Ageing and Older People

EPHA Briefing Note on the Open Method of Coordination and health

In March 2000 at the European Council in Lisbon, European Member States adopted a new method to co-ordinate their policies.
This new model known as the ’Open Method of Coordination’ (OMC), is based on a process of policy exchanges and mutual learning. The OMC has been used since 2006 in the area of long term care.
The European Commission wants to extend this voluntary tool to other social and health topics, such as nutrition, alcohol, and the achievement of the objectives of the (...)

Healthy Ageing Project: Concluding Conference

The final conference project of the Healthy Ageing project coordinated by the Swedish National institute of Public Health (SNIPH) and EuroHealthNet, an EPHA member, took place on 26 June 2007 in Brussels.
By 2025 about one third of Europe’s population will be aged 60 years and over. This three year project (2004-2007) aims to promote healthy ageing among people aged 50 years and over. The Healthy ageing “is the process of optimising opportunities for physical, social and mental health (...)

EPHA Briefing on Mental Health

Mental health problems constitute the greatest burden of disease after cardiovascular diseases in Europe.
One in four Europeans will experience mental ill health issue at some time in their lives and more people commit suicide in the EU than suffer car accidents or murder. However, service provision is often inadequate and does not give people the help that they need.
The economic cost of mental health problems in the EU is conservatively estimated to be 3-4% of the gross national product (...)

Exploring the links between health and socio-economic status

Tamsin Rose, EPHA’s General Secretary, gave a presentation as part of a two days conference titled "Social Policy Agenda 2006-2010: What Future for European Social Policy?" organised by the Social Platform on 20-21 October 2004 in Brussels.
Speakers included ministers, members of the European Parliament, government officials, members of the Commission agencies, Commission officials and NGO representatives.
The first day of the conference, the Social Platform presented two main documents: (...)

Briefing note on the Open Method of Coordination (OMC)

The ’Open Method of Coordination’ or OMC is a new mechanism of policy development at EU level. Initially used for social protection issues, the European Council has decided to extend the OMC to health and longterm care.
The OMC is an instrument which involves ’soft law’ and the setting of targets and indicators on health. This is an opportunity for NGO advocacy and to track progress made by governments towards health goals.
The EPHA Secretariat has developed a briefing note on the OMC and (...)

Conference on health and EU internal market

During the Dutch Presidency, there will be an informal Health Council on 9-10 September 2004 which will focus on the theme of the ’Health and the Internal Market’.
In connection with the Health Council, a major international conference is being organised in the Hague, Netherlands on 7-9 September 2004. Entitled Shaping the EU Health Community: Balancing Health, Social Development and Internal Market it is being organised by the Netherlands Institute for Care and Welfare (NIZW).
EPHA is a (...)

Mental health for every age group

Mental Health Europe launched the results of one of its projects at a press conference on 8 July in the European Parliament.
The EU-funded project, "Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Strategies for Coping with Anxiety, Depression and stress-Related Disorders in Europe" was been carried out by a consortium of three sectors, each being responsible of one section of the life-cycle (Mental Health Europe: children, adolescents and young people, FIOSH: Working Adults, STAKES: Older People). (...)

Primer on Environment and Health in Europe published

The Health and Environment Primer provides an introduction to European environmental health policy. The booklet sketches out basic environmental health concepts and maps out recent developments in the environment and health arena. It covers European policy developments in an accessible and approachable text that combines history with information about relevant organisations and web-page references. The primer is a resource to aid people can refer to find out about the important environment (...)

Two Voice Mobility awards to local communities

The Voice project has given two awards for local communities or projects dedicated to promote the needs of disabled persons and improving road safety around schools.
The Voice project has given a Mobility award to Neil Betteridge, as chairman and representative of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), for their work to promote the needs of disabled persons in the UK and to ensure that they have access to all modes of transport.
The second Voice Mobility award goes to (...)

