da Costa, José Manuel; Dorny, Pierre; Gabriël, Sarah; Gomes, Jacinto; Gómez-Morales, María Ángeles; Jokelainen, Pikka

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are zoonotic parasites of public health importance. Data on their occurrence in humans and animals in western Europe are incomplete and fragmented. In this study, we aimed to update the current knowledge on the epidemiology of these parasites in this region. Methods We conducted a ...

Methodology for measuring environmental health within Europe. Health Risk from Environmental Pollution Levels in Urban Systems (HEREPLUS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja Zscheppang

2008-12-01

Full Text Available

Background: The European Commission funds a European research project titled “Health Risk from Environmental Pollution Levels in Urban Systems” (HEREPLUS that focuses on environmental health within Europe. The HEREPLUS project was presented at the 16th EUPHA conference in Lisbon in November 2008 within a workshop named “The assessment of the effect of air pollution on population and environmental health: the integration of epidemiology and geographical information system (GIS”.

Methods: The HEREPLUS project aims to measure the correlation between air pollution (especially ozone and particulate matter, meteorology, vegetation and human health in four European cities (Rome, Madrid, Athens and Dresden by using a Geoinformation System to develop risk maps and subsequently guidelines to reduce air pollution and number of diseases.

Results: The project started in September 2008 and a large, structured, relational database has been developed and completed. A literature review including national as well as international scientific literature goes on and will be completed in April 2009. Final results will be presented and published in 2011.

Conclusions: Detailed scientific knowledge is important and needed to implement environmental programmes with the overall aim to protect human population against environmental related diseases.

Preoperative fasting: will the evidence ever be put into practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Crenshaw, Jeannette T

2011-10-01

Decades of research support the safety and health benefits of consuming clear liquids, including those that are carbohydrate rich, until a few hours before elective surgery or other procedures requiring sedation or anesthesia. Still, U.S. clinicians routinely instruct patients to fast for excessively long preoperative periods. Evidence-based guidelines, published over the past 25 years in the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe, recommend liberalizing preoperative fasting policies. To improve patient safety and health care quality, it's essential that health care professionals abandon outdated preoperative fasting policies and allow available evidence to guide preanesthetic practices.

Oral cleanliness and gingival health among Special Olympics athletes in Europe and Eurasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Marks, Luc; Fernandez, Carla; Kaschke, Imke; Perlman, Steven

2015-09-01

Special Olympics athletes, as well as the general population of people with intellectual disabilities, are expected to have poorer gingival health. The aim of the study is to explore the prevalence of gingival signs of inflammation and its relationship to oral cleanliness and age among Special Olympics athletes from Europe and Eurasia. A retrospective longitudinal study was performed with data collected through standardized oral from 15.941 athletes from annual Special Olympics events held in 49 countries, from Europe and Eurasia between 2007 and 2012. The data was analysed descriptively, with One-Way ANOVA test and Chi-Square test. The level of significance was predetermined at a p value < 0.05. A total of 7,754 athletes presented with gingival signs (48.64%). There were no significant differences (p= 0,095) in mean gingival signs between age groups, however the association between mouth cleaning and age, was statistically significant. The data suggests that there is a high prevalence of gingival signs among individuals with special needs; over 50% in more than 20 countries. Therefore, there is a serious need for education and preventive programs for the patients, their parents and caregivers.

Europe's neglected infections of poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Hotez, Peter J; Gurwith, Meredith

2011-09-01

To review the prevalence, incidence, and geographic distribution of the major neglected infections of poverty in Europe as a basis for future policy recommendations. We reviewed the literature from 1999 to 2010 for neglected tropical diseases listed by PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (http://www.plosntds.org/static/scope.action) and the geographic regions and countries of (continental) Europe. Reference lists of identified articles and reviews were also hand searched, as were World Health Organization databases. In Eastern Europe, the soil-transmitted helminth infections (especially ascariasis, trichuriasis, and toxocariasis), giardiasis, and toxoplasmosis remain endemic. High incidence rates of selected food-borne helminthiases including trichinellosis, opisthorchiasis, taeniasis, and echinococcosis also occur, while brucellosis and leptospirosis represent important bacterial zoonoses. Turmoil and economic collapse following the war in the Balkans, the fall of Communism, and Europe's recent recession have helped to promote their high prevalence and incidence rates. In Southern Europe, vector-borne zoonoses have emerged, including leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, and key arboviral infections. Additional vulnerable populations include the Roma, orphans destined for international adoption, and some immigrant groups. Among the policy recommendations are increased efforts to determine the prevalence, incidence, and geographic distribution of Europe's neglected infections, epidemiological studies to understand the ecology and mechanisms of disease transmission, and research and development for new control tools. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Healthy Cities networks in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Goepel, Eberhard

2007-01-01

The Healthy Cities network in Europe was inspired by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion when it was launched in 1987. The networking process was initiated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, but developed its own dynamics in different European countries during a time marked by fundamental political transformations in many of the countries of Eastern Europe. The networks then connected with the 'Local Agenda 21' and the 'Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign' to create a new and broader programmatic agenda at the local level. In particular, the ''Aalborg plus 10 - commitments"--of local governments in 2004 have the potential to inspire a new phase of participatory and sustainable policies at the level of local communities in Europe. However, the extent to which these initiatives will influence the macro-politics of the European Union towards a proclaimed "Europe of Citizens" remains to be watched carefully during the coming years.

Who in Europe Works beyond the State Pension Age and under which Conditions? Results from SHARE.

Science.gov (United States)

Wahrendorf, Morten; Akinwale, Bola; Landy, Rebecca; Matthews, Katey; Blane, David

2017-01-01

There is much research about those who exit the labour market prematurely, however, comparatively little is known about people working longer and about their employment and working conditions. In this paper, we describe the employment and working conditions of men and women working between 65 and 80 years, and compare them with previous conditions of those retired in the same age group. Analyses are based on wave 4 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) with information collected between 2009 and 2011 from 17,625 older men and women across 16 European countries. Besides socio-demographic and health-related factors (physical and mental health), the focus lies on employment conditions (e.g. employment status, occupational position and working hours) and on stressful working conditions, measured in terms of low control at work and effort-reward imbalance. In case of retired people, information on working conditions refer to the last job before retirement. Following descriptive analyses, we then conduct multivariable analyses and investigate how working conditions and poor health are related to labour market participation (i.e. random intercept models accounting for country affiliation and adjusted for potential confounders). Results illustrate that people working between the ages of 65 and 80 are more likely to be self-employed (either with or without employees) and work in advantaged occupational positions. Furthermore, findings reveal that psychosocial working conditions are generally better than the conditions retired respondents had in their last job. Finally, in contrast to those who work, health tends to be worse among retired people. In conclusion, findings deliver empirical evidence that paid employment beyond age 65 is more common among self-employed workers throughout Europe, in advantaged occupations and under-favourable psychosocial circumstances, and that this group of workers are in considerably good mental and physical

Prevention of Falls Network Europe: a thematic network aimed at introducing good practice in effective falls prevention across Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Skelton, D A; Becker, C; Lamb, S E; Close, J C T; Zijlstra, W; Yardley, L; Todd, C J

2004-12-01

The Prevention of Falls Network Europe (ProFaNE) aims to improve quality of life of the ageing population by focussing on a major cause of disability and distress: falls. The thematic network is funded by the European Commission and brings together scientists, clinicians and other health professionals from around Europe to focus on four main themes: taxonomy and coordination of trials, clinical assessment and management of falls, assessment of balance function, and psychological aspects of falling. There are 24 members across Europe as well as network associates who contribute expertise at workshops and meetings. ProFaNE, a 4-year project which started in January 2003, aims to improve and standardise health care processes, introducing and promoting good practice widely across Europe. ProFaNE undertakes workshops that bring together experts and observers around specific topics to exchange knowledge, expertise and resources on interventions that reduce falls. A key document for policy makers around Europe, written by ProFaNE members, was published by the World Health Organisation in March 2004. ProFaNE's website has both public and private areas with resources (web links to falls prevention, useful documents for policy makers, researchers and practitioners) and a discussion board to encourage informal networking between members and the public. The ultimate aim of ProFaNE is to submit a collaborative bid to undertake a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of a multi-factorial fall prevention intervention with peripheral fracture as the primary outcome. The success of the networking and relationship building in the first year and a half of ProFaNE's work makes this an achievable goal.

Putting the Whole Grain Puzzle Together: Health Benefits Associated with Whole Grains—Summary of American Society for Nutrition 2010 Satellite Symposium123

Science.gov (United States)

Jonnalagadda, Satya S.; Harnack, Lisa; Hai Liu, Rui; McKeown, Nicola; Seal, Chris; Liu, Simin; Fahey, George C.

2011-01-01

The symposium “Putting the Whole Grain Puzzle Together: Health Benefits Associated with Whole Grains” sponsored by the ASN brought together researchers to review the evidence regarding the health benefits associated with whole grains. Current scientific evidence indicates that whole grains play an important role in lowering the risk of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also contribute to body weight management and gastrointestinal health. The essential macro- and micronutrients, along with the phytonutrients present in whole grains, synergistically contribute to their beneficial effects. Current evidence lends credence to the recommendations to incorporate whole grain foods into a healthy diet and lifestyle program. The symposium also highlighted the need for further research to examine the role of whole grain foods in disease prevention and management to gain a better understanding of their mechanisms of action. PMID:21451131

Primary care for refugees and newly arrived migrants in Europe : a qualitative study on health needs, barriers and wishes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Loenen, Tessa; van den Muijsenbergh, Maria; Hofmeester, Marrigje; Dowrick, Christopher; van Ginneken, Nadja; Mechili, Enkeleint Aggelos; Angelaki, Agapi; Ajdukovic, Dean; Bakic, Helena; Pavlic, Danica Rotar; Zelko, Erika; Hoffmann, Kathryn; Jirovsky, Elena; Mayrhuber, Elisabeth Sophie; Dückers, Michel; Mooren, Trudy; Gouweloos, Juul; Kolozsvári, László; Rurik, Imre; Lionis, Christos

2017-01-01

Background: In order to provide effective primary care for refugees and to develop interventions tailored to them, we must know their needs. Little is known of the health needs and experiences of recently arrived refugees and other migrants throughout their journey through Europe. We aimed to gain

Primary care for refugees and newly arrived migrants in Europe: a qualitative study on health needs, barriers and wishes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loenen, T. van; Muijsenbergh, M. van den; Hofmeester, M.; Dowrick, C.; Ginneken, N. van; Mechili E.A.; Angelaki, A.; Ajdukovic, D.; Bakic, H.; Pavlick, D.R.; Zelko, E.; Hoffmann, K.; Jirovsky, E.; Mayrhuber, E.S.; Dückers, M.; Mooren, T.; Gouweloos-Trine, J.; Kolozsvári, L.R.; Rurik, I.; Lionis, C.

2018-01-01

Background: In order to provide effective primary care for refugees and to develop interventions tailored to them, we must know their needs. Little is known of the health needs and experiences of recently arrived refugees and other migrants throughout their journey through Europe. We aimed to gain

Cost of depression in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobocki, Patrik; Jönsson, Bengt; Angst, Jules; Rehnberg, Clas

2006-06-01

there is no earlier cost-of-illness study conducted on depression in Europe, it is, however, difficult to evaluate the validity of our results for individual countries and thus further research is needed. The cost of depression poses a significant economic burden to European society. The simulation model employed shows good predictability of the cost of depression in Europe and is a novel approach to estimate the cost-of-illness in Europe. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND POLICIES: Health and social care policy and commissioning must be evidence-based. The empirical results from this study confirm previous findings, that depression is a major concern to the economic welfare in Europe which has consequences to both healthcare providers and policy makers. One important way to stop this explosion in cost is through increased research efforts in the field. Moreover, better detection, prevention, treatment and patient management are imperatives to reduce the burden of depression and its costs. Mental healthcare policies and better access to healthcare for mentally ill are other challenges to improve for Europe. This study has identified several research gaps which are of interest for future research. In order to better understand the impact of depression to European society long-term prospective epidemiology and cost-of-illness studies are needed. In particular data is lacking for Central European countries. On the basis of our findings, further economic evaluations of treatments for depression are necessary in order to ensure a cost-effective use of European healthcare budgets.

Primary care for refugees and newly arrived migrants in Europe: a qualitative study on health needs, barriers and wishes.

Science.gov (United States)

van Loenen, Tessa; van den Muijsenbergh, Maria; Hofmeester, Marrigje; Dowrick, Christopher; van Ginneken, Nadja; Mechili, Enkeleint Aggelos; Angelaki, Agapi; Ajdukovic, Dean; Bakic, Helena; Pavlic, Danica Rotar; Zelko, Erika; Hoffmann, Kathryn; Jirovsky, Elena; Mayrhuber, Elisabeth Sophie; Dückers, Michel; Mooren, Trudy; Gouweloos-Trines, Juul; Kolozsvári, László; Rurik, Imre; Lionis, Christos

2018-02-01

In order to provide effective primary care for refugees and to develop interventions tailored to them, we must know their needs. Little is known of the health needs and experiences of recently arrived refugees and other migrants throughout their journey through Europe. We aimed to gain insight into their health needs, barriers in access and wishes regarding primary health care. In the spring of 2016, we conducted a qualitative, comparative case study in seven EU countries in a centre of first arrival, two transit centres, two intermediate-stay centres and two longer-stay centres using a Participatory Learning and Action research methodology. A total of 98 refugees and 25 healthcare workers participated in 43 sessions. Transcripts and sessions reports were coded and thematically analyzed by local researchers using the same format at all sites; data were synthesized and further analyzed by two other researchers independently. The main health problems of the participants related to war and to their harsh journey like common infections and psychological distress. They encountered important barriers in accessing healthcare: time pressure, linguistic and cultural differences and lack of continuity of care. They wish for compassionate, culturally sensitive healthcare workers and for more information on procedures and health promotion. Health of refugees on the move in Europe is jeopardized by their bad living circumstances and barriers in access to healthcare. To address their needs, healthcare workers have to be trained in providing integrated, compassionate and cultural competent healthcare. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Assessment and economic valuation of air pollution impacts on human health over Europe and the United States as calculated by a multi-model ensemble in the framework of AQMEII3

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Ulas; Brandt, Jørgen; Geels, Camilla; Mantzius Hansen, Kaj; Heile Christensen, Jesper; Skou Andersen, Mikael; Solazzo, Efisio; Kioutsioukis, Ioannis; Alyuz, Ummugulsum; Balzarini, Alessandra; Baro, Rocio; Bellasio, Roberto; Bianconi, Roberto; Bieser, Johannes; Colette, Augustin; Curci, Gabriele; Farrow, Aidan; Flemming, Johannes; Fraser, Andrea; Jimenez-Guerrero, Pedro; Kitwiroon, Nutthida; Liang, Ciao-Kai; Nopmongcol, Uarporn; Pirovano, Guido; Pozzoli, Luca; Prank, Marje; Rose, Rebecca; Sokhi, Ranjeet; Tuccella, Paolo; Unal, Alper; Garcia Vivanco, Marta; West, Jason; Yarwood, Greg; Hogrefe, Christian; Galmarini, Stefano

2018-04-01

The impact of air pollution on human health and the associated external costs in Europe and the United States (US) for the year 2010 are modeled by a multi-model ensemble of regional models in the frame of the third phase of the Air Quality Modelling Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII3). The modeled surface concentrations of O3, CO, SO2 and PM2.5 are used as input to the Economic Valuation of Air Pollution (EVA) system to calculate the resulting health impacts and the associated external costs from each individual model. Along with a base case simulation, additional runs were performed introducing 20 % anthropogenic emission reductions both globally and regionally in Europe, North America and east Asia, as defined by the second phase of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF-HTAP2). Health impacts estimated by using concentration inputs from different chemistry-transport models (CTMs) to the EVA system can vary up to a factor of 3 in Europe (12 models) and the United States (3 models). In Europe, the multi-model mean total number of premature deaths (acute and chronic) is calculated to be 414 000, while in the US, it is estimated to be 160 000, in agreement with previous global and regional studies. The economic valuation of these health impacts is calculated to be EUR 300 billion and 145 billion in Europe and the US, respectively. A subset of models that produce the smallest error compared to the surface observations at each time step against an all-model mean ensemble results in increase of health impacts by up to 30 % in Europe, while in the US, the optimal ensemble mean led to a decrease in the calculated health impacts by ˜ 11 %. A total of 54 000 and 27 500 premature deaths can be avoided by a 20 % reduction of global anthropogenic emissions in Europe and the US, respectively. A 20 % reduction of North American anthropogenic emissions avoids a total of ˜ 1000 premature deaths in Europe and 25 000 total premature deaths in the

Hotel Europe and the Exiled Dream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Pughineanu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper I try to highlight the ambiguous voice of the writer Dumitru Țepenag, passing from author to auctor, in his exile through an Europe where characters are as “flags” on the map, moved from time to time, having no destiny or a clear direction. In his almost oneiric way, the writer tries to put together lives balanced between two worlds: on one hand, there is the world where meanings are so worn-out that they cannot convey anything any longer, and, on the other hand, there is the world of abstruse symbols that also fail to make sense. Hotel Europa is this passage where the two worlds collide, opening up a space that resembles the twilight zone. In this Hotel, as in any other, the most legible elements are the labels, the clichés, the points identified on a map (the cities where the characters are wondering: Budapest, Paris, München. Romanians (along with other East European figures are walking through the “good” Western world bearing the clichés that Europe has fabricated about them: disabled beggars, cheaters, pimps, Gypsies. The “conclusions” appear rather quickly: for the writer, who is also a character in the novel, Romania is this “pathetic country full of misbehaving” and “the genius of the Romanian people” lies in “humour and transhumance. We're all nomad comedians.” Only a myth can make sense in this collage. The text becomes a way of surrendering to the impossibility to make a “realistic story” about Hotel Europe and the way people live in it.

Haemoglobinopathies in Europe: health & migration policy perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar Martinez, Patricia; Angastiniotis, Michael; Eleftheriou, Androulla; Gulbis, Beatrice; Mañú Pereira, Maria Del Mar; Petrova-Benedict, Roumyana; Corrons, Joan-Lluis Vives

2014-07-01

Major haemoglobinopathies (MH), such as thalassaemia syndromes (Thal) and sickle cell disorders (SCD), are genetic defects associated with chronic anaemia and other complications. In Europe, MH are rare diseases (RD) but their prevalence is significantly growing in many countries due to mobility and migration flows. This creates a growing health problem in the EU that has not yet been effectively addressed by Member States (MS) authorities. The present study has been conducted with the aim of: (i) providing an overview of policies for MH in 10 EU member states (MS) (ii) analysing the challenges linked to these RD due to growing requirements imposed by population, mobility and migration trends and (iii) identifying gaps, proposing improvements on existing policies, or developing new ones to fit the identified needs. The study has been undertaken by a group of members of the European Network for Rare and Congenital Anaemias (ENERCA) and the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF), in collaboration with the public affairs firm Burson-Marsteller Brussels. Data from 10 EU countries have been gathered using targeted desk research and one-to-one interviews with local stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, patients and public health officers/providers. 1. MH are the most common RD in all the 10 countries, 2. Data on prevalence, overall burden, trends, and clinical follow up costs are lacking in most countries. 3. Neonatal screening practices show a wide variation across and within countries. 4. Awareness on MH and their related complications is very low, exception made of Italy, Greece, Cyprus and UK, 5. No disaggregated data is available to understand the impact of mobility and migration on the prevalence of haemoglobinopathies, and how healthcare delivery systems should adapt to respond to this situation. 6. Targeted policy measures and/or actions are generally lacking and/or delayed. Ten policy recommendations have been drawn from this study, building on

Taenia solium in Europe: Still endemic?

Science.gov (United States)

Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Allepuz, Alberto; Dermauw, Veronique; Johansen, Maria V; Laranjo-González, Minerva; Smit, G Suzanne A; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Trevisan, Chiara; Wardrop, Nicola A; Dorny, Pierre; Gabriël, Sarah

2017-01-01

The pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, causes an important economic and health burden, mainly in rural or marginalized communities of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin-America. Although improved pig rearing conditions seem to have eliminated the parasite in most Western European countries, little is known about the true endemicity status of T. solium throughout Europe. Three recent reviews indicate that autochthonous human T. solium taeniasis/cysticercosis may be possible in Europe, but that current peer-reviewed literature is biased towards Western Europe. Officially reported data on porcine cysticercosis are highly insufficient. Favourable conditions for local T. solium transmission still exist in eastern parts of Europe, although the ongoing integration of the European Union is speeding up modernisation and intensification of the pig sector. Further evidence is urgently needed to fill the gaps on the European T. solium endemicity map. We urge to make human cysticercosis notifiable and to improve the reporting of porcine cysticercosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transport of MOX fuel from Europe to Japan; Transport de combustible mox d' Europe vers le Japon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-07-01

The MOX fuel transports from Europe to Japan represent a main part in the implementing of the Japan nuclear program. They complement the 160 transports of spent fuels realized from Japan to Europe and the vitrified residues return from France to Japan. In this framework the document presents the MOX fuel, the use of the MOX fuel in reactor, the proliferation risks, the MOX fuel transport to Japan, the public health, the transport regulations, the safety and the civil liability. (A.L.B.)

Europe the continent with the lowest fertility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baird, D. T.; Collins, J.; Evers, J. L. H.; Leridon, H.; Lutz, W.; Velde, E. Te; Thevenon, O.; Crosignani, P. G.; Devroey, P.; Diedrich, K.; Fauser, B. C. J. M.; Fraser, L.; Geraedts, J. P. M.; Gianaroli, L.; Glasier, A.; Sunde, A.; Tarlatzis, B.; Van Steirteghem, A.; Veiga, A.

2010-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Although fertility rates are falling in many countries, Europe is the continent with the lowest total fertility rate (TFR). This review assesses trends in fertility rates, explores possible health and social factors and reviews the impact of health and social interventions designed to

Households facing constraints. Fuel poverty put into context

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubois, Ute [ISG Business School, Paris (France); Meier, Helena [Koeln Univ. (Germany). Energiewirtschaftliches Inst.

2014-02-15

The present paper discusses the concept of fuel poverty taking into account the arbitrages made by households when they are facing economic constraints. Fuel poverty is still lacking a common definition throughout Europe: while the UK and France have (different) official definitions, there is still no definition in a country like Germany, or at the European level. Where definitions exist, they often consider that fuel poor households have high energy needs. The possibility of being fuel poor even without having high energy needs and the various arbitrage possibilities of households - i.e. to under-spend and use too little energy - are not systematically discussed. Our paper tries to fill that gap by putting fuel poverty into the larger context of constraints faced by households. Based on a graphical analysis, it shows that different situations of fuel poverty might occur. It results in the identification of two distinct fuel poverty problems: an ''energy inequality'' problem, reflected by the fact that some households pay disproportionately high energy bills, and an ''energy affordability'' problem that can affect a larger share of the population. It finally explores the two types of fuel poverty for European countries and discusses policy implications.

76 FR 31851 - Safety Zone; Put-in-Bay Fireworks, Fox's the Dock Pier; South Bass Island, Put-in-Bay, OH

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-02

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket No. USCG-2011-0417] RIN 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Put-in-Bay Fireworks, Fox's the Dock Pier; South Bass Island, Put-in-Bay, OH AGENCY.... Add Sec. 165.T09-0417 as follows: Sec. 165.T09-0417 Safety Zone; Put-In-Bay Fireworks, Fox's the Dock...

Ethical models underpinning responses to threats to public health: a comparison of approaches to communicable disease control in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Gainotti, Sabina; Moran, Nicola; Petrini, Carlo; Shickle, Darren

2008-11-01

Increases in international travel and migratory flows have enabled infectious diseases to emerge and spread more rapidly than ever before. Hence, it is increasingly easy for local infectious diseases to become global infectious diseases (GIDs). National governments must be able to react quickly and effectively to GIDs, whether naturally occurring or intentionally instigated by bioterrorism. According to the World Health Organisation, global partnerships are necessary to gather the most up-to-date information and to mobilize resources to tackle GIDs when necessary. Communicable disease control also depends upon national public health laws and policies. The containment of an infectious disease typically involves detection, notification, quarantine and isolation of actual or suspected cases; the protection and monitoring of those not infected; and possibly even treatment. Some measures are clearly contentious and raise conflicts between individual and societal interests. In Europe national policies against infectious diseases are very heterogeneous. Some countries have a more communitarian approach to public health ethics, in which the interests of individual and society are more closely intertwined and interdependent, while others take a more liberal approach and give priority to individual freedoms in communicable disease control. This paper provides an overview of the different policies around communicable disease control that exist across a select number of countries across Europe. It then proposes ethical arguments to be considered in the making of public health laws, mostly concerning their effectiveness for public health protection.

Geriatric study in Europe on health effects of air quality in nursing homes (GERIE study) profile: objectives, study protocol and descriptive data.

Science.gov (United States)

Annesi-Maesano, Isabella; Norback, Dan; Zielinski, Jan; Bernard, Alfred; Gratziou, Cristina; Sigsgaard, Torben; Sestini, Piersante; Viegi, Giovanni

2013-11-21

Indoor air pollution (IAP) constitutes a major global public health problem requiring increasing efforts in research and policymaking that may have special significance for elderly that are likely to spend most of their day indoors and appear to be particularly susceptible to adverse effects of chemical pollutants and bio-contaminants. Yet, evidence existing on the effects of IAP in elderly is scanty. The Geriatric study in Europe on health effects of air quality in nursing homes (GERIE) study aimed to assess health effects of major indoor air pollutants and thermal conditions in elderly (> 70 years) living stably in nursing homes (NH) across Europe. Respiratory effects were particularly considered as airways and lung constitute the first target of air pollutants. We describe here the rationale and the methods of the GERIE Study. 8 nursing homes were randomly selected in 7 European countries. Twenty individuals were randomly selected in each nursing home. Major indoor and outdoor air chemical pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, PM0.1, formaldehyde, NO2; O3, VOC, CO2) and bio-contaminants (moulds, allergens) were assessed objectively with standardized procedures. Major health status indicators were assessed through a standardized questionnaire, non-invasive clinical tests and blood and urine biomarkers as well as saliva for ADN. The GERIE study has given the opportunity to publish two reviews on respiratory health effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution in elderly. In addition it has provided the inventory of air quality and thermal conditions in 50 nursing homes across Europe and data on respiratory health status in 600 elderly aged 82 years in mean. Major future results will include the relationships between NH environment and health in elderly. The main long-term purpose of the GERIE study is to improve the health of elderly who permanently reside in nursing homes or of those who are exposed to indoor air pollution because of reduced mobility.

The strength of primary care in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kringos, D.S.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/352077131

2012-01-01

This thesis aimed to get insight into the elements that form (the strength of) primary care (PC) in Europe, their determinants and their impact on health care system outcomes. The results strengthen the evidence-base for policymakers to prioritise PC strengthening on the health policy agenda and

Health literacy in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heide, van der Iris; Uiters, Ellen; Sørensen, Kristine; Röthlin, Florian; Pelikan, Jürgen; Rademakers, Jany; Boshuizen, Hendriek

2016-01-01

Background: Health literacy is an important determinant of health, but national health literacy levels are known for only some European countries. This study aims to examine to what extent national health literacy levels can be estimated based on publicly available census data. Method:

Health consequences of Chernobyl disaster in Europe in general and in Norway in particular. Literature review and ecological study.

OpenAIRE

Fedorov, Roman

2012-01-01

Health costs of Chernobyl disaster are still not clear.Main goal of this paper therefore is to investigate health consequences of Chernobyl disaster in Europe (outside the former Soviet Union) as a whole and in Norway in particular as one of the second high contaminated areas after those in the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. To do that literature review and ecological study with the Incidence rate ratios analysis are conducted. As a result hypothesis about increased...

The organizational framework of community pharmacies in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Sílvia Filipa; van Mil, J W Foppe; da Costa, Filipa Alves

2015-10-01

The role of the pharmacist has undergone profound changes over the recent years. In most European countries, the tendency seems to be that pharmacists are moving from being product-oriented to service-oriented. An interesting series of papers describing care related services of pharmacy in various countries has been published in 2006, but much has changed since then. This paper aims to provide an updated view on the overall health care sector in Europe, with a special focus on services in community pharmacy. To list and compare health care and community pharmacy structure in Europe; and to discuss the facilitators and barriers that can be found in health care systems and may promote or hinder the implementation of new community pharmacy services. European community pharmacy practice. A cross-sectional study was undertaken where data were collected using an online survey sent to a purposive sample of representatives from 27 European countries. Main outcome measure variation in professional community pharmacy services across Europe. Data were obtained from 22 respondents in 19 countries (70.4%). Health care is mainly provided by a form of public National Health Services in 17 of the 19 countries. Demographic criteria for founding new pharmacies were present in 17 countries. Medicines are exclusively available in pharmacies in approximately one third of the countries. Smoking cessation (93.8%), drug waste management (81.3%) and pharmaceutical care programmes for specific diseases (77.8%) were reported as the most widely disseminated services in European pharmacies. There are still major differences between community pharmacy practice in Europe. Differences are mostly due to the legal framework and remuneration issues, which impact on the range of services available from pharmacies to the community of each country.

