Mental Health

This conference, jointly organised by DG SANCO, the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Spanish Presidency of the EU was the third thematic event under the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being. EPHA participated in the conference which took place on 28-29 June 2010 in Madrid.
The conference identified several horizontal issues needed for consideration in order to improve the mental health and well-being of older people :
ageing starts at birth and it is (...)

During the joint EPHA/ASPHER conference "Public health in Hungary and the EU" on 18-19 May in Debrecen (Hungary), EPHA’s Policy Officer for Global Health Threats Dorota Sienkiewicz contributed a presentation entitled "Mental health in Hungary - what role for Europe ?". The aim was to raise a sense of urgency for mental health issues in Hungary, both in the framework of civil society advocacy work and public health education.
After having clarified how mental health takes part in a public (...)

AGE Platform Europe has issued a position paper on the mental health and well-being of older people to contribute to the Spanish presidency conference on "Mental Health and Well-being among Older People".
AGE Platform Europe’s position paper highlights actions to be taken at EU and national levels to improve the mental health of older people.
These actions particularly focus on :
Mental Health promotion
Mental disorders prevention
Older people in vulnerable situation
Informal carers (...)

Oana Antonescu MEP (EPP-Romania) and Dr. Peter Liese MEP (EPP-Germany) hosted an event in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Alzheimer’s Disease. The event was held within the framework of the European Parliament’s work on the topic, and both MEPs recognised the importance of research and policy to respond to the increasing prevalence of the disease and the new challenges resulting from an ageing European population.
A wide range of issues for both patients and carers were addressed (...)

On November 30, 2009 Mental Health Europe hosted its annual awareness-raising event in the European Parliament, and EPHA was able to attend. The theme, "Poverty and Mental Health : a Human Rights Perspective" was tied to the European Year 2010 for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. MHE hosted the event to raise awareness about the link between poverty and mental health, to highlight the human rights perspective, and to urge MEPs to take these issues into consideration.
A Human Right’s (...)

The Swedish Presidency, in cooperation with the European Commission, hosted a thematic conference on mental health and well-being among young people. The conference was the first in a series, to be organised in the framework of the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being. EPHA was invited to participate in this conference along with a number of our member organisations.
The objectives of the conference were as follows :
Raise visibility about the importance of promoting mental health (...)

In recognition of the shared health and social challenges associated with mental ill health, the Commission has adopted a Communication on a European Initiative on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The Commisison has also produced a Proposal for a Council Recommendation on measures to combat neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s.
These concrete proposals, published on 22 July 2009, represent a call for coordinated European action to ensure efficient prevention, (...)

The need for a gendered approach to tackling mental health issues among the population was the focus of a workshop held at the West Midlands in Europe office on 13 May 2009. Speakers emphasised the fact that men and women often suffer from different mental health disorders and called for public health policy to address this in order to reduce this burden in Europe.
Background
The workshop took place in the wider context of the Mental Health Pact, an initiative supported by Commissioners (...)

The European Pact for Mental Health launched the 13 June 2008, calling for partnership in action.
At the High Level Conference on Mental Health in Brussels on 13 June, Commissioner for Health Androulla Vassilou launched a new pact for mental health. The pact is the fruit of collaboration between the European Commission, the Slovenian Presidency and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. The Pact aims to develop commonly supported recommendations in five areas :
Prevention (...)

A recent study found that happy people may have a lower risk of disease.
Recently, researchers concluded that people with positive mental attitudes display different responses to stress. The findings correlated with similar studies saying that the same people are at a less likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes and depression.
Andrew Steptoe, a professor of psychology at University College London who led the research, said, “The evidence suggests that happier people have a (...)