Road Safety Award to a small town in England

The Voice project, of which EPHA is a partner, presented its annual award to promote good practice to protect vulnerable road users to Rob Tinlin, the mayor of Southen-on-Sea, on the Southern coast of England.
This award grants the efforts to promote road safety in the city. Mr Tinlin has particularly procured public-private partnership for investment in various infrastructure measures, including several designed for vulnerable road users.
Related awards
Road Safety award to car (...)

WHO comments on the health effects of extreme weather events

Experts say the factors behind France’s heat wave this summer are common in Europe and North America - and higher temperatures linked to global warming mean a similar disaster could easily happen again.
"We have to recognize that in the next years and decades, these episodes of heat waves will even be more frequent, sometimes even more severe", said Roberto Bertollini, an environmental health expert with the World Health Organization.
The country is far from fully figuring out why so many (...)

Upcoming three Presidencies and their focus on health, 2008-2011

The future French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies released their draft 18-month programme. This article outlines their priorities on health as mentioned in the draft programme. In the programme, the three Presidencies commit to actively promote work in the public health area, with the aim to contribute to a high level of health for all citizens.
EU action can bring added value to patients and health systems alike, especially in the context of increasing mobility. Patients’ safety and the (...)

The German presidency focuses on families

The German presidency has prioritised ’families’ during its presidency with two initiative: a Communication on ’promoting solidarity between generations’ and the launch of an Alliance for Families.
According to the Communication, support to families is key to reach the Lisbon Agenda and meet the demographic challenges.
Therefore the European Commission seeks to assess how families can be best supported to have the number of children they desire. It emphasises the importance of gender (...)

The European Commission calls time on the demographic bomb

On 12 October 2006, The Commission published a Communication on "The Demographic future of Europe - from challenge to opportunity" in a bid to address the issues associated with an ageing population.
Europeans are living longer and having fewer children, a situation which could reduce the European population by 48 million between now and 2050. Falling birth rates and raising life expectancy are just two of the reasons behind European demographic changes which are expected to have major (...)

*UPDATED* The Health Priorities of the Finnish Presidency for 2006

After Austria, Finland will hold the rotating presidency of the European Union between July and December 2006.
Future Presidencies of the European Union
Both countries agreed on common issues that require their joint attention, but also set out their specificities: Helsinki plans to target the impact of other policies on health, active ageing and health in the working life.
Finland’s main themes: a healthy workforce and health in all policies (...)

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions’ priorities 2006

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has recently issued its work programme for 2006.
This workplan is part of the four-year work programme for 2005-2008, entitled ¨Changing Europe: Better work, bettre life¨. Within this framework, four issues have been prioritised: employment, work-life balance, industrial relations and partnership, and social cohesion
Access to good quality jobs for all workers will be the central theme for 2006.
As regard to (...)

Health Council discusses OMC in healthcare

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council met on the 4th October 2004 in Luxemburg.
Health and long-term care
The Council endorsed the Opinion of the Social Protection Committee on the Commission’s Communication regarding the application of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) to health and long term care.
The Commission Communication proposed the following common objectives for the development and modernisation of health care provision and funding: (...)

Informal Health Council - "Healthcare in an Ageing Society - a Challenge for all European Countries"

An Informal Health Council convened on 9 and 10 September in Noordwijk to discuss the impact of population ageing on the affordability, accessibility and quality of European healthcare systems. The Informal Council did not arrive at binding decisions but its findings will provide a direction for further action.
EU Health Ministers have agreed, among other things, on the necessity to stimulate evidence-based policies towards chronic diseases, promote upstream prevention strategies as well (...)

Dutch Presidency releases report on health in Europe

The Dutch Presidency has released a publication on health in Europe entitled ’How do we do?’. The document provides health data and examples from across the EU but with special reference to the Netherlands.
This booklet looks at health in the EU from a Dutch perspective. If possible, data is presented for the new EU and compared to the Netherlands. Chapter one deals with aspects of health status. Chapter two focuses on determinants of health. The third chapter is dedicated to (...)