Assessing the role of regulatory bodies in managing health professional issues and errors in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Risso-Gill, Isabelle; Legido-Quigley, H; Panteli, D; Mckee, M

2014-08-01

This paper explores how medical regulatory bodies in nine European countries manage professional issues involving quality and patient safety, to build on limited existing information on procedures for regulating medical professionals in Europe. Twelve vignettes describing scenarios of concerns about standards of physicians were developed, covering clinical, criminal and administrative matters. Medical regulatory bodies in nine European countries were asked what action they would normally take in each situation. Their responses were related to their regulatory mandate. Responses varied greatly across participating countries. Regulators are always involved where patients are at risk or where a criminal offence is committed within the clinical setting. Non-criminal medical issues were generally handled by the employer, if any, at their discretion. Countries varied in the use of punitive measures, the extent to which they took an interest in issues arising outside professional activities, and whether they dealt with issues themselves or referred cases to another regulatory authority or took no action at all. There is little consistency across Europe on the regulation of medical professionals. There is considerable diversity in the range of topics that regulatory bodies oversee, with almost all covering health care quality and safety and others encompassing issues related to reputation, respect and trust. These inconsistencies have significant implications for professional mobility, patient safety and quality of care. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

Transparency in natural gas prices in Western Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrieling, E.B.; Munksgaard, J.; Hopper, R.J.

1989-11-01

The present situation on price transparency in Western Europe and North america within the context of the European internal gas market is analyzed. In chapter one the ideas and policy proposals put forward by the European Commission are discussed. Special attention is paid to the situation of the large industrial consumers. It is argued that price transparency needs to be extended to more upstream price aspects. This includes information on city-gates prices, transmission and handling charges in addition to wellhead and import prices. In Western Europe (chapter two) two pricing principles can be distinguished at the final consumer level: pricing according to costs and prices according to market value. The first principle is applied in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Austria, as some cost elements are included in the tariff calculations in Italy. Countries where a market-evaluation methodology is applied are Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. In North America (chapter three) price transparency is extensive and part of the necessary conditions of an open access contract carriage market. In order to integrate the aspect of price transparency in the broader framework of the internal gas market a model of an integrated natural gas market is described in chapter four. The model specifies the preconditions of a truly integrated gas market, i.e. accessible market entry at all levels of the gas sector and for all market players, equal market opportunity and a regulatory oversight system. A brief comparison between the model and the actual market situation in Western Europe showed that hardly any of these preconditions are met. The comparison points out which actions need to be taken to implement an internal gas market in Western Europe. 9 appendices

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in Europe: Health-related and sociodemographic determinants.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemppainen, Laura M; Kemppainen, Teemu T; Reippainen, Jutta A; Salmenniemi, Suvi T; Vuolanto, Pia H

2017-10-01

The aim of this research was to study health-related and sociodemographic determinants of the use of different complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments in Europe and differences in CAM use in various European countries. The study was based on a design-based logistic regression analysis of the European Social Survey (ESS), Round 7. We distinguished four CAM modalities: manual therapies, alternative medicinal systems, traditional Asian medical systems and mind-body therapies. In total, 25.9% of the general population had used CAM during the last 12 months. Typically, only one CAM treatment had been used, and it was used more often as complementary rather than alternative treatment. The use of CAM varied greatly by country, from 10% in Hungary to almost 40% in Germany. Compared to those in good health, the use of CAM was two to fourfold greater among those with health problems. The health profiles of users of different CAM modalities varied. For example, back or neck pain was associated with all types of CAM, whereas depression was associated only with the use of mind-body therapies. Individuals with difficult to diagnose health conditions were more inclined to utilize CAM, and CAM use was more common among women and those with a higher education. Lower income was associated with the use of mind-body therapies, whereas the other three CAM modalities were associated with higher income. Help-seeking differed according to the health problem, something that should be acknowledged by clinical professionals to ensure safe care. The findings also point towards possible socioeconomic inequalities in health service use.

Health in Africa: what can France and Europe do about it?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Kerouedan

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Africa is the continent where the social and health situation is of greatest concern, and where progress on the Millennium Development Goals is the slowest. Access to global assistance for health is complex, as it is channeled through new funding mechanisms: global public-private partnerships or “innovative” financing. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the effectiveness of this aid, which is growing in volume, depends on a more equitable distribution between different countries on the same continent, or among patients with different pathologies, on financial resources as well as technical expertise, and on a evidence-based allocation of funding, using objective criteria such as epidemiological data, the efficacy of the chosen treatments, the population profile, the effectiveness and efficiency of selected interventions, etc. It is our opinion that food insecurity, including in urban areas, and unequal access to global health aid – combined with Africa’s unprecedented demographic growth and with the global financial and economic crisis effects– threaten the African continent political stability, particularly in the French-speaking Africa. To avoid the situation deteriorating still further, France and Europe, who have a historic responsibility towards this part of the world, must ensure that the human and financial resources allocated to global initiatives – channels these institutions favour to the detriment of bilateral aid – also benefit the most deprived populations living in French-speaking African countries.

Transport of MOX fuel from Europe to Japan; Transport de combustible mox d' Europe vers le Japon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-07-01

The MOX fuel transports from Europe to Japan represent a main part in the implementing of the Japan nuclear program. They complement the 160 transports of spent fuels realized from Japan to Europe and the vitrified residues return from France to Japan. In this framework the document presents the MOX fuel, the use of the MOX fuel in reactor, the proliferation risks, the MOX fuel transport to Japan, the public health, the transport regulations, the safety and the civil liability. (A.L.B.)

Unhealthy Pressure: How Physician Pay Demands Put the Squeeze on Provincial Health-Care Budgets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hugh M. Grant

2013-07-01

were successful in holding back the growth in doctors’ fees, to the point where physicians saw their purchasing power shrink. If Canadians are now questioning where the priorities of doctors truly lie — whether its preserving health care or enriching themselves — the provinces can only gain more leverage in future negotiations with doctors. Physicians in the Canadian health-care system are entrusted with a special and protected role, and it behooves medical associations to bear in mind their additional responsibility to promote public health-care objectives. The current collective bargaining model has resulted in provinces pressured into buying healthcare peace by agreeing to continually ratchet up doctors’ pay. It is difficult to see how that can continue. It is time that doctors began working with policy-makers on a new model, one that puts less emphasis on profiting doctors, and more emphasis on promoting a sustainable health-care system for everyone.

Assessment and economic valuation of air pollution impacts on human health over Europe and the United States as calculated by a multi-model ensemble in the framework of AQMEII3

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Im

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The impact of air pollution on human health and the associated external costs in Europe and the United States (US for the year 2010 are modeled by a multi-model ensemble of regional models in the frame of the third phase of the Air Quality Modelling Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII3. The modeled surface concentrations of O3, CO, SO2 and PM2.5 are used as input to the Economic Valuation of Air Pollution (EVA system to calculate the resulting health impacts and the associated external costs from each individual model. Along with a base case simulation, additional runs were performed introducing 20 % anthropogenic emission reductions both globally and regionally in Europe, North America and east Asia, as defined by the second phase of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF-HTAP2. Health impacts estimated by using concentration inputs from different chemistry–transport models (CTMs to the EVA system can vary up to a factor of 3 in Europe (12 models and the United States (3 models. In Europe, the multi-model mean total number of premature deaths (acute and chronic is calculated to be 414 000, while in the US, it is estimated to be 160 000, in agreement with previous global and regional studies. The economic valuation of these health impacts is calculated to be EUR 300 billion and 145 billion in Europe and the US, respectively. A subset of models that produce the smallest error compared to the surface observations at each time step against an all-model mean ensemble results in increase of health impacts by up to 30 % in Europe, while in the US, the optimal ensemble mean led to a decrease in the calculated health impacts by  ∼  11 %. A total of 54 000 and 27 500 premature deaths can be avoided by a 20 % reduction of global anthropogenic emissions in Europe and the US, respectively. A 20 % reduction of North American anthropogenic emissions avoids a total of  ∼  1000 premature

Radiation Oncology in the Developing Economies of Central and Eastern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Esiashvili, Natia

2017-04-01

Eastern Europe is represented by 22 countries of significant variability in population density and degree of economic development. They have been affected by past geopolitical isolation due to their association with the "Soviet Block." Currently, all Eastern European countries except Slovenia are low- or middle-income level and 10 of them are part of European Union. Health care systems in Central and Eastern Europe have been influenced by the legacy of centralized soviet-era governance; however, most countries, particularly in European Union zone, have gone through health care reforms directed toward modernizing infrastructure and staffing. The level of health financing available through health insurance has increased in the region, although still lags behind the Western European levels. After adjusting for differing population age structures, overall incidence rates in both sexes are lower in Eastern and Central Europe compared with the Northern and Western European countries; however, mortality remains higher. There is an ongoing shortage of oncology services in Eastern Europe, including radiotherapy equipment and personnel. Eastern European radiotherapy field is highly diverse with large differences among countries regarding staffing structure, training, accreditation, and defined roles and responsibilities. The rapid diffusion of technological innovations has been identified as one of the most important factors driving the escalating health care expenses, and the need for better cost-effective solutions applicable to the local health care systems and levels of economic development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life expectancy and health expenditure evolution in Eastern Europe-DiD and DEA analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakovljevic, Mihajlo B; Vukovic, Mira; Fontanesi, John

2016-08-01

Exploration of long-term health expenditure and longevity trends across three major sub-regions of Eastern Europe since 1989. 24 countries were classified as EU 2004, CIS, or SEE. European Health for All Database (HFA-DB) 1989-2012 data were processed using difference-in-difference (DiD) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The strongest expenditure growth was recorded in EU 2004 followed by SEE and the CIS. A surprisingly similar longevity increase was present in SEE and EU 2004. In 1989, countries that joined EU in 2004 were relatively inefficient in the number of life-years gained yet had a lower life expectancy than the SEE region and was only slightly higher than the CIS region (DEA). By 2012 the revenue spent was roughly linear to additional life-year expectancies. EU 2004 members were the best performers in terms of balanced longevity increase followed by health expenditure growth. The SEE economies' longevity gains were lagging slightly behind at a far lower cost. An extrapolated CIS expenditure to longevity increase ratio has the fastest-growing long-term promise.

Putting Emotional Intelligence To Work

CERN Document Server

Ryback, David

2012-01-01

Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work offers a new paradigm of communication for the 21st-century workplace. Beginning with the thoughts of communication pioneer Carl Rogers, this book covers the origins and history of emotional intelligence, why it is essential at this point in the changing marketplace, how to delegate and negotiate more effectively, and how to change yourself to become a more effective player. An EQ (Emotional Quotient) survey helps you determine where you are on the scale of executive intelligence. Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work leaves you with a greater understand

The hereditary angioedema burden of illness study in Europe (HAE-BOIS-Europe: background and methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bygum Anette

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hereditary angioedema (HAE is a rare but serious disease marked by swelling attacks in the extremities, face, trunk, airway, or abdominal areas that can be spontaneous or the result of trauma and other triggers. It can be life-threatening due to the risk of asphyxiation. While there have been major advancements in our understanding of the immunogenetics of HAE, there are significant gaps in the literature regarding understanding of the humanistic and economic impact of the disease, particularly in Europe. The purpose of the HAE Burden of Illness Study-Europe (HAE-BOIS-Europe, the development and methodology of which is described here, is to better understand the management and impact of HAE from the patient perspective in Europe. Methods/Design This is a cross-sectional study in which retrospective data were also collected being conducted in Denmark, Germany and Spain. The study is open to patients ages 12 and older with a diagnosis of HAE-I or HAE-II. Data collection includes: (i a survey on individuals’ health care resource use, direct and indirect medical costs, impact on work and school, treatment satisfaction, and emotional functioning (via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; and (ii one-on-one interviews to collect detailed descriptive data and patient testimonials on the impact of HAE on patients’ health-related quality of life. Discussion The present manuscript describes the development and plans for implementing a multi-country European study with the aim of characterizing the humanistic and economic burden of HAE from the patient perspective. This study will help raise awareness of HAE as a rare but debilitating condition with wide-ranging impacts.

The hereditary angioedema burden of illness study in Europe (HAE-BOIS-Europe): background and methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bygum, Anette; Aygören-Pürsün, Emel; Caballero, Teresa; Beusterien, Kathleen; Gholizadeh, Shadi; Musingarimi, Patience; Wait, Suzanne; Boysen, Henrik

2012-04-26

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare but serious disease marked by swelling attacks in the extremities, face, trunk, airway, or abdominal areas that can be spontaneous or the result of trauma and other triggers. It can be life-threatening due to the risk of asphyxiation. While there have been major advancements in our understanding of the immunogenetics of HAE, there are significant gaps in the literature regarding understanding of the humanistic and economic impact of the disease, particularly in Europe. The purpose of the HAE Burden of Illness Study-Europe (HAE-BOIS-Europe), the development and methodology of which is described here, is to better understand the management and impact of HAE from the patient perspective in Europe. This is a cross-sectional study in which retrospective data were also collected being conducted in Denmark, Germany and Spain. The study is open to patients ages 12 and older with a diagnosis of HAE-I or HAE-II. Data collection includes: (i) a survey on individuals' health care resource use, direct and indirect medical costs, impact on work and school, treatment satisfaction, and emotional functioning (via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale); and (ii) one-on-one interviews to collect detailed descriptive data and patient testimonials on the impact of HAE on patients' health-related quality of life. The present manuscript describes the development and plans for implementing a multi-country European study with the aim of characterizing the humanistic and economic burden of HAE from the patient perspective. This study will help raise awareness of HAE as a rare but debilitating condition with wide-ranging impacts.

Postponement of Senescence: Results From the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juel Ahrenfeldt, Linda; Lindahl-Jacobsen, Rune; Rizzi, Silvia

Old age mortality has been postponed to higher ages. However, the consequences of longer lives will depend on whether poor health is also being postponed. The objective of this study was to investigate secular changes in different health measures using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and R...... in cognitive function during the last decade among middle aged and elderly Europeans....... and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), representing nine European countries. SHARE is an ongoing multi-national longitudinal survey of persons aged 50 and older. SHARE started in 2004-2005 and the latest wave was collected in 2013. Comparing individuals from countries who participated in the first wave (n=24......,192) and the latest wave (n=46,762), we found a significant improvement in cognitive function over the 8-9 year period. However, there was no difference in the proportion of limitations with activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). This study confirms improvements...

Financing of health care in four Caribbean territories: a comparison with reforms in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutten, F; Lapré, R; Antonius, R; Dokoui, S; Haqq, E; Roberts, R; Mills, A

2002-10-01

This paper considers health care finance in four Caribbean territories and plans for reform in comparison with developments in European countries, to which these territories are historically linked. European health care reforms are aimed at making resource allocation in health care more efficient and more responsive to consumers' demands and preferences. These reforms in Europe have been continuing without appearing to have influenced the developments in the Caribbean very much, except in Martinique. In Trinidad and Tobago current reform entails delegation of responsibility for providing services to four regional health authorities and no purchaser/provider split at the regional or facility level as in the UK has been implemented. In the Bahamas, managed care arrangements are likely to emerge given the proximity of the United States. Recent universal coverage reform in Martinique was aimed at harmonisation of finance by bringing social security and social aid functions together under one management structure and may provide more opportunities for contracting and other initiatives towards greater efficiency. The first priority in Suriname is to restore proper functioning of the current system. Reforms in the four Caribbean territories have a largely administrative character and affect the organisation of the third party role in health care rather than fundamentally changing the relationship between this third party and the various other parties in health care.

Acid precipitation in Europe and Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angell, Valter

2000-01-01

The article surveys acid precipitation problems in the region, discusses the sources, the pollutant composition and distribution, the work with the RAINS models as well as the organisation of and the results of joint incentives in the region. The acidification problems in China and some of the Norwegian participation efforts are reviewed. The author points out that much of the acidic precipitation and the environmental problems in Eurasia are due to the use of coal rich in sulphur, that the energy and environmental policies differs throughout the region because of differences in ecology and development levels and that Asia is far more heterogeneous than Europe as to the conditions for co-ordinated efforts against acid precipitation. The differences in economy, geopolitical situation, environmental policies etc. are larger than in Europe and a considerable international effort will be required in order to succeed. Should the regional model RAINS-Asia be used as basis for further co-ordinated efforts on acid precipitation thorough evaluations on costs and advantages are needed. The conditions and need for modelling as basis for international agreements between Asiatic countries are not the same as in Europe. Finally international development organisations have and will continue to play an important part in the work for reducing acid precipitation in Asia. The Asiatic countries may also greatly benefit in the battle against acid precipitation from the experiences of the industrialised countries. However, Asiatic countries will have to meet the major costs of emission reduction themselves. The main question is what emphasis will be put on the long term environmental profits and on the need for rapid economic growth of materially impoverished people. Other development directions than those used by the industrialised countries, seems to be needed

78 FR 53677 - Safety Zone; Battle of Lake Erie Fireworks, Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, OH

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-30

... Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and does not create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that may disproportionately affect children. 11... of fireworks in the vicinity of Put-In-Bay, OH on September 1, 2013. The Captain of the Port Detroit...

Putting Health Back Into Health Insurance Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Atanasov, Pavel; Baker, Tom

2014-08-01

What are the barriers to voluntary take-up of high-deductible plans? We address this question using a large-scale employer survey conducted after an open-enrollment period in which a new high-deductible plan was first introduced. Only 3% of the employees chose this plan, despite the respondents' recognition of its financial advantages. Employees who believed that the high-deductible plan provided access to top physicians in the area were three times more likely to choose it than employees who did not share this belief. A framed field experiment using a similar choice menu showed that displaying additional financial information did not increase high-deductible plan take-up. However, when plans were presented as identical except for the deductible, respondents were highly likely to choose the high-deductible plan, especially in a two-way choice. These results suggest that informing plan choosers about high-deductible plans' health access provisions may affect choice more strongly than focusing on their financial advantages. © The Author(s) 2014.

Infectious diseases in North Africa and North African immigrants to Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Khyatti, Meriem; Trimbitas, Roxana-Delia; Zouheir, Yassine; Benani, Abdelouaheb; El Messaoudi, Moulay-Driss; Hemminki, Kari

2014-08-01

The epidemiological transition has reduced infectious diseases mortality in most European countries, yet increased migrant influx risks importing diseases. All reported prevalence rates must be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the disease in question, respective European Union (EU) country and migratory patterns at work. Tuberculosis has seen a re-emergence in Europe and is concentrated among migrants. Migrants arriving from North Africa (NA) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) carry higher rates of hepatitis C and B than the local EU population. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) impact of NA migrants to Europe is very low but a hallmark of the HIV epidemic is the penetration and circulation of non-B strains, recombinant forms and HIV-drug-resistant profiles through SSA migrants using NA as a transit point into Europe. Leishmaniasis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease prevalent to Southern Europe although not specifically isolated in migrant groups. Although not endemic in NA countries, malaria represent S: a risk in terms of re-emergence in Europe through transitory migrants arriving from SSA with the destination to Europe. Schistosomiasis has been largely eliminated from NA. High migrant flux into European countries has resulted in changing patterns of communicable disease and collectively requires a continuous surveillance. World Health Organization guidelines recommend targeted screening and preventative vaccination, followed by integration of migrants into the local health-care systems allowing for long-term treatment and follow-up. Finally, effective public health campaigns as a form of prevention are essential for the mitigation of disease dissemination in the migrant pool and for second-generation children of migrants. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Food and Agriculture Policy in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Birt, Christopher A

2016-01-01

Diet includes many risk factors for the most common non-communicable diseases (NCDs), but diets consumed in Europe and in other parts of the developed world are not being modified sufficiently to take account of health priorities concerning, in particular, the prevention of NCDs, while much excess mortality and morbidity could be prevented by government actions to regulate appropriately both the agricultural and food industries, and to apply appropriate taxes and subsidies to promote healthier nutrition. In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) continues to promote production of saturated fat rich foods and sugar, with scarce attempts to promote increased production of fruit and vegetables. Meanwhile, the food industry continues to market secondary food products rich in sugar, salt and saturated fats. Powerful lobbies seek to block reform; however, necessary reforms are indicated in the interests of improved nutritional health.

Educational needs of health professionals working in rheumatology in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Vliet Vlieland, Theodora P M; van den Ende, Cornelia H M; Alliot-Launois, Francoise; Beauvais, Catherine; Gobbo, Milena; Iagnocco, Annamaria; Lundberg, Ingrid E; Munuera-Martínez, Pedro V; Opava, Christina H; Prior, Yeliz; Redmond, Anthony; Smucrova, Hana; Wiek, Dieter

2016-01-01

To explore the availability of postgraduate education for health professionals (HPs) working in rheumatology in Europe, and their perceived educational needs and barriers for participation in current educational offerings. Structured interviews were conducted with national representatives of rheumatology HPs' organisations and an online survey among individual HPs was disseminated through existing European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) networks (10 languages including English). These comprised questions on: availability of postgraduate education, familiarity with EULAR and its educational offerings, unmet needs regarding the contents and mode of delivery and potential barriers to participate in education (0-10 scales). According to 17 national representatives, postgraduate rheumatology education was most common for nurses, physical and occupational therapists. There were 1041 individuals responding to the survey, of whom 48% completed all questions. More than half (56%) were familiar with EULAR as an organisation, whereas rheumatology education for HPs in most countries. There are opportunities to raise awareness regarding EULAR educational offerings and to develop courses provided in HPs' own country, tailored to national needs and barriers and taking language barriers into consideration.

Various mental images about the geographical extension of Central, Southeast and Eastern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamás Hardi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Southeast Europe as macro- region space concepts are not regions designable by physical geography; the geographical content of these concepts is drawn and re-drawn by historical, cultural and geopolitical processes. Debates on the extension and content of the macro-regions featured intensify every now and then, especially in crisis periods - it is enough to think of the years before, during and after the world wars, the regime change, and these days. Our paper, with the brief summary of the preliminaries, highlights, from the perspective of our age, the geopolitically determined transformation and demonstrates the findings of our empirical research. During our research we made a questionnaire survey in which we recorded mental maps of the university students of Hungary and its seven neighbour countries, looking at where the respondents put their own countries and what image of the respective macro-regions lived in their minds. Our findings may be subject to debates but clearly show the convergent or divergent directions of the respective countries, at least as regards the judgement by the youth.

Is Europe to turn ecological? Driving factors and impediments to a European environmental policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillenbrand, O.

1994-01-01

What are the strong and week points of community environmental policy? Does the European Union command suitable tools for meeting the environment-political challenges of this decade? Will Europeans succeed in phasing in an ecologically oriented industrial society? ''Is Europe to turn ecological?'' puts the European environmental policy on the test stand. It explains under what political, economic, and institutional conditions the Union's environmental policy was built from the Single European Act to the completion of the internal market, what basic tasks it faces and what political resources are at the disposal of the European Union since the Maastricht Treaty came into force. The book addresses readers who want to close knowledge gaps and have their say in the debate on the ecological reconstruction of Europe. It was sponsored by the Federal German Environment Foundation. (orig.) [de

Assessing river health in Europe and Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Milano, Marianne; Chèvre, Nathalie; Reynard, Emmanuel

2017-04-01

River conditions and welfare of aquatic ecosystems are threatened by anthropogenic and climatic changes. The release of personal-care products, pharmaceuticals and crop protection products is increasing and climate change is likely to cause significant changes in hydrological regimes affecting water resources' capacity to dissolve pollutants. Assessing river health, i.e. the ability of a river to support and maintain a balanced ecosystem close to the natural habitat, is thus of major concern to ensure the development of ecosystems and to provide enough clean useable water to users. Such studies involve physical, chemical and biological processes and characteristics. In Europe and Switzerland, standardized procedures have been developed to assess the hydromorphological, ecological and toxicological status of rivers. The European Water Framework Directive sets ecological requirements and chemical guidelines while the Swiss Modular Stepwise Procedure suggests methods to apprehend ecological deficits and promote water management plans. In this study, both procedures were applied and compared in order (i) to address their capacity to follow-up the spatial and temporal variability of the river's water quality and (ii) to identify challenges that still need to be addressed to assess river's health. Applied on the Boiron River (canton of Vaud, Switzerland) for a 11-year period (2005-2015), both frameworks highlight that no section of the river currently meets a good environmental state. This river flows through a diversified agricultural area causing a progressive deterioration of its chemical and biological quality. The two methods also identify two periods of time with significant changes of the river's water quality. The 2009-2011 period is characterized by a significant deterioration of the river's ecological and toxicological state due to severe low flows and an increased use of pesticides. However, since 2013, an improvement in water quality is identified in

An examination of the association between premature mortality and life expectancy among men in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

White, Alan; McKee, Martin; de Sousa, Bruno

2014-01-01

A feature of the health of men across Europe is their higher rates of premature mortality and shorter life expectancy at birth than women. Following the publication of the first State of Men's Health in Europe report, we sought to explore possible reasons....

EUROPE IN CRISIS

Science.gov (United States)

2017-04-06

greater they are at risk to be radicalized by ISIS fighters either infiltrating through camps or through social media avenues. Socio-economic...Anglais in Nice during Bastille Day in 2016 killing 86 while injuring 200 more, a state of emergency has existed in France while tourism , normally robust...of states to provide social and health benefits along with paying pensions. Free flow of capital, people, and goods in Europe due to 10

Estimating the cost of epilepsy in Europe: a review with economic modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugliatti, Maura; Beghi, Ettore; Forsgren, Lars; Ekman, Mattias; Sobocki, Patrik

2007-12-01

Based on available epidemiologic, health economic, and international population statistics literature, the cost of epilepsy in Europe was estimated. Europe was defined as the 25 European Union member countries, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. Guidelines for epidemiological studies on epilepsy were used for a case definition. A bottom-up prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach, the societal perspective for including the cost items, and the human capital approach as valuation principle for indirect costs were used. The cost estimates were based on selected studies with common methodology and valuation principles. The estimated prevalence of epilepsy in Europe in 2004 was 4.3-7.8 per 1,000. The estimated total cost of the disease in Europe was euro15.5 billion in 2004, indirect cost being the single most dominant cost category (euro8.6 billion). Direct health care costs were euro2.8 billion, outpatient care comprising the largest part (euro1.3 billion). Direct nonmedical cost was euro4.2 billion. That of antiepileptic drugs was euro400 million. The total cost per case was euro2,000-11,500 and the estimated cost per European inhabitant was euro33. Epilepsy is a relevant socioeconomic burden at individual, family, health services, and societal level in Europe. The greater proportion of such burden is outside the formal health care sector, antiepileptic drugs representing a smaller proportion. Lack of economic data from several European countries and other methodological limitations make this report an initial estimate of the cost of epilepsy in Europe. Prospective incidence cost-of-illness studies from well-defined populations and common methodology are encouraged.

Air quality in Europe - 2011 report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerreiro, C.; Larssen, S. (Norsk Inst. for Luftforskning (NILU), Lillestroem (Norway)); Leeuw, F. de (RIVM, Bilthoven (Netherlands)); Foltescu, V. (EEA, Copenhagen (Denmark))

2011-11-15

The annual report 'Air quality in Europe' summarises the most recent evaluation of Europe's air quality status. It is mainly based on air quality measurement data that have been made available officially by 32 EEA member countries as well as 6 EEA cooperating countries. The report includes maps and analyses of air quality status over the calendar year 2009. It also analyses air quality trends over the past years. The evaluation of the status and trends of air quality is based on ambient air measurements, in conjunction with reported anthropogenic emissions. The report summarizes the main effects of different air pollutants on human health, the environment and the climate. An overview of policies and measures at European level is also given for each pollutant. This report reviews progress towards meeting the requirements of the two air quality directives in force as well as the air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report is produced in support of European and national policy development and implementation in the field of air quality. It also supports air quality management and informs the general public on the current status and trends of air quality in Europe. (Author)

Migrants and Refugees in Europe: Challenges, Experiences and Contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, Tobias; Rauscher, Stephan; Menzel, Christian; Reichenauer, Simon; Müller-Schilling, Martina; Schmid, Stephan; Selgrad, Michael

2017-08-01

Due to the current geopolitical situation more refugees from crisis countries were and will be treated in Europe. In 2015 the number of displaced people reached an unprecedented level, with more than one million crossing into Europe. The migration itself can impair both mental and physical health. Therefore, the provision of medical care for refugees and migrants is a novel and major challenge for the health care systems in Europe. In this article we describe our experiences and contribution in providing medical care for refugees who have newly arrived in Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Furthermore, we report our experiences from a tertiary referral University center in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. We focus on challenges in both the outpatient and the inpatient setting, with a special focus on intensive care patients. In addition, we provide an overview about the spectrum of diseases in this specific patient cohort.

Energy drink consumption in europe: a review of the risks, adverse health effects, and policy options to respond.

Science.gov (United States)

Breda, João Joaquim; Whiting, Stephen Hugh; Encarnação, Ricardo; Norberg, Stina; Jones, Rebecca; Reinap, Marge; Jewell, Jo

2014-01-01

With the worldwide consumption of energy drinks increasing in recent years, concerns have been raised both in the scientific community and among the general public about the health effects of these products. Recent studies provide data on consumption patterns in Europe; however, more research is needed to determine the potential for adverse health effects related to the increasing consumption of energy drinks, particularly among young people. A review of the literature was conducted to identify published articles that examined the health risks, consequences, and policies related to energy drink consumption. The health risks associated with energy drink consumption are primarily related to their caffeine content, but more research is needed that evaluates the long-term effects of consuming common energy drink ingredients. The evidence indicating adverse health effects due to the consumption of energy drinks with alcohol is growing. The risks of heavy consumption of energy drinks among young people have largely gone unaddressed and are poised to become a significant public health problem in the future.

