Geographical Locations - Europe

• General Links
• List of Individual Countries
• Invitation to join us

If you find a broken link or wish to suggest a new resource, please email us. Thanks for your kind support.

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General Links

The (statistical) number of inhabitants per doctor is given per country in its respective section.

• The average number for Europe (nb: not EU) is about 450 inhabitants / doctor.
  (Min.: Estonia, Italy: 210; Max.: Liechtenstein: 1,007)
• For Bosnia-Herzegovina (and Vatican City), no figures are available.

The WHO Headquarters are located in Geneva (Switzerland).

The WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) is located in Copenhagen (Denmark), a list of EURO Member States can be found here.

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• Alcohol in Europe
  Alcohol in Europe is an analysis of the health, social and economic impact of alcohol in Europe. This report presents a synthesis of published reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and individual papers, as well as an analysis of data made available by the European Commission and the World Health Organization. The report views alcohol policy as serving the interests of public health and social well-being through its impact on health and social determinants. This is embedded in a public health framework, a process to“mobilize local, state, national and international resources to ensure the conditions in which people can be healthy..."

• ASPHER - The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region

• Assuring the quality of health care in the European Union: A case for action
  "In the last few years, increasing awareness of variations in the quality of health care across geographic areas has helped propel a quality improvement movement. This book documents concerns with variations across European nations, analyses quality measurement, assurance, and improvement efforts in various European countries, and sets forth an agenda for ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality care regardless of where they live or travel." [From Karen Davis Commonwealth Fund, New York]

• Atlas of health in Europe, 2nd edition, 2008
  "This updated statistical atlas presents key health figures for the WHO European Region. They cover basic data on populations, births, deaths, life expectancy and diseases, lifestyle and environmental indicators, such as drinking, smoking and traffic accidents, and types and levels of health care. Each indicator is presented as a map to show overall regional variations, a bar chart to indicate country rankings and a time chart to show trends over time in three main country groupings. Using the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s unique ‘Health for All’ database, combined with the best alternative sources of data around the Region, this atlas offers the most comprehensive overview of health in Europe."

• Economic costs of ill health in the European Region
  "Evidence on the economic costs of ill health (or, reversely, the benefits of good health) is essential in assessing the economic return on health investment. But understanding what those costs/benefits mean and how they should be measured is equally essential. Public policy discourse on the economic consequences/costs of ill health has been handicapped by considerable confusion about what the term means. Noting that without an a priori definition of the cost concept at issue no meaningful discourse can ensue, we address three economic concepts: 1. The broadest, most relevant concept is social welfare costs/benefits, which attempts to capture the value people place on better health; 2. The more limited but more tangible concept, micro and macroeconomic costs, looks at, for instance, the foregone earnings of individuals/households and the GDP losses countries incur, respectively, due to the ill health of a household member or the national population; and 3. The most limited but nevertheless widely applied cost concept looks at the additional health-care expenditures that may be associated with ill health."

• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

• European Health Report 2005: Public action for healthier children and populations
  This report, published by WHO's Regional Office for Europe "...offers an up-to-date map of health in the 52 countries in the WHO European Region.The analysis focuses particularly on the major determinants of health, particularly poverty and social inequalities. It calls attention to the widening health gaps between the countries of the Region and between the richer and poorer groups within countries. Today, a limited set of risk factors causes the bulk of the burden of disease. The report describes this burden and how the wider use of effective public health interventions can reduce it, spelling out some lessons learned and giving examples of successful interventions."
  
• Eurothine - Tackling Health Inequalities In Europe: an integrated approach
  “The specific objectives are: 1) To develop health inequalities indicators, and to provide bench-marking data on inequalities in health and health determinants to participating countries; 2) To assess evidence on the effectiveness of policies and interventions to tackle the determinants of health inequalities, and to make recommendations on strategies for reducing health inequalities in participating countries; and 3) To disseminate the results, and to develop a proposal for a permanent European clearing house on tackling health inequalities. The integrated approach adopted represents a significant step forwards as compared to previous projects in this field: the quantitative analyses of health indicators (objective 1) will show what the main entry-points for tackling health inequalities in the participating countries are, while a wide range of evidence on effectiveness (objective 2) will provide guidance as to the policies and interventions that can help to address these entry-points.”

• EurasiaHealth Knowledge Network
  A project of the American International Health Alliance/AIHA, the EurasiaHealth Knowledge Network is an on-line clearinghouse featuring a library of multilingual health resources, databases, and interactive forums. This clearinghouse -- designed to serve as a repository for clinical practice guidelines, medical textbooks, and other educational materials that are available in the languages of the New Independent States (NIS) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) -- provides users with access to information, tools, and training to enhance the knowledge of healthcare professionals in the region.

• Eurohealth
  "A joint publication of the Observatory and LSE Health and Social Care, eurohealth provides one of the primary platforms for policy-makers, academics and politicians to express their views on European health policy". Volumes are available for download in PDF.

• European Observatory on Health Systems and Policy
  "The Observatory is a partnership between the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the Governments of Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Spain and Sweden, the Veneto Region of Italy, the European Investment Bank, the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)". It supports and promotes evidence-based health policy-making through comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the dynamics of health care systems in Europe.