Commission launches new initiatives for cooperation on healthcare

The European Commission has launched a response to the High Level Reflection Process on Patient Mobility aimed at clarifying health rights in Europe.
Although healthcare is a national responsibility according to the EU Treaty, there are a number of common challenges, such as the ageing society, increased needs and demands from citizens and rapid technological change. The Commission’s proposals include efforts to promote practical co-operation on the access to healthcare in another Member (...)

Blair, Chirac and Schroeder’s vision of health in Europe !

Chirac, Schroeder and Blair met on 16 February 2004 and set forward their ideas on how to make the EU more competitive. Specifically they called for a ’Super commissioner’ whose job would be to cut red tape and ensure that all EU legislation is checked for its impact and cost to business before it is approved. The big 3 summit also included the health ministers who discussed healthcare reform.
The three leaders sent an open letter to the Irish Prime Minster as President of the EU with (...)

ECJ Judgement on Pensions

In June 2003 the European Court of Justice issued a judgement on pensions:
Case C-422/01, 26/06/2003, on pension insurance taken out with a company in another Member State

Mainstreaming Healthy Ageing

EPHA are organising an event on 14 October 2008 from 8.45 - 12.00 alongside the AGE platform, Claude Moraes MEP and Lambert van Nistelrooj MEP.
The event will touch on the EU Health Strategy, adequate use of medicines, Information to Patients,quality of long term care and the prevention of elder abuse, achieving the objectives of the renewed social agenda and the draft Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. The event is aimed at bringing the issues facing our ageing (...)

EuroFound Report "Working conditions of an ageing workforce"

EuroFound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has just published a new Report on the Working conditions of an ageing workforce.
This Report on the Working conditions of an ageing workforce is written by Villosio, Claudia; Di Pierro, Dario; Giordanengo, Alessandro; Pasqua, Paolo; Richiardi, Matteo.
Abstract
The report highlights four factors which are key to shaping the age structure of Europe’s workforce: ensuring career and employment (...)

The Royal College of Physicians issues "Osteoarthritis"

The Royal College of Physicians issued a new publication entitled "Osteoarthritis" that provides guidelines for care and management of osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and one of the leading causes of pain and disability. Frequently described as ’wear and tear’ its symptoms vary from minimal to severe pain and stiffness and its prevalence increases steadily with age.
OA is responsible for considerable morbidity and is a common reason for medical (...)

International Day of Older Persons and Mental Health – October 2007

The United Nations celebrated the International Day of Older Persons on 1 October 2007 with the theme of "Improving the life quality of older people". The World Health Organisation(WHO) also launched the WHO Global Age-friendly Cities Guide and organised several events around the world.
The WHO 10 October 2007 has marked the fifteenth annual commemoration of World Mental Health Day. The theme of this year, “Mental Health in a Changing World: The impact of Culture and Diversity”, (...)

Why do Europeans participate in civil society? A Eurofound report

Based on the 2003 European Quality of Life Survey, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) has published a more in depth report regarding Europeans’ participation in civil society.
The report entitled "First European Quality of Life Survey: Participation in civil society", provides an analysis of why some people are engaged in civil society and why others are not.
According to the report a total of 95% of Europeans participate in either (...)

Report - "Employment in social care in Europe"

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions recently published a report entitled "Employment in social care in Europe".
The report is the fruit of the Foundation’s research project of the same name.
The research is particularly pertinent in the context of the ageing population and workforce. Faced with the challenge of an ageing population in the European Union, there is growing concern about the supply of suitably qualified care workers. Low pay, low (...)

Illness, disability and social inclusion

The development of policies and the delivery of services to promote the social inclusion of people with a chronic physical or mental illness or disability are crucial steps in achieving a more inclusive society.
The recently published report by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, examines how to drive this process forward. It reviews the nature and scale of the problems facing different groups and identifies policy initiatives in employment, (...)