Family ties and health cross-nationally: the contextualizing role of familistic culture and public pension spending in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mair, Christine A

2013-11-01

Although previous research theorizes that cross-national variation in the relationship between family ties and health is due to nation-level differences in culture and policy/economics, no study has examined this theorization empirically. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study uses multilevel modeling to analyze individual-, nation-, and cross-level effects for 30,291 older adults in 14 nations. Family ties to spouses/partners and parents are associated with better health, but ties to coresident children are associated with poorer health in certain contexts. Familistic culture and public pension spending have a weak but statistically significant moderating effect on the relationship between intergenerational family ties and health. This article underscores the complexity of family and highlights the need for continued theorization and measurement at the nation level to promote older adults' health in diverse contexts.

Family Ties and Health Cross-Nationally: The Contextualizing Role of Familistic Culture and Public Pension Spending in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Objectives. Although previous research theorizes that cross-national variation in the relationship between family ties and health is due to nation-level differences in culture and policy/economics, no study has examined this theorization empirically. Method. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study uses multilevel modeling to analyze individual-, nation-, and cross-level effects for 30,291 older adults in 14 nations. Results. Family ties to spouses/partners and parents are associated with better health, but ties to coresident children are associated with poorer health in certain contexts. Familistic culture and public pension spending have a weak but statistically significant moderating effect on the relationship between intergenerational family ties and health. Discussion. This article underscores the complexity of family and highlights the need for continued theorization and measurement at the nation level to promote older adults’ health in diverse contexts. PMID:24043356

How does employment quality relate to health and job satisfaction in Europe? A typological approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Aerden, Karen; Puig-Barrachina, Vanessa; Bosmans, Kim; Vanroelen, Christophe

2016-06-01

The changing nature of employment in recent decades, due to an increased emphasis on flexibility and competitiveness in European labour markets, compels the need to assess the consequences of contemporary employment situations for workers. This article aims to study the relation between the quality of employment and the health and well-being of European workers, using data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey. A typology of employment arrangements, mapping out employment quality in the European labour force, is constructed by means of a Latent Class Cluster Analysis. This innovative approach shows that it is possible to condense multiple factors characterising the employment situation into five job types: Standard Employment Relationship-like (SER-like), instrumental, precarious unsustainable, precarious intensive and portfolio jobs. Binary logistic regression analyses show that, controlling for other work quality characteristics, this employment quality typology is related to self-perceived job satisfaction, general health and mental health. Precarious intensive jobs are associated with the worst and SER-like jobs with the best health and well-being situation. The findings presented in this study indicate that, among European wage workers, flexible and de-standardised employment tends to be related to lower job satisfaction, general health and mental health. The quality of employment is thus identified as an important social determinant of health (inequalities) in Europe. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic education and the challenge of genomic medicine: development of core competences to support preparation of health professionals in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skirton, Heather; Lewis, Celine; Kent, Alastair

2010-01-01

in professional education and regulation between European countries, setting curricula may not be practical. Core competences are used as a basis for health professional education in many fields and settings. An Expert Group working under the auspices of the EuroGentest project and European Society of Human...... and professions has resulted in an adaptable framework for both pre-registration and continuing professional education. This competence framework has the potential to improve the quality of genetic health care for patients globally.......The use of genetics and genomics within a wide range of health-care settings requires health professionals to develop expertise to practise appropriately. There is a need for a common minimum standard of competence in genetics for health professionals in Europe but because of differences...

PrEP in Europe - expectations, opportunities and barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormack, Sheena Mary; Noseda, Veronica; Molina, Jean-Michel

2016-01-01

In contrast to the global trend showing a decline in new HIV infections, the number reported in the World Health Organization (WHO) region of Europe is increasing. Health systems are disparate, but even countries with free access to screening and treatment observe continuing high rates of new infections in key populations, notably men who have sex with men (MSM). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is only available in France. This commentary describes the European epidemics and healthcare settings where PrEP could be delivered, how need might be estimated for MSM and the residual barriers to access. Health systems and government commitment to HIV prevention and care, both financial and political, differ considerably between the countries that make up Europe. A common feature is that funds for prevention are a small fraction of funds for care. Although care is generally good, access is limited in the middle-income countries of Eastern Europe and central Asia, and only 19% of people living with HIV received antiretroviral therapy in 2014. It is challenging to motivate governments or civil society to implement PrEP in the context of this unmet treatment need, which is driven by limited national health budgets and diminishing assistance from foreign aid. The high-income countries of Western Europe have hesitated to embrace PrEP for different reasons, initially due to key gaps in the evidence. Now that PrEP has been shown to be highly effective in European MSM in two randomized controlled trials, it is clear that the major barrier is the cost of the drug which is still on patent, although inadequate health systems and diminishing investment in civil society are also key challenges to overcome. The momentum to implement PrEP in European countries is increasing and provides a welcome opportunity to expand and improve clinical services and civil society support focused on HIV and related infections including other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.

Mortality after surgery in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pearse, Rupert M; Moreno, Rui P; Bauer, Peter

2012-01-01

Clinical outcomes after major surgery are poorly described at the national level. Evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and health-care systems suggests potential to improve care for patients but this potential remains unconfirmed. The European Surgical Outcomes Study was an international...... study designed to assess outcomes after non-cardiac surgery in Europe....

A Call-Put Duality for Perpetual American Options

OpenAIRE

Alfonsi, Aurélien; Jourdain, Benjamin

2006-01-01

International audience; It is well known that in models with time-homogeneous local volatility functions and constant interest and dividend rates, the European Put prices are transformed into European Call prices by the simultaneous exchanges of the interest and dividend rates and of the strike and spot price of the underlying. This paper investigates such a Call Put duality for perpetual American options. It turns out that the perpetual American Put price is equal to the perpetual American C...

Functional foods in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech-Larsen, Tino; Scholderer, Joachim

2007-01-01

reading of the main principles of the harmonized regulation COM/2003/0424, this situation is about to change. This article reviews the regulatory aspects, the results of consumer research and the marketing strategies regarding the use of health claims for functional foods in Europe, and it comments......The fact that the European markets for functional foods generally are less developed, compared to the US and the Japanese markets, has often been attributed to a restrictive and inconsistent health claim legislation in and between the European countries. With the European Parliament's second...... on the lack of correspondence between the new regulation and the marketing experiences and research as regard consumer reactions to health claims....

Repressing the Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in Western Europe: Towards an Effective Response Based on Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christophe Paulussen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This Research Paper explores how the foreign fighters phenomenon and terrorism more generally is repressed in Western Europe. It looks at a few specific repressive measures announced or adopted by France and the Netherlands, as well as criticism expressed against these proposals and measures. In addition to these two detailed analyses, references will also be made to other developments in Western Europe which appear to be indicative of a more general trend in which human rights increasingly seem to be put on the back seat when countering the phenomenon of foreign fighters and terrorism more generally. In the final section, a number of concluding thoughts and recommendations will be offered which explain why only a response based on human rights will be effective in countering this global problem in the long run.

The evaluation of public health in South Eastern Europe: from transition to progress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan Gjorgjev

2009-03-01

Full Text Available

Background: The public health services project of the South-eastern Europe health network has undertaken an evaluation of public health services in its nine member countries. The purpose of the evaluation of public health services provision in the South-eastern European (SEE countries is to understand where these countries now stand in public health, the institutional, organisational, legislative and service delivery developments that are taking place and to identify strengths and weaknesses in their public health systems and services in order to inform decision making about investment and future reform.

Methods: The evaluation was orientated around “essential public health operations” that are deemed to form the core of public health activities and services and to be indispensable to the delivery of modern public health services in any country. The evaluation analysed these activities and services within the structure of the health system functions of stewardship, resource generation, financing and service delivery, as developed by WHO.

Results: The results demonstrate a mixed picture of strengths and weaknesses within the context of significant social, economic and political challenges in the region. Among the many visible and significant strengths in public health services in the region are well developed networks of public health institutes with well defined surveillance systems, highly experienced and well educated public health professionals as well as many positive examples of service delivery. But there are also many concerns and challenges, not the least of which is political focus, direction and support for modern public health services, as well as funding. Collaboration and partnership among sectors is weak and information and communication systems are inadequate and not sufficiently integrated.

Conclusions: Having emphasized the main weak and

Climate Change and Future Pollen Allergy in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Lake, Iain R; Jones, Natalia R; Agnew, Maureen; Goodess, Clare M; Giorgi, Filippo; Hamaoui-Laguel, Lynda; Semenov, Mikhail A; Solomon, Fabien; Storkey, Jonathan; Vautard, Robert; Epstein, Michelle M

2017-03-01

Globally, pollen allergy is a major public health problem, but a fundamental unknown is the likely impact of climate change. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify the consequences of climate change upon pollen allergy in humans. We produced quantitative estimates of the potential impact of climate change upon pollen allergy in humans, focusing upon common ragweed ( Ambrosia artemisiifolia ) in Europe. A process-based model estimated the change in ragweed's range under climate change. A second model simulated current and future ragweed pollen levels. These findings were translated into health burdens using a dose-response curve generated from a systematic review and from current and future population data. Models considered two different suites of regional climate/pollen models, two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios [Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5], and three different plant invasion scenarios. Our primary estimates indicated that sensitization to ragweed will more than double in Europe, from 33 to 77 million people, by 2041-2060. According to our projections, sensitization will increase in countries with an existing ragweed problem (e.g., Hungary, the Balkans), but the greatest proportional increases will occur where sensitization is uncommon (e.g., Germany, Poland, France). Higher pollen concentrations and a longer pollen season may also increase the severity of symptoms. Our model projections were driven predominantly by changes in climate (66%) but were also influenced by current trends in the spread of this invasive plant species. Assumptions about the rate at which ragweed spreads throughout Europe had a large influence upon the results. Our quantitative estimates indicate that ragweed pollen allergy will become a common health problem across Europe, expanding into areas where it is currently uncommon. Control of ragweed spread may be an important adaptation strategy in response to climate change. Citation: Lake IR

Postcolonial Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

How has European identity been shaped through its colonial empires? Does this history of imperialism influence the conceptualisation of Europe in the contemporary globalised world? How has coloniality shaped geopolitical differences within Europe? What does this mean for the future of Europe......? Postcolonial Europe: Comparative Reflections after the Empires brings together scholars from across disciplines to rethink European colonialism in the light of its vanishing empires and the rise of new global power structures. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the postcolonial European legacy the book...... argues that the commonly used nation-centric approach does not effectively capture the overlap between different colonial and postcolonial experiences across Europe....

Health care for immigrants in Europe: is there still consensus among country experts about principles of good practice? A Delphi study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Devillé, Walter; Greacen, Tim; Bogic, Marija

2011-01-01

Background: European Member States are facing a challenge to provide accessible and effective health care services for immigrants. It remains unclear how best to achieve this and what characterises good practice in increasingly multicultural societies across Europe. This study assessed the views...... to 16 factors being identified as the most important for each participating country. All 186 factors were aggregated into 9 themes: (1) easy and equal access to health care, (2) empowerment of migrants, (3) culturally sensitive health care services, (4) quality of care, (5) patient/health care provider...... disagreement both within and between countries on specific issues that require further research and debate....

Long working hours and health in Europe: Gender and welfare state differences in a context of economic crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Artazcoz, Lucía; Cortès, Imma; Benavides, Fernando G; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta; Bartoll, Xavier; Vargas, Hernán; Borrell, Carme

2016-07-01

This article examines the relationship between moderately long working hours and health status in Europe. A cross-sectional study based on data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey (13,518 men and 9381 women) was performed. Working moderately long hours was consistently associated with poor health status and poor psychological wellbeing in countries with traditional family models, in both sexes in Liberal countries and primarily among women in Continental and Southern European countries. A combination of economic vulnerability, increasing labour market deregulation and work overload related to the combination of job and domestic work could explain these findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A frailty instrument for primary care: findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Romero-Ortuno, Roman

2010-01-01

A frailty paradigm would be useful in primary care to identify older people at risk, but appropriate metrics at that level are lacking. We created and validated a simple instrument for frailty screening in Europeans aged ≥50. Our study is based on the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, http:\\/\\/www.share-project.org), a large population-based survey conducted in 2004-2005 in twelve European countries.

No upward trend in normalised windstorm losses in Europe: 1970-2008

Science.gov (United States)

Barredo, J. I.

2010-01-01

On 18 January 2007, windstorm Kyrill battered Europe with hurricane-force winds killing 47 people and causing 10 billion US in damage. Kyrill poses several questions: is Kyrill an isolated or exceptional case? Have there been events costing as much in the past? This paper attempts to put Kyrill into an historical context by examining large historical windstorm event losses in Europe for the period 1970-2008 across 29 European countries. It asks the question what economic losses would these historical events cause if they were to recur under 2008 societal conditions? Loss data were sourced from reinsurance firms and augmented with historical reports, peer-reviewed articles and other ancillary sources. Following the same conceptual approach outlined in previous studies, the data were then adjusted for changes in population, wealth, and inflation at the country level and for inter-country price differences using purchasing power parity. The analyses reveal no trend in the normalised windstorm losses and confirm increasing disaster losses are driven by societal factors and increasing exposure.

Severe malaria in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurth, Florian; Develoux, Michel; Mechain, Matthieu

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains one of the most serious infections for travellers to tropical countries. Due to the lack of harmonized guidelines a large variety of treatment regimens is used in Europe to treat severe malaria. METHODS: The European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health (Trop......Net) conducted an 8-year, multicentre, observational study to analyse epidemiology, treatment practices and outcomes of severe malaria in its member sites across Europe. Physicians at participating TropNet centres were asked to report pseudonymized retrospective data from all patients treated at their centre...... for microscopically confirmed severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria according to the 2006 WHO criteria. RESULTS: From 2006 to 2014 a total of 185 patients with severe malaria treated in 12 European countries were included. Three patients died, resulting in a 28-day survival rate of 98.4%. The majority of infections...

Nuclear energy in Europe and its radiological consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellerer, A.M.

1993-01-01

In a popular way, the author deals with the impacts of the Chernobyl reactor accident, and with the scientific relevance of reactions to and discussions about the consequences of peaceful nuclear energy use in Germany. He arrives at the conclusion that the use of nuclear energy in Europe does not have any radiological consequences for its population. Radioactive fission product release during normal operation is completely irrelevant in his view; a controversial problem being the potential release in the case of major accidents. According to the author, however, it would be irrational to put an end to the use of nuclear energy in an area where it shows a high degree of safety, and leave it on its own where it is threatening already now. (orig./HP) [de

Support to the identification of potential risks for the environment and human health arising from hydrocarbons operations involving hydraulic fracturing in Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broomfield, L.; Lelland, A.

2012-09-15

The potential risks for the environment and human health arising from shale gas production (hydraulic fracturing) in Europe are assessed. As readily accessible oil and gas reserves are becoming progressively limited, the energy supply industry is turning more to unconventional reserves, which were previously too complex or too expensive to extract, like shale gas. There are significant shale gas reserves in Europe. Permission is being sought in many EU Member States for exploratory works and to bring forward projects for hydraulic fracturing and extraction of shale gas. As with any drilling and extraction process, shale gas extraction brings environmental and health risks which need to be understood and addressed. CE Delft conducted the legal assessment on shale gas related EU legislation. Gaps and uncertainties have been addressed, but no real risks within the legislation have been discovered. A large part of the shale gas related legislation is part of the individual member states legislation and not directly addressed by EU legislation.

Improving patient access to novel medical technologies in Europe.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Kearney, Peter

2012-02-03

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) organized a one-day workshop with clinicians, health economic experts, and health technology appraisal experts to discuss the equity of patient access to novel medical technologies in Europe. Two index technologies were considered: implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and drug-eluting stents (DES). The use of ICDs range from 35 implants\\/million population in Portugal to 166 implants\\/million population in Germany, whereas for implants of DES (as percentage of total stents) it is lowest in Germany at 14% and high in Portugal at 65%. These differences can in part be explained by a lack of structured implementation of guidelines, the direct cost in relation to the overall healthcare budget, and to differences in procedures and models applied by Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies in Europe. The workshop participants concluded that physicians need to be involved in a more structured way in HTA and need to become better acquainted with its methods and terminology. Clinical guidelines should be systematically translated, explained, disseminated, updated, and adopted by cardiologists in Europe. Clinically appropriate, consistent and transparent health economic models need to be developed and high-quality international outcome and cost data should be used. A process for funding of a technology should be developed after a positive recommendation from HTA agencies. Both the ESC and the national cardiac societies should build-up health economic expertise and engage more actively in discussions with stakeholders involved in the provision of healthcare.

Primary care workforce development in Europe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groenewegen, P.; Heinemann, S.; Gress, S.; Schäfer, W.

2014-01-01

Background: There is a large variation in the organization of primary care in Europe. In some health care systems, primary care is the gatekeeper to more specialized care, whilst in others patients have the choice between a wide range of providers. Primary care has increasingly become teamwork.

Is a practice-based rural research network feasible in Europe?

Science.gov (United States)

Klemenc-Ketis, Zalika; Kurpas, Donata; Tsiligianni, Ioanna; Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando; Jacquet, Jean-Pierre; Buono, Nicola; Lopez-Abuin, Jose; Lionis, Christos

2015-01-01

Research in family medicine is a well-established entity nationally and internationally, covering all aspects of primary care including remote and isolated practices. However, due to limited capacity and resources in rural family medicine, its potential is not fully exploited yet. An idea to foster European rural primary care research by establishing a practice-based research network has been recently put forward by several members of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association (EURIPA) and the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN). Two workshops on why, and how to design a practice-based research network among rural family practices in Europe were conducted at two international meetings. This paper revisits the definition of practice-based research in family medicine, reflects on the current situation in Europe regarding the research in rural family practice, and discusses a rationale for practice-based research in rural family medicine. A SWOT analysis was used as the main tool to analyse the current situation in Europe regarding the research in rural family practice at both meetings. The key messages gained from these meetings may be employed by the Wonca Working Party on research, the International Federation of Primary Care Research Network and the EGPRN that seek to introduce a practice-based research approach. The cooperation and collaboration between EURIPA and EGPRN creates a fertile ground to discuss further the prospect of a European practice-based rural family medicine research network, and to draw on the joint experience.

Transport of MOX fuel from Europe to Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The MOX fuel transports from Europe to Japan represent a main part in the implementing of the Japan nuclear program. They complement the 160 transports of spent fuels realized from Japan to Europe and the vitrified residues return from France to Japan. In this framework the document presents the MOX fuel, the use of the MOX fuel in reactor, the proliferation risks, the MOX fuel transport to Japan, the public health, the transport regulations, the safety and the civil liability. (A.L.B.)

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nellums, Laura B; Thompson, Hayley; Holmes, Alison

2018-01-01

in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased......, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial...

Evolving reimbursement and pricing policies for devices in Europe and the United States should encourage greater value.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorenson, Corinna; Drummond, Michael; Burns, Lawton R

2013-04-01

Rising health care costs are an international concern, particularly in the United States, where spending on health care outpaces that of other industrialized countries. Consequently, there is growing desire in the United States and Europe to take a more value-based approach to health care, particularly with respect to the adoption and use of new health technology. This article examines medical device reimbursement and pricing policies in the United States and Europe, with a particular focus on value. Compared to the United States, Europe more formally and consistently considers value to determine which technologies to cover and at what price, especially for complex, costly devices. Both the United States and Europe have introduced policies to provide temporary coverage and reimbursement for promising technologies while additional evidence of value is generated. But additional actions are needed in both the United States and Europe to ensure wise value-based reimbursement and pricing policies for all devices, including the generation of better pre- and postmarket evidence and the development of new methods to evaluate value and link evidence of value to reimbursement.

Putting equity center stage: challenging evidence-free reforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, Margaret; Dahlgren, Göran; McIntyre, Di

2007-01-01

Do we have an "evidence-free zone" around the health sector reforms that have taken place over the past few decades? Certainly, many of the policy prescriptions have been based on ideology and assumptions about the likely impact of policies, rather than evidence-based. The provision of health care is increasingly treated as a commodity that can be subjected to the same prescription as other goods: privatization, competition, deregulation, decentralization. Evidence has slowly emerged over the 1990s and early 2000s on the adverse effects of these policy prescriptions on equity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, but a shift in policy is barely perceptible. There is a need for a fresh approach that puts equity center stage. A gap that must be filled is on the "demand" or "need" side: in particular, the impact of policy changes on families and communities. This article is the first in a series of eight articles that present the findings of studies that attempt to fill this gap, helping to develop a more evidence-based approach to equity and health sector policy from the users'/potential patients' perspective.

Diphtheria in the postepidemic period, Europe, 2000-2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Karen S; White, Joanne M; Lucenko, Irina; Mercer, David; Crowcroft, Natasha S; Neal, Shona; Efstratiou, Androulla

2012-02-01

Diphtheria incidence has decreased in Europe since its resurgence in the 1990s, but circulation continues in some countries in eastern Europe, and sporadic cases have been reported elsewhere. Surveillance data from Diphtheria Surveillance Network countries and the World Health Organization European Region for 2000-2009 were analyzed. Latvia reported the highest annual incidence in Europe each year, but the Russian Federation and Ukraine accounted for 83% of all cases. Over the past 10 years, diphtheria incidence has decreased by >95% across the region. Although most deaths occurred in disease-endemic countries, case-fatality rates were highest in countries to which diphtheria is not endemic, where unfamiliarity can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. In western Europe, toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans has increasingly been identified as the etiologic agent. Reduction in diphtheria incidence over the past 10 years is encouraging, but maintaining high vaccination coverage is essential to prevent indigenous C. ulcerans and reemergence of C. diphtheriae.

Open source and healthcare in Europe - time to put leading edge ideas into practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Peter J; Wright, Graham; Karopka, Thomas; Betts, Helen; Orel, Andrej

2009-01-01

Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) is a process of software development, a method of licensing and a philosophy. Although FLOSS plays a significant role in several market areas, the impact in the health care arena is still limited. FLOSS is promoted as one of the most effective means for overcoming fragmentation in the health care sector and providing a basis for more efficient, timely and cost effective health care provision. The 2008 European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) Special Topic Conference (STC) explored a range of current and future issues related to FLOSS in healthcare (FLOSS-HC). In particular, there was a focus on health records, ubiquitous computing, knowledge sharing, and current and future applications. Discussions resulted in a list of main barriers and challenges for use of FLOSS-HC. Based on the outputs of this event, the 2004 Open Steps events and subsequent workshops at OSEHC2009 and Med-e-Tel 2009, a four-step strategy has been proposed for FLOSS-HC: 1) a FLOSS-HC inventory; 2) a FLOSS-HC collaboration platform, use case database and knowledge base; 3) a worldwide FLOSS-HC network; and 4) FLOSS-HC dissemination activities. The workshop will further refine this strategy and elaborate avenues for FLOSS-HC from scientific, business and end-user perspectives. To gain acceptance by different stakeholders in the health care industry, different activities have to be conducted in collaboration. The workshop will focus on the scientific challenges in developing methodologies and criteria to support FLOSS-HC in becoming a viable alternative to commercial and proprietary software development and deployment.

Disparities in HIV clinic care across Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lazarus, Jeffery V.; Laut, Kamilla Grønborg; Safreed-Harmon, Kelly

2016-01-01

Background: Although advances in HIV medicine have yielded increasingly better treatment outcomes in recent years, HIV-positive people with access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) still face complex health challenges. The EuroSIDA Study Group surveyed its clinics to explore regional differences...... in clinic services. Methods: The EuroSIDA study is a prospective observational cohort study that began enrolling patients in 1994. In early 2014, we conducted a 59-item survey of the 98 then-active EuroSIDA clinics. The survey covered HIV clinical care and other aspects of patient care. The EuroSIDA East...... Europe study region (Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine) was compared to a "non-East Europe" study region comprised of all other EuroSIDA countries. Results: A larger proportion of clinics in the East Europe group reported deferring ART in asymptomatic patients until the CD4...

Challenges in the management of Chagas disease in Latin-American migrants in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Monge-Maillo, B; López-Vélez, R

2017-05-01

Chagas disease is endemic in Latin America. Due to migration the infection has crossed borders and it is estimated that 68,000-120,000 people with Chagas disease are currently living in Europe and 30% of them may develop visceral involvement. However, up to 90% of Chagas disease cases in Europe remain undiagnosed. The challenges which have to be overcome in Chagas disease in non-endemic countries are focused on related downing barriers to health care access, and related to screening, diagnostic tools and therapeutic management. The aim of this review is to highlight how healthcare management for Latin American migrants with Chagas disease in Europe may be improved. Medical literature was searched using PubMed. No limits were placed with respect to the language or date of publication although most of the articles selected were articles published in the last five years. Chosen search terms were "Chagas disease" AND ("migrants" OR "screening" OR "transmission" OR "treatment"; OR "knowledge" OR "non-endemic countries"); migrants AND ("Public health" OR "Health Service Accessibility" OR "Delivery of Health care"); and "Congenital Chagas disease". Healthcare management of migrant populations with Chagas disease in Europe has to be improved: -Surveillance programmes are needed to measure the burden of the disease; -screening programmes are needed; -administrative and cultural barriers in the access to health care for migrants should be reduced; -education programmes on Chagas disease should be performed -research on new diagnostic tools and therapeutic options are required. This review highlights the needs of profound changes in the health care of Latin American migrants with Chagas disease in Europe. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review of total & added sugar intakes and dietary sources in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azaïs-Braesco, Véronique; Sluik, Diewertje; Maillot, Matthieu; Kok, Frans; Moreno, Luis A.

2017-01-01

Public health policies, including in Europe, are considering measures and recommendations to limit the intake of added or free sugars. For such policies to be efficient and monitored, a precise knowledge of the current situation regarding sugar intake in Europe is needed. This review summarizes

Governance on home care in Europe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Genet, N.; Boerma, W.; Hutchinson, A.; Garms-Homolova, V.; Naiditch, M.; Lamura, G.; Chlabicz, S.; Ersek, K.; Laszlo, G.; Fagerstrom, C.; Bolibar, B.

2010-01-01

Introduction: Demand for health and social care services in the community will grow as a result of the ageing of populations across Europe. At present, however, very little is known about the preparedness of national home care systems for changing demand, which is not just quantitative but also

Impacts of natural hazards in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groeve, De Tom; Kurnik, Blaz; Mysiak, J.; Swart, R.J.; Semenza, Jan C.; Kendrovski, Vladimir; Kramer, K.; Ivits, Eva; Vanneuville, W.; Carrera, Lorenzo; Blauhut, V.; Erhard, M.; Christiansen, Trine

2017-01-01

Climate change has caused noticeable effects on human health in Europe, mainly as a result of extreme events, an increase in climate-sensitive diseases, and a deterioration in environmental and social conditions. Heat waves were the
deadliest extreme weather event in the period 1991–2015 in

The ascent of the blessed: regulatory issues on health effects and health claims for probiotics in Europe and the rest of the world.

Science.gov (United States)

Dronkers, T M G; Krist, L; Van Overveld, F J; Rijkers, G T

2018-05-25

The outcome of the first series of health claim applications for probiotics in Europe as evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has, up to 2013 almost completely yielded negative results. All recent applications also have been rejected, including the latest on prevention of mastitis in breastfeeding mothers. In other developed countries, such as Switzerland, Japan and Canada, the health effects of probiotics, for which scientific evidence has been provided, can be communicated to potential consumers. The number of clinical trials with probiotics over recent years shows a trend to level off or even decline. At the same time, clinical research into the role of (gut) microbiota in a wide variety of diseases and conditions is booming. Ultimately, this may offer new indications for gut microbiota management by probiotics, prebiotics or other food supplements.

Energy drink consumption in Europe: A review of the risks, adverse health effects and policy options to respond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Joaquim Breda

2014-10-01

Full Text Available With the worldwide consumption of energy drinks increasing in recent years, concerns have been raised both in the scientific community and among the general public about the health effects of these products. Recent studies provide data on consumption patterns in Europe however more research is needed to determine the potential for adverse health effects related to the increasing consumption of energy drinks, particularly among young people. A review of the literature was conducted to identify published articles that examined the health risks, consequences and policies related to energy drink consumption. The health risks associated with energy drink consumption are primarily related to their caffeine content, but more research is needed that evaluates the long term effects of consuming common energy drink ingredients. The evidence indicating adverse health effects due to the consumption of energy drinks with alcohol is growing. The risks of heavy consumption of energy drinks among young people have largely gone unaddressed and are poised to become a significant public health problem in the future.

