A report provided a European Union-wide overview of the market and regulation regarding types of alcoholic beverages with potentially particular appeal to minors. Over the period 1995–2007, drinking prevalence in young people had remained stable: but drinking patterns had become more risky. Alcohol-related advertising, in general, was targeted at minors, in particular via 'social media'.
Source: Peter Anderson, Marc Suhrcke, and Chris Brookes (eds), An Overview of the Market for Alcoholic Beverages of Potentially Particular Appeal to Minors, National Heart Forum
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper presented projections of public expenditure on long-term care in Europe to 2060 under alternative assumptions. All scenarios projected a non-negligible increase in public expenditure.
Source: Barbara Lipszyc, Etienne Sail, and Ana Xavier, Long-Term Care: Need, Use and Expenditure in the EU-27, Economic Papers 469, European Commission
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
A new book examined recent changes in long-term care policies in western Europe. It said that recent reforms had brought about an increasing convergence in policies. Most of the new programmes had developed a new general approach to long-term care, based on a better integration of social care and healthcare.
Source: Costanzo Ranci and Emmanuele Pavolini (eds), Reforms in Long Term Care Policies in Europe: Investigating institutional change and social impacts, Springer
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper presented a cross-country estimate of inequalities in the use of preventive healthcare treatments in 13 European countries. In many European countries strong 'pro-rich' and educational inequalities existed with respect to certain treatments.
Source: Vincenzo Carrieri and Ansgar Wubker, Assessing Inequalities in Preventive Care Use in Europe, Ruhr Economic Papers 371, Universities of Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, and Essen (Germany)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
A report examined young people's exposure to alcohol marketing through television and online media in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Source: Eleanor Winpenny, Sunil Patil, Marc Elliott, Lidia Villalba van Dijk, Saba Hinrichs, Theresa Marteau, and Ellen Nolte, Assessment of Young People's Exposure to Alcohol Marketing in Audiovisual and Online Media, RAND Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Dec
A report examined the extent to which health inequalities in Europe could realistically be reduced by policies and interventions on socio-economic determinants as well as on specific risk factors.
Source: Johan Mackenbach and Terje Andreas Eikemo (eds), Final Report, EURO-GBD-SE project (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report made a set of policy recommendations on child poverty, health, and well-being in Europe, aimed at preventing and tackling child poverty by addressing health promotion and disease in the child population.
Source: Recommendation on Child Poverty, Health and Well-Being, European Public Health Alliance
Links: Report | EPHA press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between poverty and mortality across 26 developed countries over time, focusing on three groups – infants, children, and working-age adults.
Source: Johan Fritzell, Olli Kangas, Jennie Bacchus Hertzman, Jenni Blomgren, and Heikki Hiilamo, Cross-Temporal and Cross-National Poverty and Mortality Rates among Developed Countries, Discussion Paper 64, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that health spending fell across the European Union in 2010, both per person and as a percentage of national income – reversing increases seen in the years before the global economic crisis. After annual average growth of 4.6 per cent between 2000 and 2009, health spending per capita fell by 0.6 per cent in 2010. This was the first time health spending had fallen in Europe since 1975.
Source: Health at a Glance: Europe 2012, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/European Commission
Links: Report | OECD press release | European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Nov
The report of a Europe-wide research project made a series of recommendations for governments to help tackle unhealthy diets. It recommended taxing unhealthy foods and using the revenue raised to promote healthy eating, front-of-pack food labelling, voluntary agreements on salt levels in foods, and long-term food information campaigns.
Source: Bruce Traill et al., Effectiveness of Policy Interventions to Promote Healthy Eating and Recommendations for Future Action: Evidence from the EATWELL Project, EATWELL Project (European Commission)
Links: Report | Reading University press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between the business cycle and childhood health in western European countries. There was a positive relationship between being born in and growing up during a recession and childhood health. This relationship was not driven by selection effects due to heightened infant mortality during recessions.
Source: Viola Angelini and Jochen Mierau, Childhood Health and the Business Cycle: Evidence from western Europe, Working Paper 12/28, Health Economics Resource Centre, University of York
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the process of conducting cross-national qualitative research into the long-term care of older people in Europe.