EU finance ministers agree on the necessity to improve social welfare spending and reform the IMF

European Union finance ministers recently agreed on the necessity to improve health care, welfare and pensions to afford Europe’s generous social safety net in future. The EU nations also agreed on reforms to the European International Monetary Fund (IMF)
European Union finance ministers talked about the possibility of reforming social welfare systems with Europe’s workers facing a growing burden from pensions and health care costs of older people.
There is a need to improve health care, (...)

EMEA kicks off the implementation process of the Paediatric Regulation

EMEA has updated its website with practical information and templates to facilitate compliance with the Paediatric Regulation with respect to Paediatric Investigation Plans.
As part of its implementation of the Paediatric Regulation that came into force in the European Union on 26 January 2007, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has now made the following information available:
Templates to use when applying for a paediatric investigation plan, deferral or waiver.
Information on (...)

The rights of disabled people gain recognition at EU and international levels

The rights of people with disabilities have gained the attention of both the European Parliament and the United Nations. The EP has issued a report on the situation of disabled people in the EU. and welcomes the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including their right to a high standard of health.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
This new human rights treaty is due to be signed by the EU Member countries. The UN Convention on the Rights of (...)

What are the leading causes of death in the EU?

A report by the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, illustrates mortality data by cause for the Member States of the European Union. It also indicates that the leading cause of death differs greatly between the 25 Member States at national and regional levels.
According to statistics:
two thirds of deaths in the EU are caused by circulatory diseases and cancer.
Heart attacks, strokes and other circulatory diseases account for 41% of all deaths.
Cancer is responsible for 25% of all (...)

A website for a safe and healthy workplace

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has launched a website to provide both employers and employees with information about how to make a safer and healthier work environment.
The Healthy Workplace Initiative" (HWI) gathers information about risk assessment tools and already addresses the inclusion of people with disabilities, the prevention of biological hazards and the prevention of harrassement and violence on the workplace.
The project wants to present practical information (...)

International Conference on mental health and social inclusion in Athens

Under the auspices of the World Health Organisation and Mental Health Europe, an international conference on “Social inclusion in Europe: Perspectives and developments in social psychiatry, care for the mentally handicapped and the elderly” will take place from the 7 to 9 June 2006 in Athens.
Organised by the Asklepios European Foundation, the conference will discuss the progress of the psychiatric reform in Europe, present best practices in social inclusion and propose (...)

New projections on the impact of ageing on public expenditure in the EU25

A new report published by the European Commission provides a detailed description of the projections on age-related expenditure covering pensions, health care, long-term care, education and unemployment transfers for EU25 Member States for the period 2004 to 2050.
The projections, prepared by the EC Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs and the EPC Working Group on Ageing Populations on the basis of commonly agreed assumptions, describe in detail the potential economic (...)

EU Health and Safety agency 2005 priorities: end of year review

In 2005 the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao set out to tackle noise and the impact on workers’ hearing, and the link with stress and accidents.
Other priorities were emerging risks, safety and health awareness in the new Member States, protecting young workers and the occupational safety and health implications of Europe’s ageing workforce.
Major information initiatives included:
A Europe-wide information campaign focusing on the risks of excessive noise at work (...)

Evaluating healthcare expenditures : first results of the AHEAD Project

The first results of a three-year project aimed to evaluate the links between reported healthcare expenditures and the use of medical services were presented by the European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes (ENEPRI) and the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
Entitled AHEAD (Ageing, Health Status and Determinants of Health Expenditure), the project’s main objectives are:
to assess factors that trigger health spending in the EU, with a particular focus on ageing, (...)

Tackling demographic changes - EPHA response to the Commission consultation

European society is going grey and if current trends continue by 2030 there will 18 million fewer children and young people than today. Longer lifespans and lower fertility rates will have a major impact on the demographics of Europe.
The Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission issued a Green Paper entitled "Faced with demographic change, a new solidarity between the generations".
The document shows that from now until 2030 the (...)