Energy Drink Consumption in Europe: A Review of the Risks, Adverse Health Effects, and Policy Options to Respond

Science.gov (United States)

Breda, João Joaquim; Whiting, Stephen Hugh; Encarnação, Ricardo; Norberg, Stina; Jones, Rebecca; Reinap, Marge; Jewell, Jo

2014-01-01

With the worldwide consumption of energy drinks increasing in recent years, concerns have been raised both in the scientific community and among the general public about the health effects of these products. Recent studies provide data on consumption patterns in Europe; however, more research is needed to determine the potential for adverse health effects related to the increasing consumption of energy drinks, particularly among young people. A review of the literature was conducted to identify published articles that examined the health risks, consequences, and policies related to energy drink consumption. The health risks associated with energy drink consumption are primarily related to their caffeine content, but more research is needed that evaluates the long-term effects of consuming common energy drink ingredients. The evidence indicating adverse health effects due to the consumption of energy drinks with alcohol is growing. The risks of heavy consumption of energy drinks among young people have largely gone unaddressed and are poised to become a significant public health problem in the future. PMID:25360435

Is there health inequity in Europe today? The ‘strange case’ of the application of an European regulation to cartilage repair

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Beretta

2016-03-01

Full Text Available An important regulation, issued by the European Community in 2008, regulates the authorisation and supervision of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP and subsequent follow up in Europe. This law contains a Hospital Exemption clause, under which some hospitals in some countries can be exempted from the regulations governing ATMPs. The application of this regulation in Europe has resulted in differences in the costs of cell therapy for cartilage injuries in Germany compared with the costs in other European countries and in the U.S. The present paper argues on the real impact of political decisions on the health of citizens, on economy of healthcare systems, and highlights a possible case of inequality among European citizens with respect to cartilage repair procedures.

Meeting the challenge of funding and allocating resources to mental health across Europe: developing the Mental Health Economics European Network.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaid, David; Knapp, Martin; Curran, Claire

2006-01-01

There is growing demand for economic analysis to support strategic decision-making for mental health but the availability of economic evidence, in particular on system performance remains limited. The Mental Health Economics European Network (MHEEN) was set up in 2002 with the broad objective of developing a base for mental health economics information and subsequent work in 17 countries. Data on financing, expenditure and costs, provision of services, workforce, employment and capacity for economic evaluation were collected through bespoke questionnaires developed iteratively by the Network. This was augmented by a literature review and analysis of international databases. Findings on financing alone suggest that in many European countries mental health appears to be neglected while mechanisms for resource allocation are rarely linked to objective measure of population mental health needs. Numerous economic barriers and potential solutions were identified. Economic incentives may be one way of promoting change, although there is no 'one size fits all solution. There are significant benefits and synergies to be gained from the continuing development of networks such as MHEEN. In particular the analysis can be used to inform developments in Central and Eastern Europe. For instance there is much that can be learnt on both how the balance of care between institutional and non-institutional care has changed and on the role played by economic incentives in ensuring that resources were used to develop alternative community-based systems.

Ensuring the Security of the Educational Environment: Cases of US, Russia and Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitaly V. Kabernik

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with security, including informational, educational environment. The article considers experience of the United States and Europe, including specific examples. Given a classification of the major threats and they are allocated on the basis of foreign and domestic experience. The article also determines the range of problems actually facing educational institutions and regularly described in special reports on the subject. Provides an overview of a set of measures designed to regulate access to inappropriate content, with special attention given to the phenomenon of social networks that put new challenges in ensuring security of the educational environment.

Exploring health, safety and environment in central and Eastern Europe: an introduction to the European Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment (ECOHSE).

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, M; Robson, M; Watterson, A; Woolfson, C

2001-01-01

This article traces the development of the European Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment (ECOHSE) at the University of Glasgow. ECOHSE recently has been designated a Thematic Network by the European Union which is providing administrative support through 2004. The de facto de-regulation that accompanied emergent capitalism in Eastern Europe created opportunities for exploitation of the work force. Voluntary efforts of a loose network of occupational and environmental health academics led to a series of yearly conferences to discuss these problems and the lack of research about them. Then, in 1999, a more formal organization was established at Glasgow to pursue continuity and funding. The first occupational and environmental health conference under ECOHSE was held last year in Lithuania, and selected presentations of that meeting are offered in this journal. A second ECOHSE conference will be held this fall in Romania.

Measuring the strength of primary care systems in Europe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kringos, D.S.; Boerma, W.G.W.

2009-01-01

Background: The investment in primary care (PC) reforms to improve the overall performance of health care systems has been substantial in Europe. There is however a lack of up to date comparable information to evaluate the development and strength of PC systems. This EU-funded Primary Health Care

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE COUNTRIES ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCE FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nenad POPOVIĆ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available That influences the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDIs into South-Eastern Europe (SEE, whereby main emphasis will be put on republics of Former Yugoslavia, but also with some references to Romania’s case.Choice of the countries for comparison is made upon assumption that they were characterized by relatively the same industrial, market and social development before they entered the process of transition, so comparisons from the aspect of achieved results is of scientific importance. Special attention will be directed to the result made by the Republic of Serbia in the process of attracting FDIs. First of all, main terms of foreign direct investments will be defined in this paper and we will give general review of literature related to allocation of foreign direct investments. Then, recent trends of foreign direct investments in south-astern Europe will be described. Finally, the factors that influence allocation of FDIs,as well as relationship between index of global competitiveness of observed countries and accumulated FDIs during period of transition will be analyzed.

Valuing put options on single stock futures: Does the put-call parity relationship hold in the South African derivatives market?

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A Biebuyck

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to determine whether mispricing of options on single stock futures is present in the South African derivatives market. The valuation of options on single stock futures is considered through the put-call parity relationship. The theoretical fair values obtained, are compared to the actual market values over a period of three years, that is, from 2009 to 2011. Only put options are considered in this research.The results show that arbitrage put option opportunities do present themselves for the chosen shares. The actual put options were found to be underpriced in 5 out of 6 (83% of the cases considered over the evaluation periods chosen. The mispricing was significant for both the BHP Billiton options with 100% and in the case of Sasol options (66% of the time. Whether profitable arbitrage opportunities is possible, will depend on the magnitude of the mispricing and the transaction fees payable. Further, more extensive research may help identify tendencies which may be of use for the formulation of arbitrage strategies

The practice of travel medicine in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlagenhauf, P; Santos-O'Connor, F; Parola, P

2010-03-01

Europe, because of its geographical location, strategic position on trade routes, and colonial past, has a long history of caring for travellers' health. Within Europe, there is great diversity in the practice of travel medicine. Some countries have travel medicine societies and provisions for a periodic distribution of recommendations, but many countries have no national pre-travel guidelines and follow international recommendations such as those provided by the WHO. Providers of travel medicine include tropical medicine specialists, general practice nurses and physicians, specialist 'travel clinics', occupational physicians, and pharmacists. One of the core functions of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control-funded network of travel and tropical medicine professionals, EuroTravNet, is to document the status quo of travel medicine in Europe. A three-pronged approach is used, with a real-time online questionnaire, a structured interview with experts in each country, and web searching.

Access to health care for Roma children in Central and Eastern Europe: findings from a qualitative study in Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spencer Nick J

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the attention the situation of the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe has received in the context of European Union enlargement, research on their access to health services is very limited, in particular with regard to child health services. Methods 50 qualitative in-depth interviews with users, providers and policy-makers concerned with child health services in Bulgaria, conducted in two villages, one town of 70,000 inhabitants, and the capital Sofia. Results Our findings provide important empirical evidence on the range of barriers Roma children face when accessing health services. Among the most important barriers are poverty, administrative and geographical obstacles, low levels of parental education, and lack of ways to accommodate the cultural, linguistic and religious specifics of this population group. Conclusion Our research illustrates the complexity of the problems the Roma face. Access to health care cannot be discussed in isolation from other problems this population group experiences, such as poverty, restricted access to education, and social exclusion.

Aedes albopictus and Its Environmental Limits in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunze, Sarah; Kochmann, Judith; Koch, Lisa K; Klimpel, Sven

2016-01-01

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, native to South East Asia, is listed as one of the worst invasive vector species worldwide. In Europe the species is currently restricted to Southern Europe, but due to the ongoing climate change, Ae. albopictus is expected to expand its potential range further northwards. In addition to modelling the habitat suitability for Ae. albopictus under current and future climatic conditions in Europe by means of the maximum entropy approach, we here focused on the drivers of the habitat suitability prediction. We explored the most limiting factors for Aedes albopictus in Europe under current and future climatic conditions, a method which has been neglected in species distribution modelling so far. Ae. albopictus is one of the best-studied mosquito species, which allowed us to evaluate the applied Maxent approach for most limiting factor mapping. We identified three key limiting factors for Ae. albopictus in Europe under current climatic conditions: winter temperature in Eastern Europe, summer temperature in Southern Europe. Model findings were in good accordance with commonly known establishment thresholds in Europe based on climate chamber experiments and derived from the geographical distribution of the species. Under future climatic conditions low winter temperature were modelled to remain the most limiting factor in Eastern Europe, whereas in Central Europe annual mean temperature and summer temperatures were modelled to be replaced by summer precipitation, respectively, as most limiting factors. Changes in the climatic conditions in terms of the identified key limiting factors will be of great relevance regarding the invasive potential of the Ae. albopictus. Thus, our results may help to understand the key drivers of the suggested range expansion under climate change and may help to improve monitoring programmes. The applied approach of investigating limiting factors has proven to yield valuable results and may also provide

Perceived discrimination and self-rated health in Europe: evidence from the European Social Survey (2010.

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Javier Alvarez-Galvez

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that perceived discrimination has an impact on our physical and mental health. A relevant part of literature has highlighted the influence of discrimination based on race or ethnicity on mental and physical health outcomes. However, the influence of other types of discrimination on health has been understudied. This study is aimed to explore how different types of discrimination are related to our subjective state of health, and so to compare the intensity of these relationships in the European context. METHODS: We have performed a multilevel ordered analysis on the fifth wave of the European Social Survey (ESS 2010. This dataset has 52,458 units at individual level that are grouped in 26 European countries. In this study, the dependent variable is self-rated health (SRH that is analyzed in relationship to ten explanatory variables of perceived discrimination: color or race, nationality, religion, language, ethnic group, age, gender, sexuality, disability and others. RESULTS: The model identifies statistically significant differences in the effect that diverse types of perceived discrimination can generate on the self-rated health of Europeans. Specifically, this study identifies three well-defined types of perceived discrimination that can be related to poor health outcomes: (1 age discrimination; (2 disability discrimination; and (3 sexuality discrimination. In this sense, the effect on self-rated health of perceived discrimination related to aging and disabilities seems to be more relevant than other types of discrimination in the European context with a longer tradition in literature (e.g. ethnic and/or race-based. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that the relationship between perceived discrimination and health inequities in Europe are not random, but systematically distributed depending on factors such as age, sexuality and disabilities. Therefore the future orientation of EU social policies should aim

Perceived discrimination and self-rated health in Europe: evidence from the European Social Survey (2010).

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Galvez, Javier; Salvador-Carulla, Luis

2013-01-01

Studies have shown that perceived discrimination has an impact on our physical and mental health. A relevant part of literature has highlighted the influence of discrimination based on race or ethnicity on mental and physical health outcomes. However, the influence of other types of discrimination on health has been understudied. This study is aimed to explore how different types of discrimination are related to our subjective state of health, and so to compare the intensity of these relationships in the European context. We have performed a multilevel ordered analysis on the fifth wave of the European Social Survey (ESS 2010). This dataset has 52,458 units at individual level that are grouped in 26 European countries. In this study, the dependent variable is self-rated health (SRH) that is analyzed in relationship to ten explanatory variables of perceived discrimination: color or race, nationality, religion, language, ethnic group, age, gender, sexuality, disability and others. The model identifies statistically significant differences in the effect that diverse types of perceived discrimination can generate on the self-rated health of Europeans. Specifically, this study identifies three well-defined types of perceived discrimination that can be related to poor health outcomes: (1) age discrimination; (2) disability discrimination; and (3) sexuality discrimination. In this sense, the effect on self-rated health of perceived discrimination related to aging and disabilities seems to be more relevant than other types of discrimination in the European context with a longer tradition in literature (e.g. ethnic and/or race-based). The present study shows that the relationship between perceived discrimination and health inequities in Europe are not random, but systematically distributed depending on factors such as age, sexuality and disabilities. Therefore the future orientation of EU social policies should aim to reduce the impact of these social determinants on health

Suboptimal Micronutrient Intake among Children in Europe

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Boris Kaganov

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Adequate dietary intake of micronutrients is not necessarily achieved even in resource-rich areas of the world wherein overeating is a public health concern. In Europe, population-based data suggests substantial variability in micronutrient intake among children. Two independent surveys of micronutrient consumption among European children were evaluated. Stratified by age, the data regarding micronutrient intake were evaluated in the context of daily requirements, which are typically estimated in the absence of reliable absolute values derived from prospective studies. The proportion of children living in Europe whose intake of at least some vitamins and trace elements are at or below the estimated average requirements is substantial. The most common deficiencies across age groups included vitamin D, vitamin E, and iodine. Specific deficiencies were not uniform across countries or by age or gender.  Micronutrient intake appears to be more strongly influenced by factors other than access to food. Substantial portions of European children may be at risk of reversible health risks from inadequate intake of micronutrients. Despite the growing health threat posed by excess intake of calories, adequate exposure to vitamins, trace elements, and other micronutrients may deserve attention in public health initiatives to optimize growth and development in the European pediatric population.

Area Studies and Eastern Europe: How Eastern Europe Collapsed

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Mirjana Kasapović

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In the first part, the author outlines the development of area studies in contemporary comparative politics, and points to their importance for the development of political science. In the second part, she examines the methodology – research design and methods – of regional comparatistics, paying particular attention to the problem of defining the region as a central category in this field of comparative politics. The third and central part is focused on the emergence of Eastern Europe as a historical-political and socio-cultural region in the course of history, especially after World War II, and on its dissolution in the processes of democratic transformation of communist regimes in the last two decades. The dissolution of Eastern Europe has resulted in restoration of a tripartite political geography in the area which it used to take up, made up of Central Europe, Southeast Europe and the proper Eastern Europe.

Malaria in Europe: emerging threat or minor nuisance?

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Piperaki, E T; Daikos, G L

2016-06-01

Malaria was eradicated from Europe in the 1970s through a combination of insecticide spraying, drug therapy and environmental engineering. Since then, it has been mostly imported into the continent by international travellers and immigrants from endemic regions. Despite the substantial number of imported malaria cases and the documented presence of suitable anopheline vectors, autochthonous transmission has not been widely observed in Europe, probably as a result of early diagnosis and treatment, afforded by efficient healthcare systems. Current climatic conditions are conducive to malaria transmission in several areas of Southern Europe, and climate change might favour mosquito proliferation and parasite development, further facilitating malaria transmission. Moreover, the continuing massive influx of refugee and migrant populations from endemic areas could contribute to building up of an infectious parasite reservoir. Although the malariogenic potential of Europe is currently low, particularly in the northern and western parts of the continent, strengthening of disease awareness and maintaining robust public health infrastructures for surveillance and vector control are of the utmost importance and should be technically and financially supported to avert the possibility of malaria transmission in Europe's most vulnerable areas. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing Generic Drug Markets in Europe and the United States: Prices, Volumes, and Spending.

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Wouters, Olivier J; Kanavos, Panos G; McKEE, Martin

2017-09-01

Policy Points: Our study indicates that there are opportunities for cost savings in generic drug markets in Europe and the United States. Regulators should make it easier for generic drugs to reach the market. Regulators and payers should apply measures to stimulate price competition among generic drugmakers and to increase generic drug use. To meaningfully evaluate policy options, it is important to analyze historical context and understand why similar initiatives failed previously. Rising drug prices are putting pressure on health care budgets. Policymakers are assessing how they can save money through generic drugs. We compared generic drug prices and market shares in 13 European countries, using data from 2013, to assess the amount of variation that exists between countries. To place these results in context, we reviewed evidence from recent studies on the prices and use of generics in Europe and the United States. We also surveyed peer-reviewed studies, gray literature, and books published since 2000 to (1) outline existing generic drug policies in European countries and the United States; (2) identify ways to increase generic drug use and to promote price competition among generic drug companies; and (3) explore barriers to implementing reform of generic drug policies, using a historical example from the United States as a case study. The prices and market shares of generics vary widely across Europe. For example, prices charged by manufacturers in Switzerland are, on average, more than 2.5 times those in Germany and more than 6 times those in the United Kingdom, based on the results of a commonly used price index. The proportion of prescriptions filled with generics ranges from 17% in Switzerland to 83% in the United Kingdom. By comparison, the United States has historically had low generic drug prices and high rates of generic drug use (84% in 2013), but has in recent years experienced sharp price increases for some off-patent products. There are policy

Diphtheria in the Postepidemic Period, Europe, 2000–2009

Science.gov (United States)

White, Joanne M.; Lucenko, Irina; Mercer, David; Crowcroft, Natasha S.; Neal, Shona; Efstratiou, Androulla

2012-01-01

Diphtheria incidence has decreased in Europe since its resurgence in the 1990s, but circulation continues in some countries in eastern Europe, and sporadic cases have been reported elsewhere. Surveillance data from Diphtheria Surveillance Network countries and the World Health Organization European Region for 2000–2009 were analyzed. Latvia reported the highest annual incidence in Europe each year, but the Russian Federation and Ukraine accounted for 83% of all cases. Over the past 10 years, diphtheria incidence has decreased by >95% across the region. Although most deaths occurred in disease-endemic countries, case-fatality rates were highest in countries to which diphtheria is not endemic, where unfamiliarity can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. In western Europe, toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans has increasingly been identified as the etiologic agent. Reduction in diphtheria incidence over the past 10 years is encouraging, but maintaining high vaccination coverage is essential to prevent indigenous C. ulcerans and reemergence of C. diphtheriae infections. PMID:22304732

Cancer rehabilitation indicators for Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baili, Paolo; Hoekstra-Weebers, Josette; Van Hoof, Elke

2013-01-01

, but to obtain comparable data across European countries it will be necessary to administer a questionnaire to randomly selected samples of patients from population-based cancer registry databases. However, three factors complicate questionnaire studies: patients may not be aware that they have cancer......Little is known of cancer rehabilitation needs in Europe. EUROCHIP-3 organised a group of experts to propose a list of population-based indicators used for describing cancer rehabilitation across Europe. The aim of this study is to present and discuss these indicators. A EUROCHIP-3 expert panel...... reached agreement on two types of indicators. (a) Cancer prevalence indicators. These were proposed as a means of characterising the burden of cancer rehabilitation needs by time from diagnosis and patient health status. These indicators can be estimated from cancer registry data or by collecting data...

Care Preferences Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults With Chronic Disease in Europe: Individual Health Care Needs and National Health Care Infrastructure.

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Mair, Christine A; Quiñones, Ana R; Pasha, Maha A

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study is to expand knowledge of care options for aging populations cross-nationally by examining key individual-level and nation-level predictors of European middle-aged and older adults' preferences for care. Drawing on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, we analyze old age care preferences of a sample of 6,469 adults aged 50 and older with chronic disease in 14 nations. Using multilevel modeling, we analyze associations between individual-level health care needs and nation-level health care infrastructure and preference for family-based (vs. state-based) personal care. We find that middle-aged and older adults with chronic disease whose health limits their ability to perform paid work, who did not receive personal care from informal sources, and who live in nations with generous long-term care funding are less likely to prefer family-based care and more likely to prefer state-based care. We discuss these findings in light of financial risks in later life and the future role of specialized health support programs, such as long-term care. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effective promotion of healthy nutrition and physical activity in Europe requires skilled and competent people; European Master's Programme in Public Health Nutrition.

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Yngve, A; Sjöström, M; Warm, D; Margetts, B; Rodrigo, C P; Nissinen, A

1999-09-01

Scientists in basic research and epidemiology deliver messages to policy makers. Effective population based strategies then require people trained and competent in the discipline of Public Health Nutrition (PHN). Since 1997, a European Master's Programme in PHN has been undergoing planning and implementation with the aid of funding from the European Commission (DGV). PHN is used as a broad term covering Nutrition and Physical Activity as well as Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The partners in this project are academic departments from 17 countries. The students will undertake core modules and electives for a year and a half, followed by a research project for six months. In order to set up formalised procedures for the evaluation of the quality assurance of individual modules from across Europe, a quality assurance system has been set up. The academic year 1999-2000 will allow an opportunity for Universities and Institutes to start new modules, to develop other modules, assess the movement of students between modules, tackle funding issues and allow further marketing of the programme. Future activities include strengthening of the European Network for Public Health Nutrition (ENPHN), the establishment of a consortium with universities, the co-ordination of programme activities with other European Master's Programmes in Public Health, and the incorporation of new Member States from Eastern Europe. We can look forward to a new brand of professionals, who are truly European in their training, but who also have an integrated view of nutrition and physical activity, health promotion and disease prevention and who are prepared for policy making, action planning, implementation and evaluation.

Heat Roadmap Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Connolly, David; Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Lund, Henrik

2015-01-01

This document is a summary of the key technical inputs for the modelling of the heat strategy for Europe outlined in the latest Heat Roadmap Europe studies [1, 2]. These studies quantify the impact of alternative heating strategies for Europe in 2030 and 2050. The study is based on geographical...... information systems (GIS) and energy system analyses. In this report, the inputs for other modelling tools such as PRIMES are presented, in order to enable other researches to generate similar heating scenarios for Europe. Although Heat Roadmap Europe presents a complete heat strategy for Europe, which...... includes energy efficiency, individual heating units (such as boilers and heat pumps), and heat networks, the recommendations here are primarily relating to the potential and modelling of district heating. Although other solutions will play a significant role in decarbonising the heating and cooling sector...

[Work and health inequalities: The unequal distribution of exposures at work in Germany and Europe].

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Dragano, Nico; Wahrendorf, Morten; Müller, Kathrin; Lunau, Thorsten

2016-02-01

Health inequalities in the working population may partly be due to the unequal exposure to work-related risk factors among different occupational positions. Empirical data, however, exploring the distribution of exposures at work according to occupational position for Germany is missing. This paper summarizes existing literature on occupational inequalities and discusses the role of working conditions. In addition, using European survey data, we study how various exposures at work vary by occupational class. Analyses are based on the European Working Condition Survey, and we compare the German sample (n = 2096) with the sample from the EU-27 countries (n = 34,529). To measure occupational position we use occupational class (EGP-classes). First, we describe the prevalence of 16 different exposures at work by occupational class for men and women. Second, we estimate regression models, and thereby investigate if associations between occupational class and self-perceived health are related to an unequal distribution of exposures at work. For various exposures at work we found a higher prevalence among manual workers and lower-skilled employees for both physical and psychosocial conditions. With few exceptions only, this finding was true for men and women and consistent for Germany and Europe. Results indicate that the unequal distribution of health-adverse conditions at work contribute towards existing health inequalities among the working population.

Austerity: a failed experiment on the people of Europe.

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McKee, Martin; Karanikolos, Marina; Belcher, Paul; Stuckler, David

2012-08-01

Many governments in Europe, either of their own volition or at the behest of the international financial institutions, have adopted stringent austerity policies in response to the financial crisis. By contrast, the USA launched a financial stimulus. The results of these experiments are now clear: the American economy is growing and those European countries adopting austerity, including the UK, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain, are stagnating and struggling to repay rising debts. An initial recovery in the UK was halted once austerity measures hit. However, austerity has been not only an economic failure, but also a health failure, with increasing numbers of suicides and, where cuts in health budgets are being imposed, increasing numbers of people being unable to access care. Yet their stories remain largely untold. Here, we argue that there is an alternative to austerity, but that ideology is triumphing over evidence. Our paper was written to contribute to discussions among health policy leaders in Europe that will take place at the 15th European Health Forum at Gastein in October 2012, as its theme 'Crisis and Opportunity - Health in an Age of Austerity'.

Issues surrounding orphan disease and orphan drug policies in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Denis, Alain; Mergaert, Lut; Fostier, Christel; Cleemput, Irina; Simoens, Steven

2010-01-01

An orphan disease is a disease with a very low prevalence. Although there are 5000-7000 orphan diseases, only 50 orphan drugs (i.e. drugs developed to treat orphan diseases) were marketed in the EU by the end of 2008. In 2000, the EU implemented policies specifically designed to stimulate the development of orphan drugs. While decisions on orphan designation and the marketing authorization of orphan drugs are made at the EU level, decisions on drug reimbursement are made at the member state level. The specific features of orphan diseases and orphan drugs make them a high-priority issue for policy makers. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss several issues surrounding orphan disease and drug policies in Europe. The present system of orphan designation allows for drugs for non-orphan diseases to be designated as orphan drugs. The economic factors underlying orphan designation can be questioned in some cases, as a low prevalence of a certain indication does not equal a low return on investment for the drug across its indications. High-quality evidence about the clinical added value of orphan drugs is rarely available at the time of marketing authorization, due to the low number of patients. A balance must be struck between ethical and economic concerns. To this effect, there is a need to initiate a societal dialogue on this issue, to clarify what society wants and accepts in terms of ethical and economic consequences. The growing budgetary impact of orphan drugs puts pressure on drug expenditure. Indications can be extended for an orphan drug and the total prevalence across indications is not considered. Finally, cooperation needs to be fostered in the EU, particularly through a standardized approach to the creation and use of registries. These issues require further attention from researchers, policy makers, health professionals, patients, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders with a view to optimizing orphan disease and drug policies in

Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality in Eastern Europe: Longitudinal results from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefler, Denes; Pikhart, Hynek; Kubinova, Ruzena; Pajak, Andrzej; Stepaniak, Urszula; Malyutina, Sofia; Simonova, Galina; Peasey, Anne; Marmot, Michael G; Bobak, Martin

2016-03-01

It is estimated that disease burden due to low fruit and vegetable consumption is higher in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) than any other parts of the world. However, no large scale studies have investigated the association between fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and mortality in these regions yet. The Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study is a prospective cohort study with participants recruited from the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Dietary data was collected using food frequency questionnaire. Mortality data was ascertained through linkage with death registers. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios were calculated by Cox regression models. Among 19,333 disease-free participants at baseline, 1314 died over the mean follow-up of 7.1 years. After multivariable adjustment, we found statistically significant inverse association between cohort-specific quartiles of F&V intake and stroke mortality: the highest vs lowest quartile hazard ratio (HR) was 0.52 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28-0.98). For total mortality, significant interaction (p = 0.008) between F&V intake and smoking was found. The associations were statistically significant in smokers, with HR 0.70 (0.53-0.91, p for trend: 0.011) for total mortality, and 0.62 (0.40-0.97, p for trend: 0.037) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. The association was appeared to be mediated by blood pressure, and F&V intake explained a considerable proportion of the mortality differences between the Czech and Russian cohorts. Our results suggest that increasing F&V intake may reduce CVD mortality in CEE and FSU, particularly among smokers and hypertensive individuals. © The European Society of Cardiology 2015.

Hazardous substances in Europe's fresh and marine waters:An overview

OpenAIRE

Collins, Robert; Brack, Werner; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten; Eriksson, Eva; Bjerregaard, Poul; Boxall, Alistair; Hutchinson, Tom; Adler, Nicole; Kuester, Anette; Backhaus, Thomas; Dubus, Igor; Reiersen, Lars Otto

2011-01-01

Chemicals are an essential part of our daily lives. They are used to produce consumer goods, to protect or restore our health and to boost food production, to name but a few examples — and they are also involved in a growing range of environmental technologies. Europe's chemical and associated industries have developed rapidly in recent decades, making a significant contribution to Europe's economy and to the global trade in chemicals. Whilst synthetic chemicals clearly bring important benefi...

First Steps toward Harmonized Human Biomonitoring in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Den Hond, Elly; Govarts, Eva; Willems, Hanny

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: For Europe as a whole, data on internal exposure to environmental chemicals do not yet exist. Characterization of the internal individual chemical environment is expected to enhance understanding of the environmental threats to health. OBJECTIVES: We developed and applied a harmonized...

Ageing prisoners' health care: analysing the legal settings in Europe and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Bretschneider, Wiebke; Elger, Bernice; Wangmo, Tenzin

2013-01-01

Relatively little is known about the current health care situation and the legal rights of ageing prisoners worldwide. To date, only a few studies have investigated their rights to health care. However, elderly prisoners need special attention. The aim of this article is to critically review the health care situation of older prisoners by analysing the relevant national and international legal frameworks with a particular focus on Switzerland, England and Wales, and the United States (U.S.). Publications on legal frameworks were searched using Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, HeinOnline, and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Searches utilizing combinations of keywords relating to ageing prisoners were performed. Relevant reports and policy documents were obtained in order to understand the legal settings in Switzerland, England and Wales, and the U.S. All articles, reports, and policy documents published in English and German between 1774 to June 2012 were included for analysis. Using a comparative approach, an outline was completed to distinguish positive policies in this area. Regulatory approaches were investigated through evaluations of soft laws applicable in Europe and U.S. Supreme Court judgements. Even though several documents could be interpreted as guaranteeing adequate health care for ageing prisoners, there is no specific regulation that addresses this issue completely. The Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing contributes the most by providing an in-depth analysis of the health care needs of older persons. Still, critical analysis of retrieved documents reveals the lack of specific legislation regarding the health care for ageing prisoners. No consistent regulation delineates the provision of health care for ageing prisoners. Neither national nor international institutions have enforceable laws that secure the precarious situation of older adults in prisons. To initiate a change, this work presents critical issues that must be

Le Traité de Lisbonne remet-il l’Europe « sur les rails » ?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Rivière

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Le Traité de Lisbonne doit « débloquer » la construction européenne. Mais la crise dans laquelle s’est enlisée celle-ci renvoie à diverses échelles de temps et causalités, qui sont plus ou moins aisées à dépasser. Par ailleurs, le Traité modifie la gouvernance européenne en marquant un retour des Etats, et en entérinant le principe d’une Europe à géométrie variable. Il apporte une solution au problème de la représentation de la diversité des Etats, mais on devra attendre 2014 voire 2017 pour sa mise en pratique.The Treaty of Lisbon is supposed to "release" the European construction. But the crisis into which got stuck this process is linked to various scales of time and causalities, which are more or less easy to reduce. Moreover, the Treaty changes the european governance by marking a return of States and by ratifying the principle of « Europe with variable geometry ». It brings a resolution in the problem of the representation of the diversity of States, but they will have to wait for 2014 or even on 2017 for his putting into practice.

