Health literacy is gaining increasing attention as a means of promoting health. This evidence synthesis describes health literacy policies in the WHO European Region: their distribution, organizational levels, antecedents, actors, activities and outcomes, along with the factors influencing their effectiv...
The WHO European Region has faced high rates of external and internal migration in recent years, with concerns that this is contributing to the burden of tuberculosis (TB), multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and TB/HIV coinfection in some countries. This report examines evidence of effective and efficient s...
Intercultural mediators are employed to resolve linguistic and cultural barriers in a variety of health-care contexts. This report examines the main roles performed by intercultural mediators in health care across the WHO European Region and analyses evidence on their effectiveness in improving accessibi...
The provision of effective health care to linguistically and culturally diverse migrant populations has been identified as a crucial public health issue. This scoping review examines strategies that have been implemented and evaluated to address communication barriers experienced by refugees and migrants...
For many people, the hospital has come to
symbolize the modern health care system.
Yet in many countries, the role of the acute
hospital is changing, with an emphasis on
outpatient diagnosis and treatment as well as
alternatives to long-term hospital care, leading to reductions in numbers of hospital
bed...
There has been a dramatic upsurge of
entrepreneurialism in health care systems in
Europe, spurred by interests in better
efficiency and quality. The characteristics of
entrepreneurial behaviour include seeking
opportunity, promoting innovation, and
genuine accountability. However, experience
so far indic...
Mental health problems account for approximately 20% of the total burden of
ill health in Europe (WHO, 2004a). This estimate of burden is just the tip of the
iceberg; what makes mental health almost unique is the broad impact it can
have on all aspects of life, including physical health, family relations...
This policy brief provides a review of current information and issues relating to cross-border health care in Europe. Following an overview of current patterns of patient mobility, the policy brief looks in turn at the legal framework for mobility, the financial implications, approaches to quality monito...
Health systems have developed at different speeds, and with differing degrees
of complexity throughout the twentieth century, reflecting the diverse political
and social conditions in each country.
Notwithstanding their diversity, all systems, however, share a common reason
for their existence, namely th...
Hospitals are a key component of the health
care system and are central to the process of
health system reform, but as institutions they
have received remarkably little attention from
policy-makers and researchers. They have
long been regarded as “a black box”’ whose
workings are impenetrable. But ...