Source: Henglien Lisa Chen, 'Cross-national qualitative research into the long-term care of older people: some reflections on method and methodology', European Journal of Social Work, Volume 15 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
The World Health Organisation published a plan for tackling the major challenges facing health policies and systems in Europe.
Source: European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Plan | WHO press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined public health policy in the European Union.
Source: Scott Greer and Paulette Kurzer (eds), European Union Public Health Policy: Regional and global trends, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Nov
A report provided an overview of mental health reform in Europe. Considerable efforts had been made to shift the balance of care from psychiatric hospitals to a varied provision of services in the community for people with severe mental health problems. But despite far-reaching changes in some countries, institutions were still the dominant form of service provision in many countries.
Source: Agnes Kozma and Gabor Petri, Mapping Exclusion: Institutional and community-based services in the mental health field in Europe, Mental Heath Europe
Links: Report | EPHA press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A paper examined the factors that influenced the utilization of home-based long-term care in western Europe. Utilization of services was closely linked to the policy priorities, financing, and organization of the long-term care system. In countries where a greater policy emphasis was put on home-based care, its utilization was higher compared with other countries.
Source: Sonila Tomini, Wim Groot, and Milena Pavlova, The Determinants of Home Based Long-Term Care Utilisation in Western European Countries, Working Paper 2012-069, Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (Netherlands)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Nov
A report provided an overview of the programmes, laws, and policies in place in Europe to assist pregnant drug users, drug-using parents, and their children. Although an array of responses existed, there was still room for improvement.
Source: Pregnancy, Childcare and the Family: Key issues for Europe's response to drugs, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Links: Report | EMCDDA press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper compared inequalities in the use of preventative healthcare treatments in 13 European countries. In many countries there were strong 'pro-rich' and educational inequalities with respect to treatments. Poor and less educated people were more likely to use preventive care late. Access to treatments within a specialist setting was generally less equal than access to treatments provided within a family doctor setting.
Source: Vincenzo Carrieri and Ansgar Wuebker, Assessing Inequalities in Preventative Care Use in Europe: A special case of health-care inequalities?, Working Paper 12/25, Health Economics Resource Centre (University of York)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined levels of depression among older people (aged 50 or older) with and without disabilities in west European countries. Older people with disabilities suffered higher levels of depression as compared with their non-disabled counterparts, especially among women. There were significant regional differences in the levels of depression found. Depression had important effects on the levels of well-being, employment, and income reported by older people, and disabled older people in particular.
Source: Ricardo Pagan-Rodriguez and Salvador Perez, 'Depression and self-reported disability among older people in western Europe', Journal of Aging and Health, Volume 24 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the relation between job strain and coronary heart disease, using data from 13 European cohort studies (1985–2006). People with highly stressful jobs but little real control over decision-making ran a 23 per cent increased risk of a heart attack.
Source: Mika Kivimaki et al., 'Job strain as a risk factor for coronary heart disease: a collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data', The Lancet, 27 October 2012
Links: Abstract | UCL press release | BBC report | Guardian report | People Management report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the prospects for success of 'Health 2020', a new health policy framework and strategy for Europe launched by the World Health Organization in September 2012.
Source: David Hunter, 'Tackling the health divide in Europe: the role of the World Health Organization', Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Volume 37 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined successful interventions for drug users that addressed the issues of housing, education, vocational training, and employment. It also provides a set of conclusions targeted at policymakers and drug practitioners, in order to help them develop coherent and comprehensive social integration strategies.
Source: Harry Sumnall and Angelina Brotherhood, Social Reintegration and Employment: Evidence and interventions for drug users in treatment, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Links: Report | EMCDDA press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper reviewed 25 health expenditure forecasting models that had been developed for policy analysis by developed (OECD) countries and other international organizations.