Opposition to nuclear power in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweet, W.

1977-01-01

The opposing factions to nuclear energy in Europe are composed of groups establishing themselves as distinct political forces. The author describes specifically the anti-nuclear movements in West Germany, Sweden, England, and France. The new government in Sweden, swept to power on a wave of anti-nuclear and anti-big government sentiment on September 19, 1976, has put tight restrictions on reactor construction. In Great Britain, economic crisis, North Sea oil, new coal discoveries, and political confusion concerning choice of technology have sufficed to bring new nuclear construction to a halt. The German government, under pressure from a complex coalition of groups exploiting every available means of protest, has stalled on a waste-management issue. While the French opposition has had little success in blocking nuclear construction, the movement is increasingly broad-based; it has managed to make certain issues the subject of a national debate with elections scheduled for March 1978. It is concluded that whatever the outcome, there is no assurance that it will be favorable from the point of view of weapons proliferation

Mitigating the Isomorphic Conflicts Faced by EMNEs in Southern Europe: The Case of Chinese Subsidiaries in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Barahona Márquez

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs are rapidly increasing their foreign direct investment around the world and, in particular, in the countries of Southern Europe. Although, international business scholars have been quick to put the spotlight on this new phenomenon, the cultural adaptation of EMNE subsidiaries to host-country environments, especially those of Europe, has remained largely unexamined. This question acquires particular relevance owing to the considerable cultural distance between emerging and developed economies and the isomorphic conflicts that can arise at the subsidiary level. Here, we examine this situation by reporting two case studies of Chinese subsidiaries operating in Spain. Our findings suggest that guanxi – the deep-rooted system of personal relations and social connections founded on mutual interests – plays a major role in the search for legitimacy undertaken by Chinese subsidiaries located in Southern Europe. The adoption and adaptation of Chinese cultural values and practices to the local environment allow the subsidiary to align itself with the culture of the parent organization at the same time as it embeds itself in the host environment, thus resolving any isomorphic conflicts.

The epidemiological transition in Eastern and Western Europe: a historic natural experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Karanikolos, Marina; Adany, Roza; McKee, Martin

2017-10-01

The continent of Europe has experienced remarkable changes in the past 25 years, providing scope for natural experiments that offer insight into the complex determinants of health. We analysed trends in life expectancy at birth in three parts of Europe, those countries that were members of the European Union (EU) prior to 2004, countries that joined the European Union since then, and the twelve countries that emerged from the Soviet Union to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The contribution of deaths at different ages to these changes was assessed using Arriaga's method of decomposing changes in life expectancy. Europe remains divided geographically, with an East-West gradient. The former Soviet countries experienced a marked initial decline in life expectancy and have only recovered after 2005. However, the situation for those of working ages is little better than in 1990. The pre-2004 EU has seen substantial gains throughout the past 25 years, although there is some evidence that this may be slowing, or even reversing, at older ages. The countries joining the EU in 2004 subsequently began to see some improvements in the early 1990s, but have experienced larger gains since 2000. Europe offers a valuable natural laboratory for understanding the impact of political, economic, and social changes on health. While the historic divisions of Europe are still visible, there is also evidence that individual countries are doing better or worse than their neighbours, providing many lessons that can be learned from. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

POTENTIAL EXPANSION OF TROPICAL VIRUSES IN SERBIA AND EUROPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zorana Deljanin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The current, hot topic is the risk of introducing new vector-borne diseases and harmful ectoparasites into Europe, or of the geographic extension of the existing ones. There are many doubts that global warming affects the transfer of a number of vectorborne diseases. Special emphasis was placed on spreading the Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis, West Nile fever and leishmaniasis, the recurrence of malaria and dengue fever. Climate models predict a 2-5ºC temperature increase and a significant increase in rainfall in Europe in the following years. However, non-environmental variables such as socio-economic situation and agriculture should be considered. The main problem can be expected when new viruses emerge. As they change, their mutations can enter into the population and thus have “the greater potential” for the spread of the epidemic. The control network of the health system in our country and in Europe is very dense, and the outbreak of the virus can be always registered, giving the authorities enough time to take measures. Although modeling studies indicate that climate change could increase the risk of transmission of vector-transmitted diseases in Serbia and Europe, historical analyses indicate that, at least for malaria, socio-economic conditions in combination with effective surveillance and early treatment are likely to prevent further spread, which is the main task of the Public Health Institutes. Tropical medicine experts said that the so-called supervirus causes mutations of the virus, and represents the greatest danger for human population. The circumstances that allow such a development already exist, an additional climate change is not necessary. The challenge for future research is the mechanism of tropical viruses and their persistence in endemic foci in temperate climate area in Europe.

Creationism in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

For decades, the creationist movement was primarily situated in the United States. Then, in the 1970s, American creationists found their ideas welcomed abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then in Korea, India, South Africa, Brazil, and elsewhere—including Europe, where creationism plays...... the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution." Creationism in Europe offers a discerning introduction to the cultural history of modern Europe, the variety of worldviews in Europe, and the interplay of science and religion in a global context...

East-west cooperation in the environment in Europe-problems, strategies, perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schreiber, Helmut

1989-12-01

This report deals with problems and developments in the field of East-West cooperation in Europe. The major emphasis is put on the cooperation in the environmental field. Nevertheless it has to be stated that developments in the environmental field should not be separated from the developments in other fields of possible cooperation like economy, science and culture. The report is divided in five chapters and an appendix. In the first chapter the results of the study will be discussed on the basis of the research questions given by the National Energy Administration. The second chapter contains some background information on some basic trends in environmental problems in Eastern Europe; the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union are the countries described here. Special emphasis is laid on Poland, a country of particular interest for Sweden. In the third chapter answers are given to the question, why East-West environmental cooperation is necessary. In chapter four existing forms of cooperation are surveyed. In this chapter, the author deals mainly with cooperations in the field of environmental protection, but he also gives an overview on cooperations in other fields. Four countries are included in this overview: the FGR, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. In chapter five, questions of general concern for East-West environmental cooperation are discussed. Appendix 1 gives an overview of the more important bilateral agreements between Eastern and Western European countries. Appendix 2 lists the institutions and names of the persons we interviewed. Appendix 3 gives an overview on the literature on East-West environmental cooperation in Europe.

A Systematic Review of HIV Serostatus Disclosure Among African Immigrants in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Whembolua, Guy-Lucien; Conserve, Donaldson F; Thomas, Kirstyn; Handler, Lara

2017-08-01

As the human immunodeficiency virus continues to devastate large parts of Africa, particularly the Sub-Saharan region, the number of immigrants migrating from these areas to European nations continues to grow. African men and women leave their countries for Europe because of armed conflicts, unemployment, or poverty. Thus, these migration patterns combined with newly contracted infections have resulted in a large and growing number of HIV-positive diagnoses among African immigrants living in Europe. Using the disclosure process model, this systematic review examines the reasons for HIV status disclosure and nondisclosure among African immigrants residing in Europe. PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science were searched. Bibliographies of retrieved studies were also reviewed for other relevant citations. Studies were eligible if they: (1) focused on HIV-positive immigrants from SSA residing in Europe; and (2) described or measured HIV status disclosure. Out of 166 articles found, a total of 17 articles and 1 brief report met the inclusion criteria. Factors such as stigma and social implications of disclosure contribute to avoidance goals leading to nondisclosure while approach goals or disclosure reasons were found to include health status and behaviors such as seeking support, and helping others. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the avoidance and approach goals involved in HIV status disclosure among African immigrants in Europe. Interventions and future research directed at increasing HIV disclosure among African immigrants in Europe should move beyond individual-level to consider multilevel factors including country-specific social behaviors.

Projected prevalence of inadequate nutrient intakes in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vinas, B.R.; Barba, L.R.; Ngo, J.; Gurinovic, M.; Novakovic, R.; Cavelaars, A.J.E.M.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Veer, van 't P.; Matthys, C.; Serra Majem, L.

2011-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of nutrient intake inadequacy in Europe, applying the Nordic Nutritional Recommendations in the context of the EURRECA Network of Excellence. Methods: Nutrient data was obtained from the European Nutrition and Health Report II.

Job loss, wealth and depression during the Great Recession in the USA and Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Riumallo-Herl, Carlos; Basu, Sanjay; Stuckler, David; Courtin, Emilie; Avendano, Mauricio

2014-10-01

To examine whether late-career job loss increased depression among older workers approaching retirement in the USA and Europe. Longitudinal data came from the Health and Retirement Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Workers aged 50 to 64 years in 13 European countries and the USA were assessed biennially from 2006 to 2010. Individual fixed effects models were used to test the effect of job loss on depressive symptoms, controlling for age, sex, physical health, initial wealth and socio-demographic factors. Job loss was associated with a 4.78% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.823% to 8.74%] increase in depressive symptoms in the USA compared with a 3.35% (95% CI: 0.486% to 6.22%) increase in Europe. Job loss due to a worker's unexpected firm closure increased depression scores in both the USA (beta=28.2%, 95% CI: 8.55% to 47.8%) and Europe (beta=7.50%, 95% CI: 1.25% to 13.70%), but pooled models suggested significantly stronger effects for US workers (Precession experienced significantly larger increases in depressive symptoms compared with wealthier US workers (beta for interaction=-0.054, 95% CI: -0.082 to -0.025), whereas pre-existing wealth did not moderate the impact of job loss among European workers. Job loss is associated with increased depressive symptoms in the USA and Europe, but effects of job loss due to plant closure are stronger for American workers. Wealth mitigates the impact of job loss on depression in the USA more than in Europe. © The Author 2014; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Europe put to the test of experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caspari, S.

1996-01-01

In the early 1970s, the European Community, aware of the environmental pollution, launched a comprehensive and complex EC policy for protection of the environment. Today, environmental policy of the European Union (EU) is embodied in and implemented through a large number of laws and regulatory provisions with impact on the national law of its member states. In the current debate preceding the forthcoming EU Governmental Conference (Maastricht II), there are voices calling for enhanced regulatory implementation of environmental policy. Looking at the ecologic situation on the one hand, and increasing regulation in the economic sector on the other, it seems appropriate to investigate into the efficiency and ecologic impact of EU environmental policy to date, asking: is EU environmental policy on a good course, or is there need for considering alternatives? (orig.) [de

Biophysical investigation of type A PutAs reveals a conserved core oligomeric structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korasick, David A. [Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Singh, Harkewal [Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Pemberton, Travis A. [Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Luo, Min [Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Dhatwalia, Richa [Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Tanner, John J. [Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia MO USA

2017-08-01

Many enzymes form homooligomers, yet the functional significance of self-association is seldom obvious. Herein, we examine the connection between oligomerization and catalytic function for proline utilization A (PutA) enzymes. PutAs are bifunctional enzymes that catalyze both reactions of proline catabolism. Type A PutAs are the smallest members of the family, possessing a minimal domain architecture consisting of N-terminal proline dehydrogenase and C-terminal l-glutamate-γ-semialdehyde dehydrogenase modules. Type A PutAs form domain-swapped dimers, and in one case (Bradyrhizobium japonicum PutA), two of the dimers assemble into a ring-shaped tetramer. Whereas the dimer has a clear role in substrate channeling, the functional significance of the tetramer is unknown. To address this question, we performed structural studies of four-type A PutAs from two clades of the PutA tree. The crystal structure of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus PutA covalently inactivated by N-propargylglycine revealed a fold and substrate-channeling tunnel similar to other PutAs. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and analytical ultracentrifugation indicated that Bdellovibrio PutA is dimeric in solution, in contrast to the prediction from crystal packing of a stable tetrameric assembly. SAXS studies of two other type A PutAs from separate clades also suggested that the dimer predominates in solution. To assess whether the tetramer of B. japonicum PutA is necessary for catalytic function, a hot spot disruption mutant that cleanly produces dimeric protein was generated. The dimeric variant exhibited kinetic parameters similar to the wild-type enzyme. These results implicate the domain-swapped dimer as the core structural and functional unit of type A PutAs.

The National Health Services of Brazil and Northern Europe: Universality, Equity, and Integrality-Time Has Come for the Latter.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurgel, Garibaldi D; de Sousa, Islândia M Carvalho; de Araujo Oliveira, Sydia Rosana; de Assis da Silva Santos, Francisco; Diderichsen, Finn

2017-10-01

In 1990 the national health services in the United Kingdom and Sweden started to split up in internal markets with purchasers and providers. It was also the year when Brazil started to implement a national health service (SUS) inspired by the British national health service that aimed at principles of universality, equity, and integrality. While the reform in Brazil aimed at improving equity and effectiveness, reforms in Europe aimed at improving efficiency in order to contain costs. The European reforms increased supply and utilization but never provided the large increase in efficiency that was hoped for, and inequities have increased. The health sector reform in Brazil, on the other hand, contributed to great improvements in population health but never succeeded in changing the fact that more than half of health care spending was private. Demographic and epidemiological changes, with more elderly people having chronic disorders and very unequal comorbidities, bring the issue of integrality in the forefront in all 3 countries, and neither the public purchaser provider markets nor the 2-tier system in Brazil delivers on that front. It will demand political leadership and strategic planning with population responsibility to deal with such challenges.

Healthy eating and physical activity in schools in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simovska, Venka; Dadaczynski, Kevin; Woynarowska, Barbara

2012-01-01

at developing and implementing an effective tool for supporting the development of national policies on healthy eating and physical activity in schools across Europe. For this purpose, a package of publications (HEPS Toolkit) was produced and disseminated within the Schools for Health in Europe (SHE) network......Purpose: In this paper we introduce the HEPS project (Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Schools) and discuss initial steps of the project implementation within EU countries. On the basis of the Health Promoting School approach as a conceptual foundation for the project, HEPS aimed...... recommendations are suggested for optimizing the further implementation of this, and other similar projects. Originality/ value: THE HEPS toolkit is the first attempt to support all EU member states in the development and implementation of a national policy on healthy eating and physical activity in schools...

The social and behavioural determinants of health in Europe: findings from the European Social Survey (2014) special module on the social determinants of health.

Science.gov (United States)

Huijts, Tim; Stornes, Per; Eikemo, Terje A; Bambra, Clare

2017-02-01

Previous studies comparing the social and behavioural determinants of health in Europe have largely focused on individual countries or combined data from various national surveys. In this article, we present the findings from the new rotating module on social determinants of health in the European Social Survey (ESS) (2014) to obtain the first comprehensive comparison of estimates on the prevalence of the following social and behavioural determinants of health: working conditions, access to healthcare, housing quality, unpaid care, childhood conditions and health behaviours. We used the 7th round of the ESS. We present separate results for men and women. All estimates were age-standardized in each separate country using a consistent metric. We show country-specific results as well as pooled estimates for the combined cross-national sample. We found that social and behavioural factors that have a clear impact on physical and mental health, such as lack of healthcare access, risk behaviour and poor working conditions, are reported by substantial numbers of people in most European countries. Furthermore, our results highlight considerable cross-national variation in social and behavioural determinants of health across European countries. Substantial numbers of Europeans are exposed to social and behavioural determinants of health problems. Moreover, the extent to which people experience these social and behavioural factors varies cross-nationally. Future research should examine in more detail how these factors are associated with physical and mental health outcomes, and how these associations vary across countries. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Response of Urban Systems to Climate Change in Europe: Heat Stress Exposure and the Effect on Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Catherine; Thomas, Bart; Grommen, Mart

2015-04-01

Climate change is driven by global processes such as the global ocean circulation and its variability over time leading to changing weather patterns on regional scales as well as changes in the severity and occurrence of extreme events such as heavy rain- and windstorms, floods, drought, heat waves, etc. The summer 2003 European heat wave was the hottest summer on record in Europe over the past centuries leading to health crises in several countries like France and caused up to 70.000 excess deaths over four months in Central and Western Europe. The main risks induced by global climate change in urbanised areas are considered to be overheating and resulting health effects, increased exposure to flood events, increased damage losses from extreme weather conditions but also shortages in the provision of life-sustaining services. Moreover, the cities themselves create specific or inherent risks and urban adaptation is often very demanding. As most of Europe's inhabitants live in cities, it is of particular relevance to examine the impact of climate variability on urban areas and their populations. The present study focusses on the identification of heat stress variables related to human health and the extraction of this information by processing daily temperature statistics of local urban climate simulations over multiple timeframes of 20 years and three different European cities based on recent, near future and far future global climate predictions. The analyses have been conducted in the framework of the NACLIM FP7 project funded by the European Commission involving local stakeholders such as the cities of Antwerp (Belgium), Berlin (Germany) and Almada (Portugal) represented by different climate and urban characteristics. Apart from the urban-rural temperature increment (urban heat island effect), additional heat stress parameters such as the average number of heat wave days together with their duration and intensities have been covered during this research. In a

Quality of Life in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norina Popovici

2016-01-01

Many times we wondered why people want a certain comfort in exchange for sacrifices on longterm: we want houses, cars, holidays, quality services. All our life we work and give up many tothings (maybe more important than achieving material benefits. It's about quality of life. In thispaper we analyzed the quality of life in Europe addressing several factors, such as subjective wellbeing,living standards and material constraints, work-life balance, family life and social life,health and education.

The air of Europe: where are we going?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabella Annesi-Maesano

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Air pollution constitutes one of the main threats to public health in Europe. Significant impacts on the health of Europeans in terms of morbidity and mortality have been observed, even in cases of low exposure and where pollutant levels are within limits set by the European Union (EU. The respiratory system is a primary target of the harmful effects of key air pollutants. Emissions of many air pollutants have decreased substantially over the past decades in Europe, resulting in diminished concentrations and improved air quality. However, in several European cities concentrations still exceed EU reference values and, more often, the stricter World Health Organization air quality guidelines for all regulated air pollutants (particles with 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameters of 10 and 2.5 µm, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, benzo[a]pyrene and ozone (O3 except sulfur dioxide. In addition, current trends indicate that in the absence of substantial changes, particulate matter, NO2 and O3 will still exceed limits in 2020. Additional efforts must be made to comply with current standards and guidelines. These should include a more accurate and detailed monitoring of air pollutants, reduction of emissions and individual behaviour changes.

Safety of tattoos and permanent make-up. Adverse health effects and experience with the Council of Europe Resolution (2008)1.

OpenAIRE

PICCININI Paola; PAKALIN Sazan; CONTOR LAURA; BIANCHI IVANA

2015-01-01

In the last decades, the proportion of the tattooed population has been increasing all over the world, particularly in the young generations. Concerns about the possible health problems associated to tattoos and permanent make up (PMU) have also grown together with the number of tattoo/PMU applications and removals. The Council of Europe Resolution (CoE ResAP)(2008)1 [1], on requirements and criteria for the safety of tattoos and permanent make-up, is a non-binding internationally recog...

Disparities in treatment rates of paediatric end-stage renal disease across Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chesnaye, Nicholas C; Schaefer, Franz; Groothoff, Jaap W

2015-01-01

/1321 km, P rates were found in wealthier countries (2.47 pmc/€10 378 GDP per capita, P among those...... and physical access to treatment were collected through an online survey and from the World Bank database. The estimated effect is presented per 1SD increase for each indicator. RESULTS: The incidence of paediatric RRT in Europe was 5.4 cases pmc. Incidence decreased from Western to Eastern Europe (-1.91 pmc...... that tend to spend more on healthcare (1.45 pmc/1.7% public health expenditure, P among countries where patients pay less out-of-pocket for healthcare (-1.29 pmc/11.7% out-of-pocket health expenditure, P

DIST/AVC Out-Put Definition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Gene L.

The first stage of development of a management information system for DIST/AVC (Division of Instructional Technology/Audio-Visual Center) is the definition of out-put units. Some constraints on the definition of output units are: 1) they should reflect goals of the organization, 2) they should reflect organizational structure and procedures, and…

Dissemination of public health information: key tools utilised by the NECOBELAC network in Europe and Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

De Castro, Paola; Marsili, Daniela; Poltronieri, Elisabetta; Calderón, Carlos Agudelo

2012-06-01

 Open Access (OA) to scientific information is an important step forward in communication patterns, yet we still need to reinforce OA principles to promote a cultural change of traditional publishing practices. The advantages of free access to scientific information are even more evident in public health where knowledge is directly associated with human wellbeing.  An OA 'consolidation' initiative in public health is presented to show how the involvement of people and institutions is fundamental to create awareness on OA and promote a cultural change. This initiative is developed within the project NEtwork of COllaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean countries (NECOBELAC), financed by the European Commission.  Three actions are envisaged: Capacity building through a flexible and sustainable training programme on scientific writing and OA publishing; creation of training tools based on semantic web technologies; development of a network of supporting institutions.  In 2010-2011, 23 training initiatives were performed involving 856 participants from 15 countries; topic maps on scientific publication and OA were produced; 195 institutions are included in the network.  Cultural change in scientific dissemination practices is a long process requiring a flexible approach and strong commitment by all stakeholders. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group Health Information and Libraries Journal.

Quiet Eye Training Facilitates Competitive Putting Performance in Elite Golfers

Science.gov (United States)

Vine, Samuel J.; Moore, Lee J.; Wilson, Mark R.

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a brief quiet eye (QE) training intervention aimed at optimizing visuomotor control and putting performance of elite golfers under pressure, and in real competition. Twenty-two elite golfers (mean handicap 2.7) recorded putting statistics over 10 rounds of competitive golf before attending training individually. Having been randomly assigned to either a QE training or Control group, participants were fitted with an Applied Science Laboratories Mobile Eye tracker and performed 20 baseline (pre-test) putts from 10 ft. Training consisted of video feedback of their gaze behavior while they completed 20 putts; however the QE-trained group received additional instructions related to maintaining a longer QE period. Participants then recorded their putting statistics over a further 10 competitive rounds and re-visited the laboratory for retention and pressure tests of their visuomotor control and putting performance. Overall, the results were supportive of the efficacy of the QE training intervention. QE duration predicted 43% of the variance in putting performance, underlying its critical role in the visuomotor control of putting. The QE-trained group maintained their optimal QE under pressure conditions, whereas the Control group experienced reductions in QE when anxious, with subsequent effects on performance. Although their performance was similar in the pre-test, the QE-trained group holed more putts and left the ball closer to the hole on missed putts than their Control group counterparts in the pressure test. Importantly, these advantages transferred to the golf course, where QE-trained golfers made 1.9 fewer putts per round, compared to pre-training, whereas the Control group showed no change in their putting statistics. These results reveal that QE training, incorporated into a pre-shot routine, is an effective intervention to help golfers maintain control when anxious. PMID:21713182

Putting Health Education on the Public Health Map in Canada--The Role of Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Vamos, Sandra; Hayos, Julia

2010-01-01

The health education profession has developed over recent years garnering national and international attention. Canada's evolving health education perspective emphasizing the concept of health literacy within the broader public health system reflects the need for trained, competent and skilled health educators designing, implementing and…

Epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe, a systematic review: Western Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Laranjo-González, Minerva; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Trevisan, Chiara; Allepuz, Alberto; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Abraham, Annette; Afonso, Mariana Boaventura; Blocher, Joachim; Cardoso, Luís; Correia da Costa, José Manuel; Dorny, Pierre; Gabriël, Sarah; Gomes, Jacinto; Gómez-Morales, María Ángeles; Jokelainen, Pikka; Kaminski, Miriam; Krt, Brane; Magnussen, Pascal; Robertson, Lucy J; Schmidt, Veronika; Schmutzhard, Erich; Smit, G Suzanne A; Šoba, Barbara; Stensvold, Christen Rune; Starič, Jože; Troell, Karin; Rataj, Aleksandra Vergles; Vieira-Pinto, Madalena; Vilhena, Manuela; Wardrop, Nicola Ann; Winkler, Andrea S; Dermauw, Veronique

2017-07-21

Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are zoonotic parasites of public health importance. Data on their occurrence in humans and animals in western Europe are incomplete and fragmented. In this study, we aimed to update the current knowledge on the epidemiology of these parasites in this region. We conducted a systematic review of scientific and grey literature published from 1990 to 2015 on the epidemiology of T. saginata and T. solium in humans and animals. Additionally, data about disease occurrence were actively sought by contacting local experts in the different countries. Taeniosis cases were found in twelve out of eighteen countries in western Europe. No cases were identified in Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. For Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the UK, annual taeniosis cases were reported and the number of detected cases per year ranged between 1 and 114. Detected prevalences ranged from 0.05 to 0.27%, whereas estimated prevalences ranged from 0.02 to 0.67%. Most taeniosis cases were reported as Taenia spp. or T. saginata, although T. solium was reported in Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal and the UK. Human cysticercosis cases were reported in all western European countries except for Iceland, with the highest number originating from Portugal and Spain. Most human cysticercosis cases were suspected to have acquired the infection outside western Europe. Cases of T. solium in pigs were found in Austria and Portugal, but only the two cases from Portugal were confirmed with molecular methods. Germany, Spain and Slovenia reported porcine cysticercosis, but made no Taenia species distinction. Bovine cysticercosis was detected in all countries except for Iceland, with a prevalence based on meat inspection of 0.0002-7.82%. Detection and reporting of taeniosis in western Europe should be improved. The existence of T. solium tapeworm carriers, of suspected autochthonous cases of human cysticercosis and

The role of the environmental industry in Europe's ecological transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frerot, Antoine

2013-01-01

Europe must embark on a path leading to a virtuous ecological transition if it is to achieve further economic growth that does not harm the environment. This transition must address issues such as resource scarcity, the increasing complexity of pollution and the challenges posed by new ways of living in our cities. Environmental services have an important role to play by providing the operational solutions needed to make this transition and by creating new economic models that reward performance rather than volumes sold. Local and national governments have the ability and the duty to assist in the real-life deployment of such solutions by setting clear rules and targets, using the power of public procurement and helping to put financing in place. (author)

Mapping research activity on mental health disorders in Europe: study protocol for the Mapping_NCD project.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg Brigham, Karen; Darlington, Meryl; Wright, John S F; Lewison, Grant; Kanavos, Panos; Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle

2016-05-26

Mental health disorders (MHDs) constitute a large and growing disease burden in Europe, although they typically receive less attention and research funding than other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This study protocol describes a methodology for the mapping of MHD research in Europe as part of Mapping_NCD, a 2-year project funded by the European Commission which seeks to map European research funding and impact for five NCDs in order to identify potential gaps, overlaps, synergies and opportunities, and to develop evidence-based policies for future research. The project aims to develop a multi-focal view of the MHD research landscape across the 28 European Union Member States, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, through a survey of European funding entities, analysis of research initiatives undertaken in the public, voluntary/not-for-profit and commercial sectors, and expert interviews to contextualize the gathered data. The impact of MHD research will be explored using bibliometric analyses of scientific publications, clinical guidelines and newspaper stories reporting on research initiatives. Finally, these research inputs and outputs will be considered in light of various metrics that have been proposed to inform priorities for the allocation of research funds, including burden of disease, treatment gaps and cost of illness. Given the growing burden of MHDs, a clear and broad view of the current state of MHD research is needed to ensure that limited resources are directed to evidence-based priority areas. MHDs pose a particular challenge in mapping the research landscape due to their complex nature, high co-morbidity and varying diagnostic criteria. Undertaking such an effort across 31 countries is further challenged by differences in data collection, healthcare systems, reimbursement rates and clinical practices, as well as cultural and socioeconomic diversity. Using multiple methods to explore the spectrum of MHD research funding activity across Europe

[Five paradoxes in health promotion].

Science.gov (United States)

López-Dicastillo, Olga; Canga-Armayor, Navidad; Mujika, Agurtzane; Pardavila-Belio, Miren Idoia; Belintxon, Maider; Serrano-Monzó, Inmaculada; Pumar-Méndez, María J

The World Health Organization states that health promotion is a key strategy to improve health, and it is conceived as a global process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Health promotion does not focus solely on empowering individuals dealing with their knowledge, attitudes and skills, but it also takes political, social, economic and environmental aspects influencing health and wellbeing into account. The complexity of applying these concepts is reflected in the five paradoxes in health promotion; these arise in between the rhetoric in health promotion and implementation. The detected paradoxes which are described herein involve the patient versus the person, the individual versus the group, disease professionals versus health professionals, disease indicators versus health indicators, and health as an expense versus health as an investment. Making these contradictions explicit can help determine why it is so complex to put the concepts related to health promotion into practice. It can also help to put forward aspects that need further work if health promotion is to put into practice. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Labour Force Participation of the Elderly in Europe : The Importance of Being Healthy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalwij, A.S.; Vermeulen, F.M.P.

2005-01-01

In this paper we study labour force participation behaviour of individuals aged 50-64 in 11 European countries.The data are drawn from the new Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).The empirical analysis shows that health is multi-dimensional, in the sense that different health

Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baret, J.P.; Corcuff, A.; Jousten, M.; Cherie, J.B.; Gorge, X.; Augustin, X.; Belime, F.