Conference: Confronting demographic change

To support the debate initiated by the Green Paper, DG Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission organised a two days conference entitled "Confronting demographic change: a new solidarity between the generations" which brought together ministers, members of parliament, social partners, NGOs and independent experts. The conference took place on the 11 and 12 July 2005 in Brussels.
The debate focused on the social policy responses that are needed in areas such as family policy, (...)

EU showcases research on nutrition and ageing

A workshop entitled "research on nutrition and ageing" organised by the European Commission, took place in Brussels on 29 and 30 November.
The event comprised presentations of three European research projects funded by the EU.
LIPIDIET examines how specific dietary lipids could prevent Alzheimer’s disease
OPTIFORD investigates whether a better supply of dietary vitamin D would reduce osteoporosis
CROWNALIFE assesses the possibilities for functional foods to fulfil the specific needs of (...)

Chronic Illness and Job Retention

On 19 November 2004, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions organised a workshop in Brussels to present the findings of their report "Employment and disability - return to work strategies".
The study, which analyses data and policies of seven EU Member States and the EU, shows how OECD countries spend at least twice as much on disability-related programmes as on unemployment programmes.
14% of the working age population (EU15) report a long-standing (...)

Uncovering the links between ageing and poverty

A study commissioned by DG Employment and Social Affairs suggests that ageing populations may lead to an increase in income inequality and poverty in the EU. The report entitled ’Unequal Welfare States. Distributive Consequences of Population Ageing in six European Countries’ says that member states can limit the impact by hitting the Lisbon Agenda’s employment targets.
The report looked at ageing’s potential impact in six European countries (Netherlands, Germany, France, (...)

4 simple steps to longer, healthier life

New European research shows that for older people that risk of death can be cut by 60 % through the single and combined effect of :
a Mediterranean diet,
being physically active,
moderate alcohol use
nonsmoking.
The data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that following these four basic health measures results in 50% lower rate of all-causes and cause-specific mortality.
The demographic pattern of Europe is changing. Increases in life expectancy mean (...)

Catalogue of recomendations on palliative care

The European Federation of Older Persons (EURAG ) has initiated the project "Making Palliative Care a Priority Topic on the European Health Agenda".
In collaboration with Palliative Care experts Dr. Johann Baumgartner and Dr. Markus Narath (both from the University of Graz, Austria) and with active involvement and consultation of a series of leading Palliative Care experts at European level, EURAG has worked out a Catalogue of Recommendations.
This catalogue was presented at the Conference (...)

MEPs emphasize the importance of healthcare

On 11 March 2004, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will debate an own-initiative report on health care and the care of the elderly.
The report was drawn up by Karin JÖNS (PES, D) as a response to the Commission Communication The future of health care and care for the elderly: guaranteeing accessibility, quality and financial viability, COM(2001) 774.
MEPs will debate the report’s recommendations on the role for the EU in supporting Member States’ strategies for health care. (...)

Conference to raise the profile of palliative care in Europe

The European Federation of Older Persons (EURAG) is organising a conference in Brussels on 23 January 2003 entitled ’Making palliative care a priority on the European health agenda’.
Presentations include case studies from Ireland and Spain, experience from the WHO and Council of Europe and a status report on palliative care in several European countries. Other discussions topics include ethical considerations and recommendations on palliative care.
For more information and to (...)

Promoting older workers: a greater focus on health and safety

The 15th edition of the European Commission’s Employment in Europe report, published in early October 2003, presents a panorama of recent developments in European labour markets. This is the report integrate accesscion countries into the analysis. The report highlights the EU’s commitment to increase the number of older people in work to 50 %(the Stockholm target) and to raise the age at which people retire by 5 years (the Barcelona target). Statistics in 2001 show that the average (...)

Healthy ageing - add your contribution to the debate!

In September 2003, the website EurActiv on European affairs launched a discussion on "Healthy Ageing". They have published a "LinksDossier" on this subject, to which they are expecting contributions.
The questions are:
What are the most important public policy issues that affect the healthy ageing of Europeans?
What measures do you think are necessary to address the challenges of Europe’s ageing population?
What in your view are the most important factors in promoting good health? (...)