Source: Roberto Astolfi, Luca Lorenzoni, and Jillian Oderkirk, A Comparative Analysis of Health Forecasting Methods, Health Working Paper 59, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
See also: Roberto Astolfi, Luca Lorenzoni, and Jillian Oderkirk, 'Informing policy makers about future health spending: a comparative analysis of forecasting methods in OECD countries', Health Policy, Volume 107 Issue 1
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper examined the health effects of retirement in Europe – both the impact of being retired and the effect of spending longer time in retirement. There was a robust, negative impact of being retired and spending longer time in retirement on self-assessed, general, mental, and physical health. Although the short-term health impact of retirement remained uncertain, the medium- to long-term effects appeared to be negative and economically large.
Source: Gabriel Sahlgren, Work til You Drop: Short- and longer-term health effects of retirement in Europe, Working Paper 928/2012, Research Institute of Industrial Economics (Stockholm)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper classified 30 developed (OECD) countries' healthcare systems according to a typology that distinguished three core dimensions: regulation, financing, and service provision. A classification according to most recent institutional setting resulted in five healthcare system types: national health service, national health insurance, social health insurance, 'etatist' social health insurance, and private health system.
Source: Katharina Bohm, Achim Schmid, Ralf Gotze, Claudia Landwehr, and Heinz Rothgang, Classifying OECD Healthcare Systems: A deductive approach, TranState Working Paper 165, University of Bremen (Germany)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined health policy responses in Europe to the financial crisis. Some countries had introduced no new policies, while others had introduced many. Some health systems were better prepared than others due to fiscal measures they had taken before the crisis, such as accumulating financial reserves. There were many instances in which policies planned before 2008 had been implemented with greater intensity or speed as they became more urgent or politically feasible as a result of the crisis. There had also been cases where planned reforms were slowed down or abandoned in response to the crisis. The breadth and scope of statutory coverage had been largely unaffected, and in some cases benefits had been expanded for low-income groups. However, some countries had reduced the depth of coverage by increasing user charges for essential services, which was a cause for concern.
Source: Philipa Mladovsky, Divya Srivastava, Jonathan Cylus, Marina Karanikolos, Tamas Evetovits, Sarah Thomson, and Martin McKee, Health Policy Responses to the Financial Crisis in Europe, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the potential impact on healthcare systems in the European Union of the application of free movement rules and increased patient mobility.
Source: Rita Baeten, Europeanization of National Health Systems: National impact and EU codification of the patient mobility case law, European Social Observatory (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined key trends over the previous 20 years in residential and community care for older people in England, Finland, and Australia. It investigated the extent of 'de-institutionalization', 'privatization', and 'individualization'. The concepts of collective and individual 'voice' and 'choice' were used to interrogate the roles of collective and individual actors, older people, and carers, in influencing policy formulation. It identified the greater influence of claims-making by family carers, who provided the informal bastion of formal care services in the push to de-institutionalization, in comparison with the collective and individual voices of older people as 'service users'.
Source: Sue Yeandle, Teppo Kroger, and Bettina Cass, 'Voice and choice for users and carers? Developments in patterns of care for older people in Australia, England and Finland', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
A study examined the dynamics of change experienced by Belgium, England, Germany, and Italy in their home care sectors, focusing on the process of 'marketization'.
Source: Florence Degavre and Marthe Nyssens (eds), Care Regimes on the Move: Comparing home care for dependent older people in Belgium, England, Germany and Italy, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche Travail, Etat et Societe, (Universite Catholique de Louvain, Charleroi, Belgium)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
An article examined how the employment of migrant care workers in both the familial provision of care and the formal provision of care services for older people was shaped, first, by the marketization of care and, second, by immigration controls. The analysis drew on data on the employment of migrant care workers by families in Italy and by providers of residential and home care services in the United Kingdom. Marketization processes and immigration controls had contributed to the employment of migrant workers across so-called informal/formal types of care provision, and irregular/regular types of care work and migration. Although the institutional contexts in which migrant care labour was located might differ, converging outcomes were evident regarding the structural positioning of migrant workers within the provision of care for older people.
Source: Isabel Shutes and Carlos Chiatti, 'Migrant labour and the marketisation of care for older people: the employment of migrant care workers by families and service providers', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
The World Health Organisation adopted a policy framework for Europe. The strategy targeted the main health challenges, such as: increasing health inequalities within and between countries; shrinking public service expenditures due to the financial crisis; and a growing burden of ill-health from non-communicable diseases, including obesity, cancer, and heart disease.