1999-01-01

By its economical and political impact, nuclear energy has an important contribution the countries of Eastern Europe that goes beyond simple energy source. The most important challenge is to gain a safety culture. Improvements have been noted but the reactors safety must stay a priority of the international cooperation in Eastern Europe. The plan for the completion and improvement of Mochovce nuclear plant is described, the situation of Chernobyl and how to make the sarcophagus in safe is discussed, the experience of a french P.M.E. ( small and medium size firm) called Corys Tess that has chosen to position itself on the Eastern Europe nuclear market is related. (N.C.)

The Perpetual American Put Option for Jump-Diffusions

OpenAIRE

Aase, Knut K.

2010-01-01

-This is the author's version of the article"The Perpetual American Put Option for Jump-Diffusions" Energy Systems pp 493-507. We solve a specific optimal stopping problem with an infinite time horizon, when the state variable follows a jump-diffusion. The novelty of the paper is related to the inclusion of a jump component in this stochastic process. Under certain conditions, our solution can be interpreted as the price of an American perpetual put option. We characterize the continuation...

Europe in the Balkan mirror

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milutinović Zoran

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the three dominant, Europe-wide, constructions of Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and claims that all three found their proponents in the Balkans in the same period, while no specifically Balkan construction of Europe can be identified. The discourses which constructed Europe were transnational, and every search for national discourses must recognize that they are always fractured and contradictory, composed of various elements originating in Europe-wide discourses on Europe. Throughout this period the dominant discourse of Europe was shaped by the discourse of modernity and modernization, not only in Europe but in other parts of the globe as well. Several commentators have already noted that the current challenge of the interwar construction of Europe - peace, prosperity, democracy and human rights - mirrors the crisis of Yugoslavia, and many examples point to the unsustainability of this construction at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Gadamer’s hermeneutics offers a valuable lesson in humility and defines the oft-repeated phrase of “belonging together” as listening to the other in the belief that the other may be right, which should be taken as a starting point for any future construction of Europe.

Seismotectonic model of Central Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prochazkova, D.; Roth, Z.

1994-01-01

Earthquakes belong to natural disasters which are associated with tectonic processes in the interior of the Earth. They are extremely devastating in populated areas; they cause human losses and damage personal estates and the environment. To mitigate the potential effects of earthquakes it is necessary that relief and mitigation structures operate following an earthquake, but it is also essential to stimulate and enhance preparedness and prevention. Prevention includes the development of scenarios of potential earthquakes, hazard mapping, formulation of regulations, etc. Preparedness includes the installation and operation of warning systems, establishing communication networks to operate before, during, and after earthquakes. As nuclear technology belongs to high-risk technologies with regard to human health and the environment and its hazard substantially increases in consequence of earthquakes, in the siting of a nuclear plant engineering solutions are generally available to mitigate the potential vibratory effects through design. For the choice of a suitable engineering solution, reliable data must be processed by reliable techniques. The IAEA safety guide of the safety series No. 50-SG-S1(Rev. 1) specifies the demands on data and on their processing and also on the regional seismotectonic model. With a view of this the regional seismotectonic model of Central Europe was created. The paper presents regional geological characteristics of Central Europe and a chronological model of neotectonic movements in Central Europe with specification of neotectonic regional units and their present movements. Moreover, it contains earthquake characteristics for Central Europe and the specification of seismogenic movements. It was found that the genesis of local regions with occurrence of the strongest earthquakes is connected with several movement trends in the last 5 Ma. Six more or less tectonically separate regional units were revealed. The earthquake epicenters often

Heating being put into service

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

The SMB-SE group would like to inform you that, the central heating will start this year, on Monday 3 October 2016, and will be progressively and depending on the weather forecast put into service throughout. All buildings will have heating within the following few days. Thank you for your understanding. The CERN heating team SMB-SE

Dietary fibre in Europe: current state of knowledge on definitions, sources, recommendations, intakes and relationships to health.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen, Alison M; Champ, Martine M-J; Cloran, Susan J; Fleith, Mathilde; van Lieshout, Lilou; Mejborn, Heddie; Burley, Victoria J

2017-12-01

Research into the analysis, physical properties and health effects of dietary fibre has continued steadily over the last 40-50 years. From the knowledge gained, countries have developed guidelines for their populations on the optimal amount of fibre to be consumed each day. Food composition tables from many countries now contain values for the dietary fibre content of foods, and, from these, combined with dietary surveys, population intakes have been determined. The present review assessed the uniformity of the analytical methods used, health claims permitted, recommendations and intakes, particularly from national surveys across Europe and around the world. It also assessed current knowledge on health effects of dietary fibre and related the impact of different fibre types on health. The overall intent was to be able to provide more detailed guidance on the types of fibre which should be consumed for good health, rather than simply a total intake figure, the current situation. Analysis of data indicated a fair degree of uniformity in the definition of dietary fibre, the method used for analysis, the recommended amount to be consumed and a growing literature on effects on digestive health and disease risk. However, national dietary survey data showed that intakes do not reach recommendations and very few countries provide guidance on the types of fibre that are preferable to achieve recommended intakes. Research gaps were identified and ideas suggested to provide information for more detailed advice to the public about specific food sources that should be consumed to achieve health benefits.

Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012. An indicator-based report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-15

This European Environment Agency (EEA) report presents information on past and projected climate change and related impacts in Europe, based on a range of indicators. The report also assesses the vulnerability of society, human health and ecosystems in Europe and identifies those regions in Europe most at risk from climate change. Furthermore, the report discusses the principle sources of uncertainty for the indicators and notes how monitoring and scenario development can improve our understanding of climate change, its impacts and related vulnerabilities. Some key findings: The last decade (2002-2011) was the warmest on record in Europe, with European land temperature 1.3 deg. C warmer than the pre-industrial average. Various model projections show that Europe could be 2.5-4 deg. C warmer in the later part of the 21st Century, compared to the 1961-1990 average. Heat waves have increased in frequency and length, causing tens of thousands of deaths over the last decade. The projected increase in heat waves could increase the number of related deaths over the next decades, unless societies adapt, the report says. However, cold-related deaths are projected to decrease in many countries. While precipitation is decreasing in southern regions, it is increasing in northern Europe, the report says. These trends are projected to continue. Climate change is projected to increase river flooding, particularly in northern Europe, as higher temperatures intensify the water cycle. However, it is difficult to discern the influence of climate change in flooding data records for the past. River flow droughts appear to have become more severe and frequent in southern Europe. Minimum river flows are projected to decrease significantly in summer in southern Europe but also in many other parts of Europe to varying degrees. The Arctic is warming faster than other regions. Record low sea ice was observed in the Arctic in 2007, 2011 and 2012, falling to roughly half the minimum extent seen

Enhancing the control of force in putting by video game training.

Science.gov (United States)

Fery, Y A; Ponserre, S

2001-10-10

Even if golf video games provide no proprioceptive afferences on actual putting movement, they may give sufficient substitutive visual cues to enhance force control in this skill. It was hypothesized that this usefulness requires, however, two conditions: the video game must provide reliable demonstrations of actual putts, and the user must want to use the game to make progress in actual putting. Accordingly, a video game was selected on the basis of its fidelity to the real-world game. It allowed two different methods of adjusting the virtual player's putting force in order to hole a putt: an analogue method that consisted of focusing on the virtual player's movement and a symbolic method that consisted of focusing on the movement of a gauge on a scale representing the virtual player's putting force. The participants had to use one of these methods with either the intention of making progress in actual putting or in a second condition to simply enjoy the game. Results showed a positive transfer of video playing to actual putting skill for the learning group and also, to a lesser degree, for the enjoyment group; but only when they used the symbolic method. Results are discussed in the context of how vision may convey force cues in sports video games.

A review of total & added sugar intakes and dietary sources in Europe

OpenAIRE

Azaïs-Braesco, Véronique; Sluik, Diewertje; Maillot, Matthieu; Kok, Frans; Moreno, Luis A.

2017-01-01

Public health policies, including in Europe, are considering measures and recommendations to limit the intake of added or free sugars. For such policies to be efficient and monitored, a precise knowledge of the current situation regarding sugar intake in Europe is needed. This review summarizes published or re-analyzed data from 11 representative surveys in Belgium, France, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Relative intakes were higher in children th...

The perinatal autopsy : Pertinent issues in multicultural Western Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gordijn, Sanne J.; Erwich, Jan Jaap H. M.; Khong, T. Yee

Western Europe is in a demographic transition with increasing multicultural societies. Health professionals have to understand the background, religious and cultural aspects of parents to counsel them regarding an autopsy in the event of a perinatal loss. Autopsy rates have declined over the past

Chronic rhinosinusitis in Europe - an underestimated disease. A GA(2) LEN study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hastan, D; Fokkens, W J; Bachert, C

2011-01-01

, Zuberbier T, Jarvis D, Burney P. Chronic rhinosinusitis in Europe - an underestimated disease. A GA(2) LEN study. Allergy 2011; 66: 1216-1223. ABSTRACT: Background:  Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common health problem, with significant medical costs and impact on general health. Even so, prevalence...

Taenia solium in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Allepuz, Alberto; Dermauw, Veronique

2017-01-01

is known about the true endemicity status of T. solium throughout Europe. Three recent reviews indicate that autochthonous human T. solium taeniasis/cysticercosis may be possible in Europe, but that current peer-reviewed literature is biased towards Western Europe. Officially reported data on porcine...

Perceptions of Job Security in Europe's Ageing Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Hank, Karsten; Erlinghagen, Marcel

2011-01-01

Using data from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, this paper investigates older workers' perceptions of job security in eleven countries. We describe cross-national patterns and estimate multilevel models to analyse individual and societal determinants of self-perceived job security in the older labour force. While there…

Social/economic costs and health-related quality of life in patients with cystic fibrosis in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Chevreul, Karine; Michel, Morgane; Brigham, Karen Berg; López-Bastida, Julio; Linertová, Renata; Oliva-Moreno, Juan; Serrano-Aguilar, Pedro; Posada-de-la-Paz, Manuel; Taruscio, Domenica; Schieppati, Arrigo; Iskrov, Georgi; Péntek, Márta; von der Schulenburg, Johann Matthias Graf; Kanavos, Panos; Persson, Ulf; Fattore, Giovani

2016-04-01

Our goal was to provide data on the economic burden and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their caregivers in Europe. A cross-sectional study was carried out on adults and children with CF in eight European countries. Patients completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding their socio-demographic characteristics, use of healthcare services and presence of a caregiver. Costs were calculated with a bottom-up approach using unit costs from each participating country, and HRQOL was assessed using EQ-5D. The principal caregiver also answered a questionnaire on their characteristics, HRQOL and burden. A total of 905 patients with CF was included (399 adults and 506 children). The total average annual cost per patient varied from €21,144 in Bulgaria to €53,256 in Germany. Adults had higher direct healthcare costs than children, but children had much higher informal care costs (P costs increased with patients' level of dependence. In adults, mean utility fell between 0.640 and 0.870, and the visual analogue scale ranged from 46.0 to 69.7. There was no difference in caregiver HRQOL regardless of whether they cared for an adult or a child. However, caregivers who looked after a child had a significantly higher burden (P = 0.0013). Our study highlights the burden of CF in terms of costs and decreased HRQOL for both patients and their caregivers throughout Europe.

Advancing food, nutrition, and health research in Europe by connecting and building research infrastructures in a DISH-RI: Results of the EuroDISH project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Snoek, Harriëtte M.; Eijssen, Lars M.T.; Geurts, Marjolein

2018-01-01

more effectively. Approach In the EuroDISH project we mapped existing RIs in the food and health area in Europe, identified outstanding needs, and synthesised this into a conceptual design of a pan-European DISH-RI. The DISH model was used to describe and structure the research area: Determinants...... of food choice, Intake of foods and nutrients, Status and functional markers of nutritional health, and Health and disease risk. Key findings The need to develop RIs in the food and health domain clearly emerged from the EuroDISH project. It showed the necessity for a unique interdisciplinary and multi......Background Research infrastructures (RIs) are essential to advance research on the relationship between food, nutrition, and health. RIs will facilitate innovation and allow insights at the systems level which are required to design (public health) strategies that will address societal challenges...

Boundary-Layer & health

Science.gov (United States)

Costigliola, V.

2010-09-01

It has long been known that specific atmospheric processes, such as weather and longer-term climatic fluctuations, affect human health. The biometeorological literature refers to this relationship as meteorotropism, defined as a change in an organism that is correlated with a change in atmospheric conditions. Plenty of (patho)physiological functions are affected by those conditions - like the respiratory diseases - and currently it is difficult to put any limits for pathologies developed in reply. Nowadays the importance of atmospheric boundary layer and health is increasingly recognised. A number of epidemiologic studies have reported associations between ambient concentrations of air pollution, specifically particulate pollution, and adverse health effects, even at the relatively low concentrations of pollution found. Since 1995 there have been over twenty-one studies from four continents that have explicitly examined the association between ambient air pollutant mixes and daily mortality. Statistically significant and positive associations have been reported in data from various locations around the world, all with varying air pollutant concentrations, weather conditions, population characteristics and public health policies. Particular role has been given to atmospheric boundary layer processes, the impact of which for specific patient-cohort is, however, not well understood till now. Assessing and monitoring air quality are thus fundamental to improve Europe's welfare. One of current projects run by the "European Medical Association" - PASODOBLE will develop and demonstrate user-driven downstream information services for the regional and local air quality sectors by combining space-based and in-situ data with models in 4 thematic service lines: - Health community support for hospitals, pharmacies, doctors and people at risk - Public information for regions, cities, tourist industry and sporting event organizers - Compliance monitoring support on particulate

The fiscal crisis in the health sector: Patterns of cutback management across Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Ongaro, Edoardo; Ferré, Francesca; Fattore, Giovanni

2015-07-01

The article investigates trends in health sector cutback management strategies occurred during the ongoing financial and fiscal crisis across Europe. A European-wide survey to top public healthcare managers was conducted in ten different countries to understand their perception about public sector policy reactions to the financial and economic crisis; answers from 760 respondents from the healthcare sector (30.7% response rate) were analyzed. A multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the characteristics of respondents, countries' institutional healthcare models and the trend in public health resources availability during the crisis associated to the decision to introduce unselective cuts, targeted cuts or efficiency savings measures. Differentiated responses to the fiscal crisis that buffeted public finances were reported both across and within countries. Organizational position of respondents is significant in explaining the perceived cutback management approach introduced, where decentralized positions detect a higher use of linear cuts compared to their colleagues working in central level organizations. Compared to Bismark-like systems Beveridge-like ones favour the introduction of targeted cuts. Postponing the implementation of new programmes and containing expenses through instruments like pay freezes are some of the most popular responses adopted, while outright staff layoffs or reduction of frontline services have been more selectively employed. To cope with the effects of the fiscal crisis healthcare systems are undergoing important changes, possibly also affecting the scope of universal coverage. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential interest in Europe in SPS development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinhartz, K K

1980-06-01

The Solar Satellite Power System is a concept whereby large solar-energy converters are placed in outer space and the electrical energy produced is transmitted back to earth as microwave radiation. A number of studies, performed mainly in the United States, are aimed at assessing the technical, economic, social and health aspects of this concept. This paper does not address the feasibility of the SPS as such, but discusses the potential contribution that an SPS could make to the European energy scenario, the economic impact of the SPS as an indigenous European energy source, and the potential importance of the SPS as a technology driver. A European network of forty solar power satellites could supply electrical energy equal to Europe's present electrical energy production and significantly reduce Europe's dependence on energy imports. Additionally the development of a power satellite technology, if started by the United States, is expected to lead to such an advancement in technology in key areas, e.g., space industrialisation, photovoltaic energy conversion and wireless transmission of energy, that Europe would rapidly lose technical competence in many important fields if it were not to participate.

Understanding Food Insecurity in the USA and Canada: Potential Insights for Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Gundersen, Craig

2016-01-01

Food insecurity is a leading nutrition-related health care issue in the USA due to the magnitude of the problem (almost 50 million Americans are food insecure) and its association with a wide array of negative health and other outcomes. Alongside this interest in the USA, there has also been growing interest in Canada. In contrast, food insecurity has received less attention in Europe. Nevertheless, there is both direct and indirect evidence that food insecurity and its attendant consequences are present in Europe. Given the similarities between the USA, Canada, and Europe, previous research can offer numerous insights into the causes and consequences of food insecurity in Europe and possible directions to address these through measurement and public policies. I first cover the methods used to measure food insecurity in the USA and Canada. In both countries, a series of 18 questions in the Core Food Security Module are used to identify whether a household is food insecure. I then briefly cover the current extent of food insecurity in each country along with some discussion of the recent history of food insecurity. A central advantage to using the Core Food Security Module in Europe is that the measure has been proven useful in other high-income countries, and using a standardized measure would allow for cross-country comparisons. I next cover two large-scale food assistance programs from the USA, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) and the National School Lunch Program. For each, I summarize how the program is structured, how eligibility is established, and how participation proceeds. Europe has generally used income-based assistance programs to improve the well-being of low-income households; I consider a couple of reasons for why food assistance programs may also be worth considering. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Socioeconomic status and cutaneous malignant melanoma in Northern Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Idorn, L W; Wulf, H C

2014-01-01

Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), also in Northern Europe despite equal access to health care. SES per se is not responsible for this association which must be ascribed to important risk factors for CMM such as intermittent UVR exposure, and screening...

Disparities in Mortality Rates of Working-Age Population in Eastern, Central and Western Europe – A Comparative Quantitative Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lackó Mária

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Even two decades after the start of transition, mortality rates in Central and Eastern Europe are much higher than in Western Europe. This study presents and quantifies the impact on mortality of factors beyond the usual explanations. These factors are the advantageous and disadvantageous health effects of the geographical location of individual countries, as well as the economic structure, price structure and political priorities of the pre-transition systems in Central and Eastern Europe associated with anomic, self-destructive lifestyles. For adult males, mortality results show significant impact from level of development, health expenditure, latitude of countries, spirit consumption, education and air pollution. The impact of development, health expenditure, latitude, air pollution appear the same for both gender’s mortality.

Creationism in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

For decades, the creationist movement was primarily situated in the United States. Then, in the 1970s, American creationists found their ideas welcomed abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then in Korea, India, South Africa, Brazil, and elsewhere—including Europe, where creationism plays...... an expanding role in public debates about science policy and school curricula. In this, the first comprehensive history of creationism in Europe, leading historians, philosophers, and scientists narrate the rise of—and response to—scientific creationism, creation science, intelligent design, and organized...... antievolutionism in countries and religions throughout Europe. Providing a unique map of creationism in Europe, the authors chart the surprising history of creationist activities and strategies there. Over the past forty years, creationism has spread swiftly among European Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus...

The buffering role of the family in the relationship between job loss and self-perceived health: Longitudinal results from Europe, 2004-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Tattarini, Giulia; Grotti, Raffaele; Scherer, Stefani

2018-05-16

Unemployment has numerous negative consequences for health, but the family and the welfare state can mitigate these consequences. How the family supports its members and whether and to what extent this interacts with the broader context is still an open question. Our evidence show that job loss is causally linked to significant declines in health for men, but not for women. Yet, the increased risk of poor health is lower for coupled men, especially if the partner is employed. This suggests that both emotional and economic support play a role. Moreover, the family's mitigating role widely varies across different welfare regimes in Europe and it is particularly strong in Southern and Eastern regimes, characterized by "rudimentary" welfare systems and a more traditional family model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Putting the public (back) into public health: leadership, evidence and action.

Science.gov (United States)

South, J; Connolly, A M; Stansfield, J A; Johnstone, P; Henderson, G; Fenton, K A

2018-03-13

There is a strong evidence-based rationale for community capacity building and community empowerment as part of a strategic response to reduce health inequalities. Within the current UK policy context, there are calls for increased public engagement in prevention and local decision-making in order to give people greater control over the conditions that determine health. With reference to the challenges and opportunities within the English public health system, this essay seeks to open debate about what is required to mainstream community-centred approaches and ensure that the public is central to public health. The essay sets out the case for a reorientation of public health practice in order to build impactful action with communities at scale leading to a reduction in the health gap. National frameworks that support local practice are described. Four areas of challenge that could potentially drive an implementation gap are discussed: (i) achieving integration and scale, (ii) effective community mobilization, (iii) evidencing impact and (iv) achieving a shift in power. The essay concludes with a call to action for developing a contemporary public health practice that is rooted in communities and offers local leadership to strengthen local assets, increase community control and reduce health inequalities.

Putting Opportunism in the Back Seat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foss, Nicolai; Weber, Libby

2013-01-01

TCE and its applications in management research put more emphasis on opportunism than on bounded rationality. By augmenting the bounded rationality assumption to include interpretive limitations, we show that there are sources of costly conflict that are not rooted in opportunism. Moreover, we show...

The financial crisis, health and health inequities in Europe: the need for regulations, redistribution and social protection.

Science.gov (United States)

De Vogli, Roberto

2014-07-25

In 2009, Europe was hit by one of the worst debt crises in history. Although the Eurozone crisis is often depicted as an effect of government mismanagement and corruption, it was a consequence of the 2008 U.S. banking crisis which was caused by more than three decades of neoliberal policies, financial deregulation and widening economic inequities.Evidence indicates that the Eurozone crisis disproportionately affected vulnerable populations in society and caused sharp increases of suicides and deaths due to mental and behavioral disorders especially among those who lost their jobs, houses and economic activities because of the crisis. Although little research has, so far, studied the effects of the crisis on health inequities, evidence showed that the 2009 economic downturn increased the number of people living in poverty and widened income inequality especially in European countries severely hit by the debt crisis. Data, however, also suggest favorable health trends and a reduction of traffic deaths fatalities in the general population during the economic recession. Moreover, egalitarian policies protecting the most disadvantaged populations with strong social protections proved to be effective in decoupling the link between job losses and suicides.Unfortunately, policy responses after the crisis in most European countries have mainly consisted in bank bailouts and austerity programs. These reforms have not only exacerbated the debt crisis and widened inequities in wealth but also failed to address the root causes of the crisis. In order to prevent a future financial downturn and promote a more equitable and sustainable society, European governments and international institutions need to adopt new regulations of banking and finance as well as policies of economic redistribution and investment in social protection. These policy changes, however, require the abandonment of the neoliberal ideology to craft a new global political economy where markets and gross

Advancing Migrant Access to Health Services in Europe (AMASE): Protocol for a Cross-sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fakoya, Ibidun; Álvarez-Del Arco, Débora; Monge, Susana; Copas, Andrew J; Gennotte, Anne-Francoise; Volny-Anne, Alain; Göpel, Siri; Touloumi, Giota; Prins, Maria; Barros, Henrique; Staehelin, Cornelia; Del Amo, Julia; Burns, Fiona M

2016-05-16

Migrants form a substantial proportion of the population affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in Europe, yet HIV prevention for this population is hindered by poor understanding of access to care and of postmigration transmission dynamics. We present the design and methods of the advancing Migrant Access to health Services in Europe (aMASE) study, the first European cross-cultural study focused on multiple migrant populations. It aims to identify the structural, cultural, and financial barriers to HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and to determine the likely country of HIV acquisition in HIV-positive migrant populations. We delivered 2 cross-sectional electronic surveys across 10 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and United Kingdom). A clinic survey aimed to recruit up to 2000 HIV-positive patients from 57 HIV clinics in 9 countries. A unique study number linked anonymized questionnaire data to clinical records data (viral loads, CD4 cell counts, viral clades, etc). This questionnaire was developed by expert panel consensus and cognitively tested, and a pilot study was carried out in 2 countries. A Web-based community survey (n=1000) reached those living with HIV but not currently accessing HIV clinics, as well as HIV-negative migrants. It was developed in close collaboration with a community advisory group (CAG) made up of representatives from community organizations in 9 of the participating countries. The CAG played a key role in data collection by promoting the survey to higher-risk migrant groups (sub-Saharan Africans, Latin Americans, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs). The questionnaires have considerable content overlap, allowing for comparison. Questions cover ethnicity, migration, immigration status, HIV testing and treatment, health-seeking behavior, sexual risk, and drug use. The electronic questionnaires, which were available in 15

Acoustic regulations for housing and schools in Europe and South America

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Machimbarrena, Maria; Rasmussen, Birgit

2017-01-01

Acoustic regulations for housing and schools exist in most countries in Europe, the main reasons being protection of health of citizens in their homes and optimizing learning and work conditions in schools. Comparative studies in Europe have shown a high diversity of descriptors and limit values...... for acoustic requirements. Considering globalization and noise as a health issue, it is important to extend attention to other parts of the world and establish dialogue and cooperation. As a pilot study, acoustic regulations in three countries in South America, namely Argentina, Brazil and Chile, have been...... awareness among authorities and building industry and to exchange experience about construction solutions. The paper includes examples of specific acoustic requirements on airborne and impact sound insulation, noise from traffic and from service equipment for housing and schools and in addition...

Europa etnică O analiză a analogiilor şi contrastelor între Orient şi Occident (Ethnic Europe. An Analysis of the Analogies and Contrasts Between East and West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea ZAMFIRA

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This article aims at examining two types of similarities and dissimilarities between Central-Eastern Europe and Western Europe – similarities and dissimilarities that scientific literature put forward as analysis grid for the ethnic phenomenon. Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Spain are the main cases that we discuss within this article. For comparing them, several aspects are taken into consideration: the ethnogenesis or the formation process of ethnic minorities and of ethno-cultural identities; the evolution of the interethnic relations, of the relations between the “host” or “adoptive” State and the sub-national communities; the identity patterns and the ones of political representation today. The author’s leading conclusion is that the arguments one can generally use for constructing parallel monographs are not persuasive enough for sustaining a rigid separation between the two Europes.

The Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN): Putting the Pieces Together

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, H.; Shumake, J.; Trtanj, J.

2017-12-01

Human exposure to extreme heat is one of the principal and most manageable impacts of climate on human health. Yet, every year worldwide, tens of thousands of people die as a result of avoidable heat-induced health consequences and countless others experience reduced labor productivity, physiological stress and ill health. The IPCC predicts with high confidence, that the observed trend of longer lasting, more frequent, more intense, and earlier onset heat waves will continue into the future. This situation requires the global health community to aggressively confront this recognized risk. Many countries and cities worldwide have developed heat action plans or heat health early warning systems, but these efforts are only connected in an ad-hoc fashion, use a broad range of non-standardized tools, methods, and approaches, and lack a clear mechanism to learn from each other in order to more rapidly advance health protection. To address this gap and accelerate heat health protection, the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) was launched in June 2016, by the WMO/WHO joint office for Climate and Health and the NOAA Climate Program Office. GHHIN is envisioned to be an independent, voluntary, member driven forum of scientists, professionals, and policymakers focused on enhancing and multiplying the global and local learning and resilience-building for heat health that is already occurring. GHHIN seeks to serve as a catalyst, knowledge broker, disseminator of good practices, and a forum for facilitating exchange and identifying needs. GHHIN will promote evidence-driven interventions, shared-learning, co-production of information, synthesis of priorities and capacity building to empower actors to take more effective and informed life-saving preparedness and planning measures. GHHIN is working toward several activities in 2018. The first Global Heat Health Synthesis report will be published to synthesize the state of science and practice to monitor, predict, and

CO2-induced climate change in northern Europe: comparison of 12 CMIP2 experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raeisaenen, Jouni

2000-01-01

The results of 12 coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model experiments participating in the second phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP2) are studied with focus on the area of northern Europe. The variables considered are surface air temperature, precipitation and sea level pressure. The 80-year control simulations are first compared with observational estimates of the present climate. Several aspects of the simulated CO 2 -induced climate changes, defined by subtracting the control run seasonal or annual means from 20-year perturbation run means around the transient doubling of CO 2 , are then studied. The common features and individual variations in the simulated climate change are documented. Particular attention is put on expressing the inter experiment agreement in quantitative terms and on estimating the relative contribution of model-simulated internal variability to the inter experiment variance. For that purpose, a new statistical framework is developed. Finally, an attempt is made to statistically relate the inter experiment differences in the simulated climate change in northern Europe to aspects of the control climates, global climate change and some of the basic model characteristics. A summary of the main findings is given in the last section of the report

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Wang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI, were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter and NO2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li; Zhong, Buqing; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Zhang, Fengying; Pilot, Eva; Li, Yonghua; Yang, Linsheng; Wang, Wuyi; Krafft, Thomas

2016-01-01

Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no consistent

Variation in Health Technology Assessment and Reimbursement Processes in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Akehurst, Ronald L; Abadie, Eric; Renaudin, Noël; Sarkozy, François

2017-01-01

It has been suggested that differences in health technology assessment (HTA) processes among countries, particularly within Europe, have led to inequity in patient access to new medicines. To provide an up-to-date snapshot analysis of the present status of HTA and reimbursement systems in select European countries, and to investigate the implications of these processes, especially with regard to delays in market and patient access. HTA and reimbursement processes were assessed through a review of published and gray literature, and through a series of interviews with HTA experts. To quantify the impact of differences among countries, we conducted case studies of 12 products introduced since 2009, including 10 cancer drugs. In addition to the differences in HTA and reimbursement processes among countries, the influence of particular sources of information differs among HTA bodies. The variation in the time from the authorization by the European Medicines Agency to the publication of HTA decisions was considerable, both within and among countries, with a general lack of transparency as to why some assessments take longer than others. In most countries, market access for oncology products can occur outside the HTA process, with sales often preceding HTA decisions. It is challenging even for those with considerable personal experience in European HTA processes to establish what is really happening in market access for new drugs. We recommend that efforts should be directed toward improving transparency in HTA, which should, in turn, lead to more effective processes. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zero carbon energy system of south east europe in 2050 - poster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dominkovic, Dominik Franjo; Bačeković, Ivan; Ćosić, Boris

2016-01-01

-neutral. Smart energy systems’approach has been used in planning of 100% RES, which considers significant integration of the electrical, heating and gas sectors. Many technologies have been employedin the year 2050, but the major share is put on photovoltaics and wind energy, followed by geothermal, solar......South East Europe consists of several smaller countries in terms of energy systems and thus, integrating energy systems of the whole region has significant benefits for allthe countries included. However, as there are large differences between energy mixes of the countries included, careful energy...... planning needs to be carried out in order tosatisfy energy needs of all the countries of the region.Due to the significant differences in geography and the climate of different parts of the region, many different technologies need to be introduced in order to have optimal,low-carbon energy mix...