• European Portal for Action on Health Equity
  This Portal is a tool to promote health equity amongst different socio-economic groups in the European Union. The Portal includes information on policies and interventions to promote health equity within and between the countries of Europe, via the socio-economic determinants of health.

• European Public Health Alliance
  "An alliance of over 65 local, regional, national and European organisations that actively protect and promote the public health interests of all people living in Europe"

• European Public Health Association
  "An international, multidisciplinary scientific organisation, bringing together public health workers for professional exchange of information and collaboration throughout Europe. EUPHA was founded in 1992 and now has 21 members from 19 different countries"

• European Union (EU)
  - European Union - a comprehensive set of links to resources on the European Union
  - Europa - The European Union On-Line

• EUROPA Public Health Newsletters
  This site provides access to the following public health newsletters; Health and Consumer Voice, Consumer Voice 2001-2004, EU Public Health Information Network, EU Injury Prevention, EU European Network for Workplace Health Promotion, Eurordis (European Organisation for Rare Disease).

• Health Care Workforce in Europe: Learning from Experience
  "A trained and motivated workforce, with appropriate skills, a commitment to life-long learning and receiving adequate rewards is an essential prerequisite for high-performing health systems. Yet, for many countries the challenge of getting this right too often proves elusive. ...This volume is one of a series of books produced by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies attempting to address this issue."

• Health for all? A critical analysis of public health policies in eight European countries
  “Scientific experts from eight different countries to write about the public health policies in their respective countries with a special emphasis on the equity aspect. The countries chosen represented different parts of Europe: from the northern (Denmark, Finland Norway and Sweden) via the western (England and the Netherlands) to the southern parts (Italy and Spain)”.

• Health systems, health and wealth – Assessing the case for investing in health systems (Summary)
  "The complex relationships between health systems, health and wealth are represented in a conceptual framework that features a dynamic interaction between health systems and health, health systems and wealth, and health and wealth. The model also shows that these three elements together impact on the central goal of societal well-being. Finally, it recognizes that the socioeconomic and political context is crucial in determining how all of these interact with each other ... The framework can help policy-makers to: systematically review how health systems produce health, impact on wealth creation and help to create societal well-being; marshal the evidence for discussions with other sectors; and make the case for investment in health systems." Also available in French, German and Russian.

• Health system snapshots: perspectives from six countries
  “We hear a lot about the soaring price of commodities such as oil and gas. The global energy crisis will not be resolved through further exploration for fossil fuels. Instead, that most precious of commodities, knowledge, can help find innovative ways of harnessing new sources of energy. Knowledge is also priceless for health policy. Intelligence on the state of health systems is vital, yet it can be difficult to keep up with the rapid pace of change. In this issue of Eurohealth [Vol 14, No 1 – 2008] we include snapshots on six countries. Originally commissioned and funded by the New York based Commonwealth Fund, and prepared in a common format, they provide an opportunity to reflect on approaches to efficiency and quality improvement.”

• Heat–health action plans
  "Climate change is leading to variations in weather patterns and an apparent increase in extreme weather events, including heat-waves. Recent heat-waves in Europe have led to a rise in related mortality but the adverse health effects of hot weather and heat-waves are largely preventable. Prevention requires a portfolio of actions at different levels, including meteorological early warning systems, timely public and medical advice, improvements to housing and urban planning and ensuring that health care and social systems are ready to act. These actions can be integrated into a defined heat–health action plan. This [WHO] guidance results from the EuroHEAT project on improving public health responses to extreme weather/heat-waves, co-funded by the European Commission. It explains the importance of the development of heat–health action plans, their characteristics and core elements, with examples from several European countries that have begun their implementation and evaluation."

• JRC Joint Research Centre
  "The Joint Research Centre is a research based policy support organisation and an integral part of the European Commission. We are a Directorate General, providing the scientific advice and technical know-how to support EU policies"

• Levelling up (part I): A Discussion paper on concepts and principles for tackling social inequality in health
  Social inequalities in health are the major focus of this WHO Europe paper. The evidence points to the existence of extensive (and widening) social inequities in health in Europe today. The need to take action to reduce these inequities and their root causes is becoming ever more pressing as a major public health challenge. This calls for a new way of thinking about the direction of policy and also calls for renewed vigilance in monitoring impacts, to make sure that no segment of the population is excluded or loses out.
• Levelling up (part II): a discussion paper on European strategies for tackling social inequities in health
  "The purpose of the present report is to stimulate and facilitate the development of evidence-based strategies for reducing social inequities in health. The focus of the report is on the main determinants of social inequities in health, which differ typically from the main determinants of health for the population as a whole. The report pays special attention to policies and actions that either reduce or increase inequities in health, because the power balance between these forces determines the possibilities and constraints of achieving equity oriented health targets."