Source: Health 2020: A European policy framework supporting action across government and society for health and well-being, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Framework | WHO press release
Date: 2012-Sep
A report compared different payment systems for healthcare used across Europe, and examined their role in improving the efficiency and quality of care. Rather than a single payment system such as 'pay for performance' or diagnosis-related groups, blended payment systems had repeatedly been found to contribute to the delivery of high-quality, affordable care.
Source: Anita Charlesworth, Alisha Davies, and Jennifer Dixon, Reforming Payment for Health Care in Europe to Achieve Better Value, Nuffield Trust
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined and compared 25 models of healthcare expenditure that had been developed for policy analysis in developed (OECD) countries.
Source: Roberto Astolfi, Luca Lorenzoni, and Jillian Oderkirk, 'Informing policy makers about future health spending: a comparative analysis of forecasting methods in OECD countries', Health Policy, Volume 107 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A new book examined issues of race and ethnicity in social work practice in Europe.
Source: Charlotte Williams and Mekada Graham, Social Work in Europe: Race and ethnic relations, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Aug
A paper examined how social and economic conditions related to the health status of children using a retrospective survey for western Europe. Being born during a boom and growing up during a boom were detrimental for childhood health. The socio-economic status of the parents was positively associated with the health status of the child. Experiencing hunger, living without the father, and growing up with a parent who drank heavily were all negatively associated with childhood health.
Source: Viola Angelini and Jochen Mierau, Social and Economic Aspects of Childhood Health: Evidence from western-Europe, Paper 12002-EEF, Research Institute SOM, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Groningen
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the determinants of healthcare spending in Europe – taking into account the role of income, demographic ageing, technological progress, female labour force participation, and public budgetary variables. Healthcare spending was a multi-faceted phenomenon where a wide range of factors all played an important role. The comparison of total (public and private) spending revealed an imbalance of European welfare toward the care of the elderly. European governments needed to rely increasingly on pluralistic systems to balance sustainability and access, and to equalize the distribution of resources across the functions of the public welfare system.
Source: Fabio Pammolli, Massimo Riccaboni, and Laura Magazzini, 'The sustainability of European health care systems: beyond income and aging', European Journal of Health Economics, Volume 13 Number 5
Links: Abstract
See also: Fabio Pammolli, Massimo Riccaboni, and Laura Magazzini, The Sustainability of European Health Care Systems: Beyond income and aging, Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Date: 2012-Aug
A report examined the causal impact of social capital on health in 14 European countries (including the United Kingdom). There appeared to be strong causal relationship between social capital and individual health. Community social capital (defined at regional level) appeared not to affect health once individual-level social capital was controlled for. This suggested that policy interventions should be targeted at improving primarily individual social capital.
Source: Lorenzo Rocco and Marc Suhrcke, Is Social Capital Good for Health? A European perspective, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the allocation of responsibility for key healthcare policy tasks and policy areas in European countries. The allocation of powers broadly followed 'fiscal federalism'.
Source: Christopher Adolph, Scott Greer, and Elize Massard da Fonseca, 'Allocation of authority in European health policy', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article said that research on health policy actors and healthcare systems in developed (OECD) countries needed to be separated more thoroughly. There was also a need to put greater emphasis on extending the understanding of the outcomes of different national healthcare arrangements and whether policy reforms actually delivered their promised results. To do this, more attention to the measurement of success was required.
Source: Theodore Marmor and Claus Wendt, 'Conceptual frameworks for comparing healthcare politics and policy', Health Policy, Volume 107 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Aug
A new book examined a wide range of conceptual and practical issues relating to health policy across the world. Individual chapters explored ways of measuring access to health care in Europe; the health and social care divide in the United Kingdom; barriers and opportunities for private long-term care insurance in England; and the implications of historical trends in mortality for health policies in England and Wales.