Multilingual Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Phillipson, Robert

2013-01-01

Review of: Multilingual Europe: Multilingual Europeans. (European Studies: An Interdisciplinary Series in European Culture, History and Politics, Vol. 29). Eds. Láslá Maràcz & Mireille Rosello. Rodopi, 2012. 323 pp.......Review of: Multilingual Europe: Multilingual Europeans. (European Studies: An Interdisciplinary Series in European Culture, History and Politics, Vol. 29). Eds. Láslá Maràcz & Mireille Rosello. Rodopi, 2012. 323 pp....

Patient education in Europe: united differences.

OpenAIRE

Visser, S.; Deccache, A.; Bensing, J.

2001-01-01

This issue of Patient Education and Counseling presents the state of the art of patient education in several European countries. It is based on papers presented at a meeting in Paris on the evolution and development of patient education in western, central and eastern Europe (May 1999). Also patient education in the US is presented in this issue. Patient education is defined as all the educational activities directed to patients, including aspects of therapeutic education, health education an...

Effect of Tide Elevation on Extratropical Storm Surge in Northwest Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Keshtpoor, M.; Carnacina, I.; Yablonsky, R. M.

2016-12-01

Extratropical cyclones (ETCs) are the major storm surge-generating meteorological events in northwest Europe. The total water level increase induced by these ETCs is significantly influenced by the local tidal range, which exceeds 8 meters along the southwestern UK coastline. In particular, a surge-generating ETC during high tide may put coastal assets and infrastructure in risk. Also, during low tide, the risk of surge induced by extreme ETC events is diminished. Here, the effect of tidal elevation on storm surge is investigated at 196 tide gauges in northwest Europe. A numerical, hydrodynamic model was developed using Delft3D-FM framework to simulate the coastal hydrodynamics during ETCs. Then, 1750 historical events were simulated to investigate the pattern of coastal inundation. Results suggest that in areas with a large tidal range ( 8 meters) and during the time period surrounding high or low tide, the pattern of coastal hydrodynamics is governed by tide and not storm surge. This result is most evident near the English Channel and Bristol Channel, where low frequency maximum water levels are observed when storm surge is combined with high tide. In contrast, near the tidal phase reversal, coastal hydrodynamics responds primarily to the storm surge, and low frequency maximum water elevation largely depends on the surge. In the areas with a small tidal range, ETC strength determines the pattern of coastal inundation.

5. Regional focus: Central Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livernash, R.; Levy, B.S.; Hertzman, C.

1992-01-01

The industrial regions of Central Europe are so choked by pollution that the health of children is impaired and the lives of adults shortened. The paper discusses this situation under the following headings: industrial development and energy efficiency; dependence on coal; the extent of the damage (atmospheric pollution: low stacks, auto emissions; water pollution (agricultural sources); forest and soil damage; transboundary pollution); managing market forces (impact of higher prices, managing growth: the case of motor vehicles); looking for least-cost solutions (coping with coal, adjusting the fuel mix, energy conservation); developing effective laws and regulations

Mental health and disorders. Editorial.

Science.gov (United States)

Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich

2014-01-01

Mental health and mental disorders pose a tremendous challenge to the societal, health, and research policies in Europe, and sound advice is needed on a potential strategy for mental health research investment. Toward this goal, the ROAMER initiative ("Roadmap for Mental Health Research in Europe") was launched to map the current state of the art, to identify gaps and to delineate advances needed in various areas and domains of mental health research in Europe. To further stimulate discussions among the scientific community and stakeholders on how to improve mental health research and to promote an improved research agenda for the next decade, this IJMPR topic issue presents the overall ROAMER methodology as well as a series of selected papers highlighting critical issues of psychological approaches and interventions as outcomes of the ROAMER work package 5 "Psychological research and treatments". Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Redesigned purification yields a fully functional PutA protein dimer from Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, E D; Wood, J M

1992-06-25

Proline utilization by Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium requires expression of genes putP (encoding a proline transporter) and putA. Genetic data indicate that the PutA protein is both put repressor and a respiratory chain-linked dehydrogenase. We report a redesigned purification procedure as well as the physical characteristics and biological activities of the PutA protein purified from E. coli. The purified protein was homogeneous as determined by electrophoresis performed under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions. Its N-terminal sequence corresponded to that predicted by the DNA sequence. We showed copurification of proline and delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase activities. Purified PutA protein bound put DNA in vitro in an electrophoretic band-shift assay and it could be reconstituted to inverted membrane vesicles, yielding proline dehydrogenase activity. The Stokes radius and Svedberg coefficient of the protein were determined to be 7.1 nm and 9.9 S, respectively. These hydrodynamic data revealed that the protein in our preparation was dimeric with a molecular mass of 293 kDa and that it had an irregular shape indicated by the friction factor (f/f0) of 1.6.

Strengthening mental health care systems for Syrian refugees in Europe and the Middle East: integrating scalable psychological interventions in eight countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sijbrandij, Marit; Acarturk, Ceren; Bird, Martha; Bryant, Richard A; Burchert, Sebastian; Carswell, Kenneth; de Jong, Joop; Dinesen, Cecilie; Dawson, Katie S; El Chammay, Rabih; van Ittersum, Linde; Jordans, Mark; Knaevelsrud, Christine; McDaid, David; Miller, Kenneth; Morina, Naser; Park, A-La; Roberts, Bayard; van Son, Yvette; Sondorp, Egbert; Pfaltz, Monique C; Ruttenberg, Leontien; Schick, Matthis; Schnyder, Ulrich; van Ommeren, Mark; Ventevogel, Peter; Weissbecker, Inka; Weitz, Erica; Wiedemann, Nana; Whitney, Claire; Cuijpers, Pim

2017-01-01

The crisis in Syria has resulted in vast numbers of refugees seeking asylum in Syria's neighbouring countries as well as in Europe. Refugees are at considerable risk of developing common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most refugees do not have access to mental health services for these problems because of multiple barriers in national and refugee specific health systems, including limited availability of mental health professionals. To counter some of challenges arising from limited mental health system capacity the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a range of scalable psychological interventions aimed at reducing psychological distress and improving functioning in people living in communities affected by adversity. These interventions, including Problem Management Plus (PM+) and its variants, are intended to be delivered through individual or group face-to-face or smartphone formats by lay, non-professional people who have not received specialized mental health training, We provide an evidence-based rationale for the use of the scalable PM+ oriented programmes being adapted for Syrian refugees and provide information on the newly launched STRENGTHS programme for adapting, testing and scaling up of PM+ in various modalities in both neighbouring and European countries hosting Syrian refugees.

Effectiveness and impact of rotavirus vaccines in Europe, 2006-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Karafillakis, Emilie; Hassounah, Sondus; Atchison, Christina

2015-04-27

Prior to the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in 2006, rotavirus was the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis among European children rotavirus vaccines in Europe following the first eight years of routine use. Four publication databases were searched, yielding 276 unique citations from February 1st, 2006 to July 31st, 2014. Twenty four studies on effectiveness (n=9) and impact (n=15) met the inclusion criteria. Across Europe, vaccine effectiveness against rotavirus-related healthcare utilisation ranged from 68% to 98%, consistent with efficacy data from clinical trials. Reductions in rotavirus hospitalisations ranged from 65% to 84%, consistent with findings from post-marketing studies from the US and Latin America. We confirm the significant public health benefit of rotavirus vaccination in Europe and provide further evidence to support implementation of universal rotavirus vaccination in all European countries. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The value of innovation in decision-making in health care in Central Eastern Europe - The Sixth International Conference, 2 June 2017, Belgrade, Serbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Novakovic, Tanja; Martin, Antony P; Parker, Mark; Ferrario, Alessandra; Vukovic, Simo; Łanda, Krzysztof; Duba, Jaroslav; Dankó, Dávid; Kotsopoulos, Nikolaos; Godman, Brian; Ristic, Jelena; Stefanovic, Danka; Tesic, Danka

2017-12-01

The Pharmacoeconomics Section of the Pharmaceutical Association of Serbia organised a one day international conference on the value of innovation in decision-making in health care in Central and Eastern Europe. The focus of the conference was on reimbursement decisions for medicines using health technology assessment and the use of managed entry agreements (MEAs). The objectives of this conference were firstly to discuss the challenges and opportunities with the use of MEAs in Central and Eastern European countries; secondly the role of patient registries especially with outcome based schemes, and finally new approaches to improve accessibility to new medicines including better managing their entry.

Role of centralized review processes for making reimbursement decisions on new health technologies in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stafinski T

2011-08-01

remains unclear. Increasingly, reimbursement systems are expressing interest in and/or implementing reimbursement policy options that extend beyond the traditional "yes", "no", or "yes with restrictions" options. Such options typically require greater involvement of manufacturers which, to date, has been limited.Conclusion: Centralized reimbursement systems have become an important policy tool in many European countries. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of transparency around critical elements, such as how multiple factors or criteria are weighed during committee deliberations.Keywords: reimbursement, centralized review, health technologies, Europe

Pharma Pricing & Market Access Europe 2016--Health Network Communications' Tenth Annual Conference (February 23-25, 2016--London, UK).

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, P

2016-03-01

Tighter national budgets and escalating drug prices continue to present challenges for pharmaceutical market access strategies and societal cost of care. As pharmaceutical companies and medical governmental advisory organizations enter tougher negotiations, hospital trusts and other dispensary firms face barriers to receiving the best medical treatment, and as a result patient access is limited. The 2016 HealthNetwork Communications' Pharma Pricing & Market Access Europe meeting brought together pharmaceutical, medical governmental advisory and stakeholders and market access/pricing consultants, to encourage discussions and negotiations into how to improve the drug pricing system and consequential market access strategies while achieving the respective reimbursement and affordability objectives. Copyright 2016 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

Condom use errors and problems among young women who put condoms on their male partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Stephanie A; Graham, Cynthia A; Yarber, William L; Crosby, Richard A

2003-01-01

To comprehensively assess condom use errors and problems reported by women who apply condoms, given the lack of data on this aspect of condom use. Data from a questionnaire survey, using a 3-month recall period, was analyzed for a convenience sample of 102 college women who put condoms on their male partner(s) for sex (vaginal, anal, or oral). The percentage of the sample reporting that an error or problem occurred at least once is presented. Fifty-one percent put the condom on after starting sex, and 15% took the condom off before ending sex. Forty-eight percent wanted a condom but didn't have one, 46% did not leave space at the tip, 30% put the condom on wrong side up and had to flip the condom over, 26% did not use a lubricant, and 15% wanted a water-based lubricant and did not have any available. Twenty-five percent reported that their partners lost erections in association with condom use. Twenty-eight percent reported breakage, slippage, or both. Higher error scores were found for those who reported: 1) breakage or slippage, 2) partner erection problems, 3) use of another form of contraception, and 4) not having received instruction in correct condom use. Educating women as well as men about correct condom use, in addition to promoting consistent condom use, may be an important public health strategy.

Legalised non-consensual sterilisation - eugenics put into practice before 1945, and the aftermath. Part 2: Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Amy, Jean-Jacques; Rowlands, Sam

2018-04-19

This article deals with the nine European nations which legalised non-consensual sterilisation during the interwar years, thus completing the review, the first part of which was published in an earlier issue of this Journal. Like we did for North America, Japan and Mexico, countries concerned are addressed in chronological order, as practices in one of these influenced policies in others, involved later. For each, we assess the continuum of events up to the present time. The Swiss canton of Vaud was the first political entity in Europe to introduce a law on compulsory sterilisation of people with intellectual disability, in 1928. Vaud's sterilisation Act aimed at safeguarding against the abusive performance of these procedures. The purpose of the laws enforced later in eight other European countries (all five Nordic countries; Germany and, after its annexation by the latter, Austria; Estonia) was, on the contrary, to effect the sterilisation of large numbers of people considered a burden to society. Between 1933 and 1939, from 36,000 to 400,000 residents (two-thirds of whom were women) were compulsorily sterilised in Nazi Germany. In Sweden, some 32,000 sterilisations carried out between 1935 and 1975 were involuntary. It might have been expected that after the Second World War ended and Nazi legislation was suspended in Germany and Austria, including that regulating coerced sterilisation, these inhuman practices would have been discontinued in all nations concerned; but this happened only decades later. More time still went by before the authorities in certain countries officially acknowledged the human rights violations committed, issued apologies and developed reparation schemes for the victims' benefit.

Does Europe have a centre? Reflections on the history of Western and Central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Mout, Nicolette

2006-05-01

Any definition of Central Europe based on geographical and/or historical facts causes difficulties. The line dividing Europe during the Cold War has a very limited use because it does not take into account Central Europe as a special part of the continent. Historians such as Geoffrey Barraclough, Hugh Seton-Watson and Oskar Halecki discussed the idea of a separate identity of Central Europe during the Cold War. Especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this discussion was re-opened. From a historian's point of view, the most important contributions came from Piotr Wandycz and Jeno Szucs. An imaginary centre of Europe can only be found in the continent's common history.

Multicultural Education Course Put into Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Jun, Eun Jeong

2016-01-01

This study examines the ways in which two teachers who have previously taken a multicultural education course put into practice multicultural teaching in a first grade afterschool program. Banks' five dimensions of multicultural education are used as the theoretical framework for analyzing past research on multicultural education courses and for…

Country differences of psychosocial working conditions in Europe: the role of health and safety management practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lunau, Thorsten; Dragano, Nico; Siegrist, Johannes; Wahrendorf, Morten

2017-10-01

In times of demographic change, maintaining health and employability of older employees is important. In this context, studies show that stressful working conditions differ by countries. Yet, it is unclear if specific national management practices to deal with these conditions contribute towards explaining country differences. This study combines two different data sources. The first one provides detailed information on psychosocial working conditions in 17 European countries, based on 12,284 employees from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We link this information to the second data source that provides information on health and safety management practices in each of the countries under study (collected among 17,477 managers at the level of companies in the Enterprise survey on new and emerging risks (ESENER)). We distinguish six different types of risk management procedures in the analysis. Results show that levels of psychosocial risks are generally lower in countries with more developed management practices, in particular if national management practices are marked by (1) procedures to deal with work stress, (2) information about whom to address in case of work-related psychosocial problems, and (3) health and safety services provided by psychologists. The findings underline the importance of a comprehensive psychosocial risk management approach in reducing work-related stress, as lower levels of psychosocial risks are linked to specific psychosocial risk management practices within companies, in particular those pointing to clear responsibilities and coordinated procedures in dealing with psychosocial risks.

The phenomenon of mobbing in Serbia and Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trišić Marko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As the phenomenon of abuse in the workplace came to a closer public eye of a broader audience through media coverage, there is not a more fertile ground for a fully detailed problem explanation and search for its short or long-term solution. The dose of seriousness concerning the issue of mobbing isn’t only given for its negative effect on a business organization, but also for the mutation of a society’s culture, as well. The research paper outlines the mobbing phenomenon by presenting the theoretical and practical (statistical diagnosis through which, for a better understanding of the situation, there are added testimonies of mobbing victims, as well as legal and extra-judicial solutions for the issue. The observation of the phenomena is focused on the research and data presentation, using examples from Serbia and Europe. Putting aside the obvious differences in approach, a great space for implementation of European developed countries’ principles can be seen. The same principles could be introduced on the domestic scene, with the introduction of mandatory work conditions that are considered decent.

World review: Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2000-01-01

The article gives information on contracts announced (and to whom) and recently completed in some parts of Europe in the petroleum, natural gas and petrochemicals industries. Countries specifically mentioned are Belgium, Czech Republic, France, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It is suggested that in E. Europe, the demand for gas could triple by 2020, in S. Europe the market for gas will double in the next ten years and the Mediterranean will continue to be a developing global refinery into the 21st century

Mapping health research capacity in 17 countries of the former Soviet Union and south-eastern Europe: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Santoro, Alessio; Glonti, Ketevan; Bertollini, Roberto; Ricciardi, Walter; McKee, Martin

2016-04-01

Policies to improve health status, tackle disease and ensure equitable access to healthcare should be informed by evidence derived from high-quality research. However, health research capacity is unevenly distributed across countries, as revealed by mapping exercises that have been undertaken to provide a basis for concerted action to strengthen capacity. This study systematically describes capacity to undertake health research in the countries of the former Soviet Union and south-eastern Europe and identifies the elements required to create a national health research system. The mapping exercise comprised two elements: a survey of key informants in the respective countries and a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications in the field of public health. Our results confirm that health research remains a low priority in some countries of the WHO European Region. In these countries, most of the literature was produced by researchers outside the country, often to inform international donors. This study provides important information for countries seeking to initiate action to strengthen their research capacity. There is a need for a comprehensive strategy with sustained investment in training and career development of researchers. There is also a need to create new funding systems to provide financial support to those undertaking policy-relevant research. International collaboration and investment in mechanisms to bridge the gap between research and policy are urgently required. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Putting Portugal on the Map

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Ferrão

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper argues the need to “put Portugal on the map” in a double sense: in a prospective way, in order to place the country on the required map(s, something which entails strategic vision and capacity for action; and in an analytical way – to enable us to understand Portugal from the map(s it is part of, which presupposes a capacity to analyse and understand the current state of affairs. By drawing inspiration from the polymorphic vision on the spatialities of contemporary societies and economies defended by Jessop, Brenner and Jones (2008, we propose the creation of a unifying reference framework to “put Portugal on the map”, using a combination of five elements: territory as a geographic location; territory as a unit of reference of the nation-state; places; geographic scales; and networks. The polymorphic nature of the spatialities that characterize, or should characterize, Portugal’s place in the world reflects several, and even contradictory, ethical values, interests, preferences, and options. Accordingly, the supported polymorphic spatialities ought to stir up controversy based on knowledge and arguments that are solid from a theoretical and empirical stance, and should make explicit the objectives and values they are based on.

A call to action on women's health: putting corporate CSR standards for workplace health on the global health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Wofford, David; MacDonald, Shawn; Rodehau, Carolyn

2016-11-04

Business operates within a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) system that the global health community should harness to advance women's health and related sustainable development goals for workers and communities in low- and middle-income countries. Corporations and their vast networks of supplier companies, particularly in manufacturing and agribusiness, employ millions of workers, increasingly comprised of young women, who lack access to health information, products and services. However, occupational safety and health practices focus primarily on safety issues and fail to address the health needs, including reproductive health, of women workers. CSR policy has focused on shaping corporate policies and practices related to the environment, labor, and human rights, but has also ignored the health needs of women workers. The authors present a new way for global health to understand CSR - as a set of regulatory processes governed by civil society, international institutions, business, and government that set, monitor, and enforce emerging standards related to the role of business in society. They call this the CSR system. They argue that the global health community needs to think differently about the role of corporations in public health, which has been as "partners," and that the global health practitioners should play the same advocacy role in the CSR system for corporate health policies as it does for government and international health policies.

Health, growth and psychosocial adaptation of immigrant children.

Science.gov (United States)

Gualdi-Russo, Emanuela; Toselli, Stefania; Masotti, Sabrina; Marzouk, Diaa; Sundquist, Kristina; Sundquist, Jan

2014-08-01

The increasing population diversity in Europe demands clarification of possible ethnic influences on the growth and health of immigrant children and their psychosocial adaptation to the host countries. This article assesses recent data on immigrant children in Europe in comparison to European natives by means of a systematic review of the literature on growth patterns and data on children's health and adaptation. There were wide variations across countries in growth patterns and development of immigrant children and natives, with different trends in Central and Northern Europe with respect to Southern Europe. In general, age at menarche was lower in immigrant girls, while male pubertal progression seemed faster in immigrants than in European natives, even when puberty began after. Owing to the significant differences in anthropometric traits (mainly stature and weight), new reference growth curves for immigrant children were constructed for the largest minority groups in Central Europe. Possible negative effects on growth, health and psychosocial adaptation were pointed out for immigrant children living in low income, disadvantaged communities with a high prevalence of poor lifestyle habits. In conclusion, this review provides a framework for the health and growth of immigrant children in Europe in comparison to native-born children: the differences among European countries in growth and development of migrants and non-migrants are closely related to the clear anthropological differences among the ethnic groups due to genetic influences. Higher morbidity and mortality was frequently associated with the minority status of these children and their low socio-economic status. The observed ethnic differences in health reveal the need for adequate health care in all groups. Therefore, we provide suggestions for the development of health care strategies in Europe. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association

A Study of Families’ Experiences of Putting Their Elders in Nursing Homes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farahnaz Chireh Hafshjani

2016-11-01

Full Text Available One of the major challenges facing society today is increasing proportion of its elderly population. Nowadays, elderliness along with its all psychological, socio-cultural, ideological and economic aspects have become a serious and challenging issue affecting families in developing and developed countries. Thus, the current study aimed to examine families’ experiences of putting their elders in nursing homes. A phenomenological research method was employed to pursue this qualitative study. The samples of the study were selected through purposive sampling method; and data collection proceeded until it reached to the data saturation within 10 participants. The instruments adopted by the researcher include note-taking and in-depth and unstructured interviews with the families of the elderly who put their elders in nursing homes. The obtained data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step process of analysis. The four general themes derived include isolation, peace, abusiveness, children’s inability to look after their elders and guilty conscience; each of which contained some sub-themes. According to the results, it is essential to take the social, economic and health support of the elderly into consideration and to provide the necessary context for improving the life quality of the elderly residing in nursing homes through formulating, planning and making appropriate policies.

Improved cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children after the school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lind, Rune Rasmussen; Geertsen, Svend Sparre; Ørntoft, Christina Øyangen

2018-01-01

, p = .012) and working memory (79, sx– = 35 ms, p = .020). Conclusion: This pilot study provides evidence that the school-based physical activity programme “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe can improve cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish schoolchildren. Future studies should attempt...... programme. The programme combines small-sided football games, drills and health education. Cognitive performance was evaluated at baseline and follow-up. Results: The IG improved their cognitive performance compared to the CG for psychomotor function (56, sx– = 22 ms, p attention (39, sx– = 17 ms...

Normative Power Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manners, Ian

2009-01-01

The chapter develops a normative power approach to European studies that can be applied across and beyond its constitutive disciplines in order to interrogate and transgress the ideas and spaces on/of Europe. In four parts the chapter explores the terms ‘normative', ‘power', and ‘Europe', before......' - in order to make sense of ideas of the common good. Part two looks at three different types of power - ‘relational', ‘structural', and ‘normative' - as a means of understanding the power of ideas of the common good. Part three considers three different means of understanding Europe - ‘civilizational......', ‘categorical', and ‘cultural' - to show how the power of ideas of the common good shape our means of comprehending contemporary Europe. Part four attempts to apply the approach to the question of a European counter-terrorist response. This example was chosen because of the challenges it presents...

Spatially explicit prioritization of human antibiotics and antineoplastics in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldenkamp, Rik; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Hollander, Anne; Versporten, Ann; Goossens, Herman; Ragas, Ad M J

2013-01-01

This paper presents a screening tool for the location-specific prioritization of human pharmaceutical emissions in Europe, based on risk quotients for the aquatic environment and human health. The tool provides direction towards either monitoring activities or additional research. Its application is illustrated for a set of 11 human antibiotics and 7 antineoplastics. Risk quotients for the aquatic environment were highest for levofloxacin, doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, located in Northern Italy (Milan region; particularly levofloxacin) and other densely populated areas in Europe (e.g. London, Krakow and the Ruhr area). Risk quotients for human health not only depend on pharmaceutical and location, but also on behavioral characteristics, such as consumption patterns. Infants in eastern Spain that consume locally produced food and conventionally treated drinking water were predicted to run the highest risks. A limited comparison with measured concentrations in surface water showed that predicted and measured concentrations are approximately within one order of magnitude. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical and economic consequences of climate change in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciscar, Juan-Carlos; Iglesias, Ana; Feyen, Luc; Szabó, László; Van Regemorter, Denise; Amelung, Bas; Nicholls, Robert; Watkiss, Paul; Christensen, Ole B; Dankers, Rutger; Garrote, Luis; Goodess, Clare M; Hunt, Alistair; Moreno, Alvaro; Richards, Julie; Soria, Antonio

2011-02-15

Quantitative estimates of the economic damages of climate change usually are based on aggregate relationships linking average temperature change to loss in gross domestic product (GDP). However, there is a clear need for further detail in the regional and sectoral dimensions of impact assessments to design and prioritize adaptation strategies. New developments in regional climate modeling and physical-impact modeling in Europe allow a better exploration of those dimensions. This article quantifies the potential consequences of climate change in Europe in four market impact categories (agriculture, river floods, coastal areas, and tourism) and one nonmarket impact (human health). The methodology integrates a set of coherent, high-resolution climate change projections and physical models into an economic modeling framework. We find that if the climate of the 2080s were to occur today, the annual loss in household welfare in the European Union (EU) resulting from the four market impacts would range between 0.2-1%. If the welfare loss is assumed to be constant over time, climate change may halve the EU's annual welfare growth. Scenarios with warmer temperatures and a higher rise in sea level result in more severe economic damage. However, the results show that there are large variations across European regions. Southern Europe, the British Isles, and Central Europe North appear most sensitive to climate change. Northern Europe, on the other hand, is the only region with net economic benefits, driven mainly by the positive effects on agriculture. Coastal systems, agriculture, and river flooding are the most important of the four market impacts assessed.

Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in Europe and Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jnr, G. o. A.; Rahman, G. A.

2012-01-01

Breast cancer continues to remain the most lethal malignancy in women across the world. This study reviews some of the epidemiological similarities and differences in breast cancer between white European women and black African women with the aim of optimising care for women with breast malignancy across the world. The incidence of breast cancer is lower among African women than their European counterparts. Majority of women in Europe are postmenopausal when they present with breast cancer; however, the peak incidence among African women is in the premenopausal period. Ductal carcinoma is the commonest type of breast cancer among women in Africa and Europe. However, medullary and mucinous carcinomas are more common in Africa than in Europe. While European women usually present at an early stage especially with the advent of screening, African women generally present late for treatment resulting in lower survival rates. There should be more research at the molecular level among African women to identify genetic factors that may contribute to the risk of developing breast cancer. There should also be improvement in the health care system in Africa in order to optimise care for women with breast cancer.

Stroke care in Central Eastern Europe: current problems and call for action.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenti, Laura; Brainin, Michael; Titianova, Ekaterina; Morovic, Sandra; Demarin, Vida; Kalvach, Pavel; Skoloudik, David; Kobayashi, Adam; Czlonkowska, Anna; Muresanu, Dafin F; Shekhovtsova, Ksenia; Skvortsova, Veronica I; Sternic, Nadezda; Beslac Bumbasirevic, Ljiljana; Svigelj, Viktor; Turcani, Peter; Bereczki, Dániel; Csiba, László

2013-07-01

Stroke is a major medical problem and one of the leading causes of mortality and disability all over in Europe. However, there are significant East-West differences in stroke care as well as in stroke mortality and morbidity rates. Central and Eastern European countries that formerly had centralized and socialist health care systems have serious and similar problems in organizing health and stroke care 20 years after the political transition. In Central and Eastern Europe, stroke is more frequent, the mortality rate is higher, and the victims are younger than in Western Europe. High-risk patients live in worse environmental conditions, and the socioeconomic consequences of stroke further weaken the economic development of these countries. To address these issues, a round table conference was organized. The main aim of this conference was to discuss problems to be solved related to acute and chronic stroke care in Central and Eastern European countries, and also, to exchange ideas on possible solutions. In this article, the discussed problems and possible solutions will be summarized, and introduce 'The Budapest Statement of Stroke Experts of Central and Eastern European countries'. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.

Perpetual American put options in a level-dependent volatility model

OpenAIRE

Ekström, Erik

2003-01-01

We find the explicit value of perpetual American put options in the constant elasticity of variance model using the concept of smooth fit. We show that the price is increasing in the volatility and convex in the underlying stock price. Moreover, as the model converges to the standard Black and Scholes model, the value of the put is shown to approach the `correct' limit.

