The European Region had 15% of its population 65 years old or older and nearly 7% 75 or over in 2000, the world’s highest percentages. By 2030 these figures will increase to 24% and 12% respectively. The effect on health care will be amplified by a disproportionate increase in dementia, and depression,...
Older people make up a large and increasing percentage of the population. As people grow older they are increasingly at risk of falling and consequent injuries. A fall may be the first indication of an undetected illness. The prevention of falls is of major importance because they engender considerable m...
Depression is a common health care problem and is largely managed in primary care, with little or no specialist input from secondary care services. The quality of care is often low, with poor recognition of the condition, inadequate prescription, poor compliance with medication and poor provision and upt...
Injury is a serious public health problem in Europe, with the greatest burden on the young, the older people, and those living in the most deprived circumstances. However, it is largely unappreciated as a significant public health problem. Injuries are not inevitable – they can be prevented or controll...
Chronic diseases account for most of the burden of disease in the European Region. Although there are effective interventions for the management of various chronic conditions, there are also wide practice variations in the delivery of care. DMPs are one of the measures intended to address this situation....
Measurement is central to the concept of quality improvement; it provides a means to define what hospitals actually do, and to compare that with the original targets in order to identify opportunities for improvement....
Many countries have decided to reduce the number of hospital beds. Some have succeeded by making a sustained investment in alternative facilities, but some have been so successful that they now face shortages, meaning growing waiting lists and difficulties in admitting acutely ill patients. Other countri...
Antenatal care, also known as prenatal care, is the complex of interventions that a pregnant woman receives from organized health care services. The number of different interventions in antenatal care is large. These interventions may be provided in approximately 12-16 antenatal care visits during a preg...
Ensuring the safety of patients and personnel and improving quality have become important objectives for national health systems in developed and developing countries alike, in response to research highlighting poor quality, increasing patient expectations, and media reports. There is a general belief, s...
Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable premature death in the world today, claiming 1.6 million lives per year in the European Region, with 2 million projected by 2020. Although tobacco deaths are on the rise globally, in some places control policies have managed to reduce smoking. Millions of peo...