Source: Alistair McGuire and Joan Costa-Font (eds), The LSE Companion to Health Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined service provision, and identified barriers to care, for homeless people with mental health problems in 14 European capital cities. Although there was variability in service provision, reported barriers to service accessibility were common. Homeless-specific services were more responsive to the initial needs of homeless people with mental health problems, while generic services tended to be more conducive to long-term care. Further research was needed to determine the effectiveness of different service delivery models, including the most effective co-ordination of homeless-specific and generic services.
Source: Reamonn Canavan et al., 'Service provision and barriers to care for homeless people with mental health problems across 14 European capital cities', BMC Health Services Research, Volume 12
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the association between public stigma in 14 European countries and individual reports of 'self-stigma', perceived discrimination, and empowerment among persons with mental illness. Targeting the general public through mass anti-stigma interventions might lead to a virtuous cycle by disrupting the negative feedback engendered by public stigma, thereby reducing self-stigma among people with mental health problems.
Source: Sara Evans-Lacko, Elaine Brohan, Ramin Mojtabai, and Graham Thornicroft, 'Association between public views of mental illness and self-stigma among individuals with mental illness in 14 European countries', Psychological Medicine, Volume 42, Issue 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
Two linked reports examined the potential direct and indirect influences of various kinds of technologies on the long-term care sector in Europe.
Source: Angelo Rossi Mori (with Roberto Dandi, Marta Mazzeo, Rita Verbicaro, and Gregorio Mercurio), Technological Solutions Potentially Influencing the Future of Long-Term Care, Research Report 114, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes | Marta Mazzeo, Patrizia Agnello, and Angelo Rossi Mori (with Marie-Eve Joel, Alain Berard, Marko Ogorevc, Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, Roberto Dandi, and Luca Giustiniano), Role and Potential Influence of Technologies on the Most Relevant Challenges for Long-Term Care, Research Report 113, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Report 114 | Report 113
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined whether different welfare regimes were associated with health and health inequalities among adolescents, based on data from 32 countries in Europe and North America. Between 4 and 7 per cent of the variation in both health outcomes was attributable to differences between countries and their welfare regimes.
Source: Matthias Richter, Katharina Rathman, Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, Alessio Zambon, William Boyce, and Klaus Hurrelmann, 'Welfare state regimes, health and health inequalities in adolescence: a multilevel study in 32 countries', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 34 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined gender mainstreaming in national healthcare systems in England and Germany.
Source: Ellen Kuhlmann and Ellen Annandale, 'Mainstreaming gender into healthcare: a scoping exercise into policy transfer in England and Germany', Current Sociology, Volume 60 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined the impact of income inequality on infant mortality in developed (OECD) countries. In a model without country fixed effects, a one-point increase in the Gini coefficient was associated with a 7 per cent increase in the infant mortality rate. After controlling for differences across countries in a country fixed effects model, however, income inequality was no longer associated with infant mortality. A possible interpretation of this discrepancy was that social policies that reduced infant mortality clustered in countries with low income inequality.
Source: Mauricio Avendano, 'Correlation or causation? Income inequality and infant mortality in fixed effects models in the period 1960-2008 in 34 OECD countries', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that European Union healthcare services policy had been largely driven by the European Court of Justice applying the law of the internal market to the previously separate area of healthcare systems. This opened up two major risks: that health service planning would be disrupted by cross-border flows of patients and professionals, including ostensibly interchangeable professionals or procedures that actually varied in quality; and that health systems would be disrupted by the application of liberalizing EU regulatory frameworks. Member states had implemented a strategy of 'bureaucratic resistance', limiting effects on systems and regulations alike.
Source: Scott Greer and Holly Jarman, 'Managing risks in EU health services policy: spot markets, legal certainty and bureaucratic resistance', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that European Union health policy exemplified the philosophical tension between economic freedoms and social policy. EU competition law, like other internal market rules, could restrict national health policy options despite the subsidiarity principle. In particular, European health system reforms that incorporated elements of market competition might trigger the application of competition rules if non-economic gains in consumer welfare were not adequately accounted for. The authors drew on a sample of cases to analyze how the European Court of Justice, national courts, and national competition authorities had applied competition laws to the health services sector in different circumstances and in different ways. It concluded by considering the implications of the convergence of recent trends in competition law enforcement and health system market reforms.