Health systems financing: putting together the “back office”

OpenAIRE

Dare, Lola; Reeler, Anne

2005-01-01

Strengthening healthcare systems has been identified as central to Africa achieving global and regional development targets, including the millennium development goals. Lola Dare and Anne Reeler present case studies on issues that can contribute to improved integration and lead to better performance of health systems in Africa

Political discussion in Western Europe on the future of Russian-designed NPPs in reform states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breyer, Wolfgang

2000-01-01

Over the last decade, the debate on nuclear power in Western Europe centered on the future of the nuclear power plants of Russian technology in the former East-block countries. The topic has got additional fuel by the current talks between the EU and the accession candidates. At stake is, however, not only the extent of nuclear power generation in reform states but also the role of nuclear power in the West or, more specifically, in Western Europe. Chernobyl changed the world for nuclear power. Green parties and anti-nuclear NGOs recognized their chance to deal a deadly blow to nuclear power. It couldn't surprise that the principal interest of the Western countries was to save their own nuclear power programs. Nuclear power in Western Europe regains public acceptance. The collapse of socialism in the COMECON countries in 1989 and 1990 paved the way for openness and cooperation between countries that had for decades belonged to antagonistic blocks. The new democracies looked to the West for help in reforming their economies and their administrative structures. Following a German initiative, the G7 summit in Munich in June 1992 agreed on a multilateral Action Program for improving the safety of Russian-design reactors in Central and Eastern Europe. In its diplomatic language, the Communique made clear that assistance for short-term improvements for RBMKs and first-generation WWERs would be conditioned to commitments to a shut-down 'as soon as possible' and that assistance for safety upgrades of newer plants would require safety studies and analyses of energy policies, energy alternatives and financing. World Bank and EBRID were put in charge of this. It should be noted that the G7 program met with strong opposition by anti-nuclear NGOs. They are focusing on shut-down dates

Regular-Fat Dairy and Human Health: A Synopsis of Symposia Presented in Europe and North America (2014-2015).

Science.gov (United States)

Astrup, Arne; Rice Bradley, Beth H; Brenna, J Thomas; Delplanque, Bernadette; Ferry, Monique; Torres-Gonzalez, Moises

2016-07-29

In recent history, some dietary recommendations have treated dairy fat as an unnecessary source of calories and saturated fat in the human diet. These assumptions, however, have recently been brought into question by current research on regular fat dairy products and human health. In an effort to disseminate, explore and discuss the state of the science on the relationship between regular fat dairy products and health, symposia were programmed by dairy industry organizations in Europe and North America at The Eurofed Lipids Congress (2014) in France, The Dairy Nutrition Annual Symposium (2014) in Canada, The American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting held in conjunction with Experimental Biology (2015) in the United States, and The Federation of European Nutrition Societies (2015) in Germany. This synopsis of these symposia describes the complexity of dairy fat and the effects regular-fat dairy foods have on human health. The emerging scientific evidence indicates that the consumption of regular fat dairy foods is not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and inversely associated with weight gain and the risk of obesity. Dairy foods, including regular-fat milk, cheese and yogurt, can be important components of an overall healthy dietary pattern. Systematic examination of the effects of dietary patterns that include regular-fat milk, cheese and yogurt on human health is warranted.

Inventory of surveillance systems assessing dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours in Europe: a DEDIPAC study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bel-Serrat, Silvia; Huybrechts, Inge; Thumann, Barbara F; Hebestreit, Antje; Abuja, Peter M; de Henauw, Stefaan; Dubuisson, Carine; Heuer, Thorsten; Murrin, Celine M; Lazzeri, Giacomo; van Rossum, Caroline; Andersen, Lene F; Szeklicki, Robert; Vioque, Jesús; Berry, Rachel; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Slimani, Nadia

2017-01-01

There is a need for harmonized public health surveillance systems to monitor regional variations and temporal trends of health behaviours and health outcomes and to align policies, action plans and recommendations in terms of healthy diet and physical (in)activity within Europe. We provide an

Islam in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Schøler

2008-01-01

A discussion of various approaches to Islam and Muslims in Europe in seven books published in the USA and the UK between 2005 and 2007.......A discussion of various approaches to Islam and Muslims in Europe in seven books published in the USA and the UK between 2005 and 2007....

HIV/AIDS in eastern Europe: more than a sexual health crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lazarus, Jeff; Bollerup, Annemarie; Matic, Srdan

2006-01-01

HIV/AIDS is often described as a sexually transmitted disease. In the former USSR, however, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is being driven by injecting drug use among men. This article addresses several widely circulated assumptions about HIV in eastern Europe: that sexual contact is the primary mode of t...... with the greatest need, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the demand for treatment is growing much faster than its availability....

Europe representations in textbooks

OpenAIRE

Brennetot , Arnaud

2011-01-01

This EuroBroadMap working paper presents an analysis of textbooks dealing with the representations of Europe and European Union. In most of these textbooks from secondary school, the teaching of the geography of Europe precedes the evocation of the EU. Europe is often depicted as a given object, reduced to a number of structural aspects (relief, climate, demography, traditional cultures, economic activities, etc.) whose only common point is their location within conventional boundaries. Such ...

Improved cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children after the school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe - A cluster-randomised controlled trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lind, Rune Rasmussen; Geertsen, Svend Sparre; Ørntoft, Christina

2018-01-01

programme. The programme combines small-sided football games, drills and health education. Cognitive performance was evaluated at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: The IG improved their cognitive performance compared to the CG for psychomotor function (56, sx- = 22 ms, p attention (39, sx- = 17 ms......, p = .012) and working memory (79, sx- = 35 ms, p = .020). CONCLUSION: This pilot study provides evidence that the school-based physical activity programme "FIFA 11 for Health" for Europe can improve cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish schoolchildren. Future studies should attempt...

Health and the environment in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kramers PGN

1992-01-01

In this report the relation between the environment and human health is considered in a broad perspective. The starting point is a concept of "health" as an entity determined by endogenous and exogenous factors. Four categories of exogenous factors can be identified: (1) the physical

Public choice and environmental regulation: tradable permit systems in the United States and CO2 taxation in Europe. New Horizons in Environmental Economics series

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

Svendsen provides a comprehensive description and assessment of the actual experience with systems of tradable permits for environmental management. Moreover, he puts this treatment in a public-choice framework so that we can understand why policy makers in Europe have chosen green taxes, while t...... their counterparts in the United States have opted for systems of tradable permits. The book is a valuable source for a basic understanding of the theory, the and the political economy of incentive-based policy instruments....

The U.S. dollar value of gasoline: Currency crisis in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

The recent currency crisis in Europe puts the possibility of European economic union in further jeopardy after the Maastricht Treaty was not approved by the Netherlands earlier this Summer. The increased value of European currencies relative to the US dollar during the past Summer had little effect upon national currency gasoline prices. However, the recent currency devaluations in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, already struggling with weak economies, definitely reduce consumer buying power. Governments may use the high taxes imposed on gasoline as a buffer against higher prices, but still, consumers may buy less gasoline as their money doesn't go as far as it once did. This issue also presents the following: (1) the ED Refining Netback Data Series for the US Gulf and West Coasts, Rotterdam, and Singapore as of Sept. 25, 1992; and (2) the ED Refining Netback Data Series for countries of the Eastern Hemisphere, Sept. 1992 Edition

Europe

OpenAIRE

2015-01-01

Voilà deux militants de la cause européenne qui plaident, chacun à sa manière, pour un sursaut afin que renaisse ce « désir d’Europe » qui nous fait tant défaut. « Il n’est pas trop tard, mais il est temps… », écrit P. COLLOWALD dans ses mémoires préfacées par Jacques Delors. Constatant que, « dans les jugements hâtifs de notre époque, on manque souvent de discernement, par ignorance et par manque de recul historique », cet ancien responsable de l’information à la Commission et au Parlement e...

Towards a public health profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foldspang, Anders

2015-01-01

in the theoretical as well as the practical potential of the public health professional. Thus, he and she must be able to perform, what WHO Europe has developed as Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs).3 This, in turn, implies that the public health professional possesses the set of intellectual (knowledge...... endorsed by WHO Europe’s member states as the basis for the public health education in Europe.5 The sections of the lists include: Public health methods; Population health and: Its social and economic determinants, and: Its material environmental determinants; Man-made interventions and systems, namely...... Health policy, health economics, organizational theory, health legislation, and public health leadership and management; Health promotion—health education, health protection, disease prevention; public health ethics. This should form the central part of the basis for all public health professionals...

Health 2020 – Achieving Health and Development in Today’s Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsuzsanna Jakab

2014-09-01

CONCLUSION: This article presents the development process of Health 2020 and its main strategic goals, objectives and content. Further, it describes what is needed to successfully implement Health 2020 in countries and how WHO can provide technical assistance to countries that embark on developing health policy aligned with the Health 2020 policy framework. The development and implementation of Health 2020 is a powerful vehicle for concerted inter-sectoral action across the WHO European Region for improving health and well-being of present and future generations. Successful implementation of Health 2020 needs providing technical assistance by WHO to the countries to embark on developing health policy aligned with the Health 2020 policy framework.

The science of golf putting a complete guide for researchers, players and coaches

CERN Document Server

Dias, Gonçalo

2015-01-01

This SpringerBrief explores the motor performance and biomechanics of golf putting, providing methodologies, studies and approaches to this concept. Presenting outcomes of research published over the past six years, it offers guidelines from a scientifically oriented perspective, and employs new technologies and mathematical methods to assess golf putting. The chapters cover aspects such as pendulum-like motion in sports, setting up the experimental design, and performance metrics for putting variables. Paving the way for an improved understanding of what leads to failure and success in golf putting, this book offers an invaluable reference source for sports scientists, engineers and mathematicians, as well as golfers.

Air Pollution in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-09-01

In spite of improvements relative to air pollution, there is still much to do. more than thirty millions of European people are exposed to sulfur dioxide concentrations superior to guide values for health fixed by European Union, 20% of ecosystems in Europe are above the critical charges in the area of acidification and 33% concern eutrophication. Relative to the carbon dioxide, it is not sure that European Union realize the objective to stabilize the emissions for the year 2000 at the level of the year 1990, because of the increasing of automobile traffic and the energy consumption. Four subjects are presented: the climatic change, acidification and eutrophication, tropospheric ozone and air quality. (N.C.)

Sharing the British National Health Service around the world: a self-interested perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalkidou, Kalipso; Vega, Jeanette

2013-10-25

As the UK reiterates its commitment to protecting and growing its development aid budget amidst an adverse economic environment for the UK and Europe, we discuss the potential to use the country's National Health Service (NHS) model as a vehicle for promoting the country's economic as well as global health diplomacy and development priorities, through a coordinated cross-government plan of action. With the country's Prime Minister serving as a co-chair of the UN post-2015 development agenda panel,a this is a unique opportunity for the UK to put forward its health system architecture as a highly applicable and well-tested model for providing access to efficient and cost-effective care, with minimal financial hardship. Arguably, such a model tailored to the needs of specific countries could consequently lead to commercial opportunities for UK plc. in areas such as consulting, training, education and healthcare products. Finally, this approach would be consistent with the current thinking on the evolving role of UK aid, especially in the case of emerging powers such as India, where the focus has shifted from aid to investment in technical assistance and cooperation as a means of boosting bilateral business and trade.

Expert services for rare anaemias across Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatrice Gulbis

2013-03-01

Full Text Available New challenges and priorities are given in the EU Health programme 2007-2013. The objectives of the programme are to improve citizens’ health security, to promote health to improve prosperity and solidarity, and to generate and disseminate health knowledge. If challenges and priorities have been defined globally for rare diseases by the European Commission, persons involved in rare anaemias have taken the opportunity to contribute to the empowerment of patients with rare anaemias. One of the ENERCA partners objectives was the mapping of existing centres that take care of patients with rare anaemias in Europe. Another goal was to obtain a directory of facilities available per centre for patients with rare anaemias. We thought that with those results it could realistically help to define a consensus regarding the criteria to be recognised as a centre of expertise for haemoglobinopathies and very rare anaemias.

The genomic history of southeastern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieson, Iain; Alpaslan-Roodenberg, Songül; Posth, Cosimo; Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Olalde, Iñigo; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Candilio, Francesca; Cheronet, Olivia; Fernandes, Daniel; Ferry, Matthew; Gamarra, Beatriz; Fortes, Gloria González; Haak, Wolfgang; Harney, Eadaoin; Jones, Eppie; Keating, Denise; Krause-Kyora, Ben; Kucukkalipci, Isil; Michel, Megan; Mittnik, Alissa; Nägele, Kathrin; Novak, Mario; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Patterson, Nick; Pfrengle, Saskia; Sirak, Kendra; Stewardson, Kristin; Vai, Stefania; Alexandrov, Stefan; Alt, Kurt W; Andreescu, Radian; Antonović, Dragana; Ash, Abigail; Atanassova, Nadezhda; Bacvarov, Krum; Gusztáv, Mende Balázs; Bocherens, Hervé; Bolus, Michael; Boroneanţ, Adina; Boyadzhiev, Yavor; Budnik, Alicja; Burmaz, Josip; Chohadzhiev, Stefan; Conard, Nicholas J; Cottiaux, Richard; Čuka, Maja; Cupillard, Christophe; Drucker, Dorothée G; Elenski, Nedko; Francken, Michael; Galabova, Borislava; Ganetsovski, Georgi; Gély, Bernard; Hajdu, Tamás; Handzhyiska, Veneta; Harvati, Katerina; Higham, Thomas; Iliev, Stanislav; Janković, Ivor; Karavanić, Ivor; Kennett, Douglas J; Komšo, Darko; Kozak, Alexandra; Labuda, Damian; Lari, Martina; Lazar, Catalin; Leppek, Maleen; Leshtakov, Krassimir; Vetro, Domenico Lo; Los, Dženi; Lozanov, Ivaylo; Malina, Maria; Martini, Fabio; McSweeney, Kath; Meller, Harald; Menđušić, Marko; Mirea, Pavel; Moiseyev, Vyacheslav; Petrova, Vanya; Price, T Douglas; Simalcsik, Angela; Sineo, Luca; Šlaus, Mario; Slavchev, Vladimir; Stanev, Petar; Starović, Andrej; Szeniczey, Tamás; Talamo, Sahra; Teschler-Nicola, Maria; Thevenet, Corinne; Valchev, Ivan; Valentin, Frédérique; Vasilyev, Sergey; Veljanovska, Fanica; Venelinova, Svetlana; Veselovskaya, Elizaveta; Viola, Bence; Virag, Cristian; Zaninović, Joško; Zäuner, Steve; Stockhammer, Philipp W; Catalano, Giulio; Krauß, Raiko; Caramelli, David; Zariņa, Gunita; Gaydarska, Bisserka; Lillie, Malcolm; Nikitin, Alexey G; Potekhina, Inna; Papathanasiou, Anastasia; Borić, Dušan; Bonsall, Clive; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David

2018-03-08

Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. Here, to understand the dynamics of this process, we analysed genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12000 and 500 bc. We document a west-east cline of ancestry in indigenous hunter-gatherers and, in eastern Europe, the early stages in the formation of Bronze Age steppe ancestry. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe dispersed through southeastern Europe with limited hunter-gatherer admixture, but that some early groups in the southeast mixed extensively with hunter-gatherers without the sex-biased admixture that prevailed later in the north and west. We also show that southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe.

4. International Symposium and Exhibition on Environmental Contamination in Central and Eastern Europe. Symposium Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The Fourth International Symposium and Exhibition on Environmental Contamination in Central and Eastern Europe was part of an on-going series of symposia which focus on the environmental problems of Central and Eastern Europe. The presentations concerned radiological contamination, hazardous waste management, environmental monitoring, modeling and computer applications for environmental studies, site remediation. Many works presented human health effects of environmental pollution by heavy metals, radionuclides and other xenobiotics

Comparison of acoustic regulations for housing and schools in selected countries in Europe and South America – A pilot study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Machimbarrena, Maria; Rasmussen, Birgit

2016-01-01

Acoustic regulations for housing and schools exist in most countries in Europe, the main reasons being protection of health of citizens in their homes and optimizing learning conditions in schools. Comparative studies in Europe have shown a high diversity of descriptors and limit values for acous......Acoustic regulations for housing and schools exist in most countries in Europe, the main reasons being protection of health of citizens in their homes and optimizing learning conditions in schools. Comparative studies in Europe have shown a high diversity of descriptors and limit values...... of requirements. As a pilot study, acoustic regulations in three countries in South America, namely Argentina, Brazil and Chile, have been considered. The findings indicate weaker requirements than typical in Europe, and at both continents there is a joint challenge to review regulatory requirements in those...... includes examples of specific acoustic requirements on airborne and impact sound insulation, noise from traffic and from service equipment for housing and schools and in addition on reverberation time for class rooms and discusses the opportunities for future cooperation on optimizing acoustic regulations....

Churchill, Europe and Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warren Dockter

2016-12-01

Full Text Available From the early 1930s until his peace time premiership (1951-1955, Winston Churchill was one of the strongest advocates of the concept of a United Europe. While this is well known among scholars of 20th century British history, Churchill’s actual vision for what a United Europe might look like has received less attention. Still less attention has been paid to Churchill’s opinions of the roles other nations might play within the new Europe. This article will examine Churchill’s view of Turkey in the new European order and will reveal that Churchill saw Turkey as a part of, (or at least an extension of Europe. However, this article will also reveal that Churchill’s conceptualisation of Turkey’s role was largely predicated on 19th century geostrategic thinking.

Determinants of attitudes to risk in Europeans : an empirical analysis based on Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

OpenAIRE

Madeira, Inês Margarida Pereira

2012-01-01

Mestrado em Finanças Esta tese investiga os determinantes da atitude face ao risco financeiro dos idosos europeus no contexto da Household Finance. Após a análise da literatura relevante, foram testados empiricamente os determinantes da atitude em relação ao risco com base nos dados do Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) 2006/2007 de 14 países (N=17.587 observações de indivíduos entre os 50 e os 86 anos). Várias especificações foram testadas usando a modelação Probit,...

Health Impacts of Active Transportation in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rojas-Rueda, David; de Nazelle, Audrey; Andersen, Zorana J

2016-01-01

Policies that stimulate active transportation (walking and bicycling) have been related to heath benefits. This study aims to assess the potential health risks and benefits of promoting active transportation for commuting populations (age groups 16-64) in six European cities. We conducted a health...... reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the six cities by 1,139 to 26,423 (metric tonnes per year). Policies to promote active transportation may produce health benefits, but these depend of the existing characteristics of the cities. Increased collaboration between health practitioners, transport specialists...... and urban planners will help to introduce the health perspective in transport policies and promote active transportation....

Effects of genotype, environment, and their interactions on honey bee Health in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meixner, Marina D; Kryger, Per; Costa, Cecilia

2015-01-01

There are several reports of honey bee populations in Europe which survive without treatment for Varroa. However, when evaluated outside their native area, higher survival and resistance traits were not observed in colonies of a survivor population. Varroa infestation is strongly influenced by en...

Assessment and prevention of acute health effects of weather conditions in Europe, the PHEWE project: background, objectives, design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anderson Hugh

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The project "Assessment and prevention of acute health effects of weather conditions in Europe" (PHEWE had the aim of assessing the association between weather conditions and acute health effects, during both warm and cold seasons in 16 European cities with widely differing climatic conditions and to provide information for public health policies. Methods The PHEWE project was a three-year pan-European collaboration between epidemiologists, meteorologists and experts in public health. Meteorological, air pollution and mortality data from 16 cities and hospital admission data from 12 cities were available from 1990 to 2000. The short-term effect on mortality/morbidity was evaluated through city-specific and pooled time series analysis. The interaction between weather and air pollutants was evaluated and health impact assessments were performed to quantify the effect on the different populations. A heat/health watch warning system to predict oppressive weather conditions and alert the population was developed in a subgroup of cities and information on existing prevention policies and of adaptive strategies was gathered. Results Main results were presented in a symposium at the conference of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology in Paris on September 6th 2006 and will be published as scientific articles. The present article introduces the project and includes a description of the database and the framework of the applied methodology. Conclusion The PHEWE project offers the opportunity to investigate the relationship between temperature and mortality in 16 European cities, representing a wide range of climatic, socio-demographic and cultural characteristics; the use of a standardized methodology allows for direct comparison between cities.

The new Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, J.

1991-01-01

This article examines the opportunities for business growth in an area of changing social, economic and political climate. The topics include existing political and economic ties, how these ties are evolving, comparisons between east and west, pollution and environmental issues, battery markets in eastern Europe, motive power, standby power, the transition of eastern europe to a market economy, and opportunities for the west

Desertification in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fantechi, R.; Margaris, N.S.

1986-01-01

Desertification in Europe highlights a phenomenon which is widespread in most of Southern Europe. The continuous loss of fertile soil, wind and water erosion, vegetation degradation, droughts and forest fires all contribute to the creation of a potentially alarming situation. If one adds to this list the threat posed by acid rain, and the possibility of a climatic change inducing drier and warmer conditions in areas already heavily affected by degradation of soil and vegetation, the problem of desertification in Europe could be seen as being grave. This book focuses on those processes in which nature and Man cooperate in producing accelerated and irreversible barreness of once fertile soils. One paper discusses the use of short-lived radioisotopes to provide chronologies of sedimentation

Generation in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aveline, Michelle; Mason, Laura.

1994-01-01

Information for this document has been collected from a range of primary sources which include annual reports, strategy statements and company information leaflets. The first part consists of profiles for each of the countries of Western Europe and selected countries in Eastern Europe. In each case an overview of the organization of the electricity industry is given and information where available on interconnections, new projects, ongoing work at existing plant, environmental issues and details of plant and closures. In the second part, details are given of some of the largest power generating companies in Europe listed in alphabetical order. The most up-to-date figures available have been used in all cases and the companies have been invited to comment on the text. (UK)

British American Tobacco's partnership with Earthwatch Europe and its implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

2012-01-01

This paper explores a partnership between British American Tobacco (BAT) and the environmental organisation Earthwatch Europe (EE) and considers its implications for countries implementing Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. We reviewed approximately 100 internal BAT documents, interviewed EE's former executive director and examined media accounts and BAT and EE websites. We analysed materials by reviewing them iteratively, identifying themes, constructing a timeline of events and assembling a case study. BAT sought a partnership with EE to gain a global ally that could provide entrée into the larger non-governmental organisation (NGO) community. EE debated the ethics of working with BAT, resolving them in BAT's favour and taking a narrow view of its own overall organisational mission. To protect its reputation, EE delayed public disclosure of the partnership. Instead, EE promoted it to policy-makers and other NGOs, extending BAT's reputation and reach into influential circles. The potential for normalising the tobacco industry presence within government through NGO partnerships and the benefits that accrued to BAT even when the partnership was not being publicised show why governments seeking to protect effective tobacco control policies from industry influence need to consider ways to identify and discourage 'hidden' NGO partnerships.

Epilepsy priorities in Europe: A report of the ILAE-IBE Epilepsy Advocacy Europe Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Baulac, Michel; de Boer, Hanneke; Elger, Christian; Glynn, Mike; Kälviäinen, Reetta; Little, Ann; Mifsud, Janet; Perucca, Emilio; Pitkänen, Asla; Ryvlin, Philippe

2015-11-01

The European Forum on Epilepsy Research (ERF2013), which took place in Dublin, Ireland, on May 26-29, 2013, was designed to appraise epilepsy research priorities in Europe through consultation with clinical and basic scientists as well as representatives of lay organizations and health care providers. The ultimate goal was to provide a platform to improve the lives of persons with epilepsy by influencing the political agenda of the EU. The Forum highlighted the epidemiologic, medical, and social importance of epilepsy in Europe, and addressed three separate but closely related concepts. First, possibilities were explored as to how the stigma and social burden associated with epilepsy could be reduced through targeted initiatives at EU national and regional levels. Second, ways to ensure optimal standards of care throughout Europe were specifically discussed. Finally, a need for further funding in epilepsy research within the European Horizon 2020 funding programme was communicated to politicians and policymakers participating to the forum. Research topics discussed specifically included (1) epilepsy in the developing brain; (2) novel targets for innovative diagnostics and treatment of epilepsy; (3) what is required for prevention and cure of epilepsy; and (4) epilepsy and comorbidities, with a special focus on aging and mental health. This report provides a summary of recommendations that emerged at ERF2013 about how to (1) strengthen epilepsy research, (2) reduce the treatment gap, and (3) reduce the burden and stigma associated with epilepsy. Half of the 6 million European citizens with epilepsy feel stigmatized and experience social exclusion, stressing the need for funding trans-European awareness campaigns and monitoring their impact on stigma, in line with the global commitment of the European Commission and with the recommendations made in the 2011 Written Declaration on Epilepsy. Epilepsy care has high rates of misdiagnosis and considerable variability in

Health and social inequities in Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diderichsen, Finn

1990-01-01

Sweden is one of Europe's most egalitarian countries. The social inequities in living conditions have been gradually reduced to a level that is more equal than in most countries in Europe. Even if general health development has been positive during recent years, data reviewed here indicate...... that there may be adverse effects for some groups which may increase inequities. This article presents results on inequities in health from the Public Health Report of Sweden 1987 and discusses causal mechanisms and implications for health policy....

Putting Petri nets to work in Industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aalst, van der W.M.P.

1994-01-01

Petri nets exist for over 30 years. Especially in the last decade Petri nets have been put into practive extensively. Thanks to several useful extensions and the availability of computer tools, Petri nets have become a mature tool for modelling and analysing industrial systems. This paper describes

Big meeting puts the case for LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

It was a workshop on a scale to match the ultimate goal. When some 500 physicists met in Aachen, Germany, in October to put the research case for the proposed Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the turnout was among the biggest attendances of the year

Pharmaceutical regulation in Europe and its impact on corporate R&D.

Science.gov (United States)

Eger, Stephan; Mahlich, Jörg C

2014-12-01

Many European countries regulate the markets for prescription drugs in order to cope with rising health expenditures. On the other hand, regulation distorts incentives to invest in pharmaceutical R&D. This study aims at empirically assessing the impact of regulation on pharmaceutical R&D expenditures. We analyze a sample of 20 leading pharmaceutical companies between 2000 and 2008. The share of sales in Europe serves as a proxy for the degree of pharmaceutical regulation. We control for other firm specific determinants of R&D such as cash flow, company size, leverage ratio, growth rate, and Tobin's q. Our results suggest a nonlinear relationship between European sales ratio and R&D intensity. Beyond a threshold of 33% of sales generated in Europe, a higher presence in Europe is associated with lower R&D investments. The results can be interpreted as further evidence of the deteriorating effect of regulation on firm's incentives to invest in R&D.

Putting to a bigger hole: Golf performance relates to perceived size

Science.gov (United States)

Witt, Jessica K.; Linkenauger, Sally A.; Bakdash, Jonathan Z.; Proffitt, Dennis R.

2011-01-01

When engaged in a skilled behaviour such as occurs in sports, people's perceptions relate optical information to their performance. In current research we demonstrate the effects of performance on size perception in golfers. We found golfers who played better judged the hole to be bigger than golfers who did not play as well (Study 1). In follow-up laboratory experiments, participants putted on a golf mat from a location near or far from the hole then judged the size of the hole. Participants who putted from the near location perceived the hole to be bigger than participants who putted from the far location. Our results demonstrate that perception is influenced by the perceiver's current ability to act effectively in the environment. PMID:18567258

COMMUNITY HEALTH & PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A nation's disease control effort is often as good as the surveillance and notification system put in place, .... Department. Community Health. 11. 4.9. Dentistry. 28. 12.5. Family Medicine. 14 .... formal training and a posting in the Infection control.

Putting Knowledge to Work: Collaborating, Influencing and Learning ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2017-02-15

Feb 15, 2017 ... Download PDF ... Putting Knowledge to Work explores how the brains of such ... She previously worked with Statistics Canada, Graybridge Malkam, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Human Resources and Skills ...

Uses of cancer registries for public health and clinical research in Europe: Results of the European Network of Cancer Registries survey among 161 population-based cancer registries during 2010–2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siesling, Sabine; Louwman, W.J.; Kwast, A.; van den Hurk, C.J.G.; O'Callaghan, M.; Rosso, S.; Zanetti, R.; Storm, H.; Comber, H.; Steliarova-Foucher, E.; Coebergh, J.W.W.

2015-01-01

Aim To provide insight into cancer registration coverage, data access and use in Europe. This contributes to data and infrastructure harmonisation and will foster a more prominent role of cancer registries (CRs) within public health, clinical policy and cancer research, whether within or outside the

Assessment and economic valuation of air pollution impacts on human health over Europe and the United States as calculated by a multi-model ensemble in the framework of AQMEII3

Science.gov (United States)

The impact of air pollution on human health and the associated external costs in Europe and the United States (US) for the year 2010 are modeled by a multi-model ensemble of regional models in the frame of the third phase of the Air Quality Modelling Evaluation International Init...

THE IDIOM OF KRIVI PUT KOD SENJA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ankica Čilaš Šimpraga

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The idiom of Krivi Put kod Senja is part of West-Štokavian dialect. The basics of phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical characteristics of idiom are considered in this article. Research confirmed common features with idioms of Bunjevo beyond Velebit’s part of hinterland of Senj.

The perpetual American put option for jump-diffusions with applications

OpenAIRE

Aase, Knut K.

2005-01-01

In this paper, we solve an optimal stopping problem with an infinite time horizon, when the state variable follows a jump-diffusion. Under certain conditions our solution can be interpreted as the price of an American perpetual put option, when the underlying asset follows this type of process. We present several examples demonstrating when the solution can be interpreted as a perpetual put price. This takes us into a study of how to risk adjust jump-diffusions. One key observatio...