Commission Communication on Social policy

The Commission has adopted a proposal which aims to improve, simplify and make more visible the EU’s work in co-ordinating Member States’ social protection policies - pensions, social inclusion and combating poverty, healthcare and care for the elderly, social security systems and how they encourage people to work (’making work pay’).
The document highlights the increasing inter-relationship of healthcare systems of EU Member States and the need to address the European dimension of social (...)

ECJ ruling on pensioners seeking reimbursement for medical treatment

On 3 July 2003 the European Court of Justice ruled in the case of two Dutch pensioners who had retired and lived in other European countries but had returned to Holland for medical treatment and requested reimbursement from the Dutch sickness funds. The ruling of the court stated the following principle:
The Court holds that once a pensioner and the members of his or her family have registered with the competent institution of the Member State of residence, they benefit, by virtue of the (...)

Consultation on The Future of European Research on Ageing

Please find below an invitation letter and registration form to the User Consultation Conference, organised by the European Forum on Population Ageing Research, to be held on the 2nd June 2003 in Brussels.
The aim of this meeting is to discuss the recommendations for European research on ageing that emerged from the first set of scientific workshops on Quality of Life, Health and Care Management and Genetics, Longevity and Demography. The project has been working closely with European (...)

World NGO Forum on Ageing

The report of the World NGO Forum on Ageing has been finished. The Forum took place in Madrid from 5 to 9 April 2002 in parallel to the UN World Assembly on Ageing.
The report (both in English and Spanish) is a useful tool which provides the list of activities carried out as well as the list of participants in the Forum, and information on the preparatory process. It also provides brief notes on the outcomes of the many (...)

EP’s Intergroup on Ageing: "For a Better Coherence on Ageing Issues"

On 11th of March, the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Ageing successfully re-launched its activities with a meeting dedicated to the preparation of the Spring Summit 2003.
Around 20 MEPs were present to hear presentations and to discuss on the Commission’s proposals on pensions and employment of older workers. At the end of the meeting, MEPs adopted a statement to the Spring Summit, which stresses the need for a coherent approach on ageing issues at EU level and a better mainstreaming (...)

Parliament Discussed Health Care and Care for the Elderly

On 15 January, the Parliament adopted a position on the Commission Communication discussing future trends and costs for health care in light of an ageing EU population.
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+PRESS+DN-20030115-1+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&LEVEL=2&NAV=S#SECTION8
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=EN&OBJID=10259&LEVEL=2&MODE=SIP&NAV=X&LSTDOC=N

Rising health costs put pressure on public finances

According to OECD Health Data 2006, health spending continues to rise in OECD countries, growing faster than GDP in every OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - country (except Finland) between 1990 and 2004.
In most OECD countries, the bulk of healthcare costs is financed through taxes, with 73% of health spending on average publicly funded in 2004. Ensuring sustainable financing of health systems is therefore critical for governments, as health spending as a share (...)

WHO reveals the economic cost of interpersonal violence

A WHO report reveals that violence devastates lives and also imposes major economic costs on societies around the world, some of which spend more than 4% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on dealing with violence-related injuries.
The economic dimensions of interpersonal violence, compiles currently available information on the costs of violence against children, women and the elderly and among young people, including information on the cost-effectiveness of preventing violence.
1.6 (...)

OECD 2004 forum addresses health and finance

The OECD Forum 2004 is entitled ’Health of nations’ and will tackle some of the key issues on the international policy agenda, such as the health of the global economy, the health of multilateral co-operation and the health of our citizens.
Themes include human rights and health, ageing, equity of access to healthcare, sustainable development and communicable diseases. Speakers include health and finance ministers from OECD countries, senior WTO, EU and OECD officials.
The forum will be (...)

Most prescription drugs only work in 30-50 % of cases !

A senior executive with Britain’s biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.
Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them.
Speaking to a conference in London, Dr Roses referred to another study carried out by Brian Spear, a senior scientist at the US company Abbott (...)