• Policies and practices for mental health in Europe: Meeting the challenges
  "[This] report by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, co-funded by the European Commission… provides data not hitherto available on mental health policy and practice across the WHO European Region. It also highlights important information gaps. Policies and Practices for Mental Heath in Europe allows for country-to-country comparisons on indicators such as numbers of psychiatrists, financing, community services, training of workforce, prescription of antidepressants, and representation of users and carers.…The data were obtained from the ministries of health of 42 European Member States. Over 150 figures and tables in the report demonstrate the diversity across the European Region, and allow country to country comparisons of indicators such as numbers of psychiatrists, financing, community services, training of the workforce, the prescription of anti-depressants and representation of users and carers."

• Quality in and Equality of Access to Healthcare Services
  "This study reviews barriers of access to health care that persist in EU countries and presents an analysis of what policies countries have adopted to mitigate these barriers. It has a focus on the situation of migrants, older people with functional limitations, and people with mental disorders. What are the barriers to accessing high quality health care for people at risk of social exclusion? What are the interdependencies between poverty, social exclusion and problems of accessing health care? What policies have EU Member States put in place to improve access and quality of health care for vulnerable groups of the population? The study is based on eight country reports: Finland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom. This was complemented with findings from the literature and European comparisons… Ensuring equitable access to high-quality healthcare constitutes a key challenge for health systems throughout Europe. Despite differences in health system size, structure and financing, evidence suggests that across Europe particular sections of the population are disproportionately affected by barriers to accessing healthcare. Studies have also shown that difficulties in accessing healthcare are compounded by poverty and social exclusion, and that poverty and social exclusion compound difficulties in accessing healthcare." Summary.

• Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents
  The WHO/HBSC Forum 2007 process engaged intersectoral policy-makers, researchers and programme managers from 17 Member States in considering the following issues: translating research into policies and action; intersectoral action; addressing health inequities; and involving young people. The Forum process also included the preparation of background papers on: cross-national HBSC data on mental well-being in school-aged children in Europe; socioeconomic inequalities in mental health among adolescents in Europe; and economic aspects of mental health in children and adolescents. National and subnational case studies were a core component of the WHO/HBSC Forum 2007 process. The aim of the case studies is not to record best practices, but to document experiences in relation to enabling and restraining factors in building social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents

• Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health in 22 European Countries
  "Background: Comparisons among countries can help to identify opportunities for the reduction of inequalities in health. We compared the magnitude of inequalities in mortality and self-assessed health among 22 countries in all parts of Europe. Methods: We obtained data on mortality according to education level and occupational class from census-based mortality studies. Deaths were classified according to cause, including common causes, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer; causes related to smoking; causes related to alcohol use; and causes amenable to medical intervention, such as tuberculosis and hypertension. Data on self-assessed health, smoking, and obesity according to education and income were obtained from health or multipurpose surveys. For each country, the association between socioeconomic status and health outcomes was measured with the use of regression-based inequality indexes. Results: In almost all countries, the rates of death and poorer self-assessments of health were substantially higher in groups of lower socioeconomic status, but the magnitude of the inequalities between groups of higher and lower socioeconomic status was much larger in some countries than in others. Inequalities in mortality were small in some southern European countries and very large in most countries in the eastern and Baltic regions. These variations among countries appeared to be attributable in part to causes of death related to smoking or alcohol use or amenable to medical intervention. The magnitude of inequalities in self-assessed health also varied substantially among countries, but in a different pattern. Conclusions: We observed variation across Europe in the magnitude of inequalities in health associated with socioeconomic status. These inequalities might be reduced by improving educational opportunities, income distribution, health-related behavior, or access to health care…".

• UNDP - Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS
  "UNDP assists a remarkably diverse region that stretches from the heart of Europe to the Silk Road. These countries face a range of human development concerns, and UNDP is uniquely placed to support government, civil society and private-sector partners to meet the challenges."

• Women in Europe for a Common Future
  "Stands for a network of woman and women's-organisations who participate in projects on health, environment and sustainability. WECF was established in 1992, during the UNCED Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro"

• Health Inequalities: A Challenge for Europe
  "The primary aim of this independent report, which was commissioned by the UK Presidency of the EU, is to review national-level policies and strategies - that either have been or are in the process of being developed to tackle health inequalities - and to reflect on the challenges that lie ahead. In doing so, it primarily focuses on socio-economic inequalities in health."

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List of Individual Countries

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Albania
Andorra
Austria

B
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria

C
Croatia
Czech Republic

D
Denmark

E
Estonia

F
Finland
France

G
Germany
Greece

H
Hungary

I
Iceland
Ireland
Italy

L
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg

M
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco

N
Netherlands
Norway

P
Poland
Portugal

R
Romania
Russia

S
San Marino
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

U
Ukraine
United Kingdom

V
Vatican City

If you find a broken link or wish to suggest a new resource, please email us. Thanks for your kind support.

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Invitation

Coverage of all countries is a difficult task, and we need help. We have done our best to list relevant resources for each country, but we are aware that this is not enough to keep the Library updated.

Therefore, we would like to invite you to join us. If you feel you are the person to take care of a country, or countries or even regions, please let us know, and we will hand over the task of maintaining the respective section of the WWW Virtual Library: Public Health to you.

Please send an e-mail to us at: vph@unsw.edu.au and we are happy to discuss with you our cooperation.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

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