Governments are searching for ways to improve the equity, efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness of their health systems. In recent years there has been an acceptance of the important role of primary health care in helping to achieve these aims. However, there have been no systematic reviews on pr...
Over the last 20 years the level of private spending on health care has risen in many western European countries, leading to concern about its impact. The main channels of private spending are private health insurance policies and cost-sharing schemes in public health systems....
Europe plays a significant role in the production, trade and consumption of alcoholic beverages; it also carries a heavy social and economic burden of alcohol-related problems. Alcohol consumption is estimated to be responsible for about 10% of the total disease burden, increasing the risk of liver cirrh...
Prostate cancer is a major cause of death among men, with over 56,000 deaths in the European Union in 1998. There are no obvious preventive strategies, therefore screening has been considered to reduce the number of deaths. Opportunistic screening is widely carried out but there are no known national pro...
Suicide is a serious public health problem in the European Region, where rates vary from about 40 per million people (in Greece) to about 400 per million (in Hungary). Suicide rates among adolescents and young adults have also increased considerably over the last decades. Many widely-used suicide prevent...
Ageing populations are characteristic of many countries. The pattern of disease at the end of life is changing and more people are living with serious chronic circulatory and respiratory diseases as well as with cancer. More people will need help at the end of life, in a social context of changing family...
The vast majority of older people wish to remain living in their own homes. Furthermore, institutional care is costly. Consequently there are social and economic imperatives to prevent ill health and disability in older people and enable them to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Home visitin...
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...