Source: Elias Mossialos and Julia Lear, 'Balancing economic freedom against social policy principles: EC competition law and national health systems', Health Policy, Volume 106 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper examined how the existence of income-related inequalities in unhealthy behaviours (obesity, alcohol intake, and smoking) might explain the persistence of health inequalities in England and Spain. Persistent income inequalities were found in obesity and tobacco use, which were disproportionately concentrated among those in relative poverty. But inequalities in alcohol consumption over time tended to concentrate among relatively wealthy individuals in both countries.
Source: Joan Costa-i-Font, Cristina Hernandez-Quevedo, and Dolores Jimenez-Rubio, Do Income Gradients in Unhealthy Behaviours Explain Patterns of Health Inequalities?, Working Paper 29/2012, LSE Health (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined the interactions between public support for long-term care for elderly people in Europe and the caring function of families. Policy measures that had been introduced since the 1990s had aimed to support family carers in various ways, with the common objective of giving them the flexibility they needed in the organization of care arrangements, combining various resources (formal professional care, unpaid informal care, semi-formal care). Different patterns of flexibility could be identified according to the regulation of the policy measures.
Source: Blanche Le Bihan and Claude Martin, 'Diversification of care policy measures supporting older people: towards greater flexibility for carers?', European Journal of Ageing, Volume 9 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that three circumstances might help to explain the persistence of health inequalities in developed countries despite the attenuation of material inequalities by the welfare state:
• Inequalities in access to material and immaterial resources had not been eliminated by the welfare state, and were still substantial.
• Due to greater intergenerational mobility, the composition of lower socio-economic groups had became more homogeneous with regard to personal characteristics associated with ill-health.
• Due to a change in epidemiological regime, in which consumption behaviour became the most important determinant of ill-health, the marginal benefits of the immaterial resources to which a higher social position gave access had increased.
Source: Johan Mackenbach, 'The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: the explanation of a paradox', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A study examined evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve health literacy in Europe. Most of the interventions identified focused on the functional level of health literacy, and worked at the traditional health education level: there was little evidence of interventions targeted at the interactive or critical levels of health literacy. The report also highlighted a lack of research concerning disadvantaged and 'hard-to-reach' populations.
Source: Maureen D Eath, Margaret Barry, and Jane Sixsmith, A Rapid Evidence Review of Interventions for Improving Health Literacy: Insights into health communication, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jun
A report said that austerity policies had had severe health effects in a variety of EU countries. People living in poverty, and low-skilled workers, had been most affected. Member states and regions experienced the crisis very differently, which put EU social cohesion at risk. There was strong evidence that participating in active labour market programmes helped to mitigate risks by improving resilience and the likelihood of job reintegration: the programmes offered strong public investment value, both for protecting public health and readying the economy for recovery.
Source: Pan-European Macro-Drivers that Impact on Work, Worklessness, Social Protection and Health Inequalities: Main issues, themes and futures scanning, Health Action Partnership International
Links: Report | EPHA press release
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined policy measures in European countries relating to the care of older people, and their relationship with family care arrangements. The policy measures had been designed to support family carers in various ways, with the common objective of giving them the flexibility they needed in the organization of care arrangements.
Source: Blanche Le Bihan and Claude Martin, 'Diversification of care policy measures supporting older people: towards greater flexibility for carers?', European Journal of Ageing, Volume 9 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined the impact of gatekeeping and provider choice on efficiency, costs, quality, equality, and patient empowerment in healthcare in developed (OECD) countries. There was a diverging trend of reforms, with some traditionally restrictive countries offering more provider choice and other countries limiting the choice of providers as a result of managed care reforms.
Source: Nadine Reibling and Claus Wendt, 'Gatekeeping and provider choice in OECD healthcare systems', Current Sociology, Volume 60 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined variations in the use of preventive health services by people aged 50 and over in 14 European countries (including the United Kingdom). There were significant variations both within and between European countries. In all countries, higher-educated and higher-income groups used more preventive services. At the health system level, high public health expenditures and high family doctor density were associated with a high level of preventive care use: but specialist density did not appear to have any effect. Payment schemes for family doctors and specialists appeared to significantly affect the incentives to provide preventive healthcare: in systems where doctors were paid by fee-for-service, the utilization of all health services, including cancer screening, was higher.
Source: Florence Jusot, Zeynep Or, and Nicolas Sirven, 'Variations in preventive care utilisation in Europe', European Journal of Ageing, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A report said that widespread inequalities meant that many young people in Europe were not as healthy as they could be. Health depended on age, gender, geography, and family affluence. Health promotion programmes needed to be sensitive to socio-economic and other differences, and should aim to create a fair situation for all young people.
Source: Candace Currie, Cara Zanotti, Antony Morgan, Dorothy Currie, Margaretha de Looze, Chris Roberts, Oddrun Samdal, Otto Smith, and Vivian Barnekow (eds.), Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being Among Young People: Health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) study – International report from the 2009/2010 survey, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report | WHO press release
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the influence of both informal and formal social capital, at both individual and national level, on health in Europe. Individual formal and informal social capital was positively related to health in almost all countries: but the strength of these associations varies markedly across societies. The health of those who lacked informal social networks as individuals was better in countries with high levels of informal and formal social capital. On the other hand, individuals lacking formal social networks were not compensated by high levels of formal and informal social capital at the national level. Including informal social capital was important to obtain a comprehensive view on the role of contextual social capital as a compensatory source for individuals lacking social networks.
Source: Tim Huijts and Gerbert Kraaykamp, 'Formal and informal social capital and self-rated health in Europe: a new test of accumulation and compensation mechanisms using a multi-level perspective', Acta Sociologica, Volume 55 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined coverage arrangements for long-term social care across developed (OECD) countries. The main challenge for financing care services would be finding the right balance between fair protection and financial sustainability: this would be essential to ensure that financing care systems was sustainable in the long run, without shifting too large a burden on to future generations.
Source: Francesca Colombo and Jerome Mercier, 'Help wanted? Fair and sustainable financing of long-term care services', Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Volume 34 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article set out a research agenda for tackling health inequalities related to migration and ethnicity in Europe.
Source: Raj Bhopal, 'Research agenda for tackling inequalities related to migration and ethnicity in Europe', Journal of Public Health, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined decision-making power in six European countries (including the United Kingdom) in respect of social support for the participation of disabled or chronically ill persons in society. The level of decision-making power varied between the countries and between the types of decision-making power. Citizens' participation was mainly represented through patient associations. Countries with strongly decentralized decision-making made use of framework legislation at national level to set general targets or aims.
Source: Madelon Kroneman, Mieke Cardol, and Roland Friele, '(De)centralization of social support in six western European countries', Health Policy, Volume 106 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined leadership and governance arrangements in seven developed health systems in Europe (including England) and Australia. It considered three fundamental functions: priority setting, performance monitoring, and accountability arrangements. Approaches to leadership and governance varied substantially, and had thus far been developed piecemeal and somewhat arbitrarily. A judicious mix of accountability mechanisms was likely to be appropriate in most settings – including market mechanisms, electoral processes, direct financial incentives, and professional oversight and control. These mechanisms should be aligned with the priority-setting and monitoring processes.
Source: Peter Smith, Anders Anell, Reinhard Busse, Luca Crivelli, Judith Healy, Anne Karin Lindahl, Gert Westert, and Tobechukwu Kene, 'Leadership and governance in seven developed health systems', Health Policy, Volume 106 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article said that young people who had spent all or part of their childhoods in public care were at particular risk of social exclusion as adults: and yet the pathway out of exclusion identified by policy-makers at both European and national levels – education – was very difficult to access. Using data from a five-country study of the post-compulsory educational pathways of young people in public care, the authors examined the rates of participation of young people in further and higher education, looking at two factors: the impact of background social class on educational support, and the educational intentions and practices of the care system.
Source: Claire Cameron, Sonia Jackson, Hanan Hauari, and Katie Hollingworth, 'Continuing educational participation among children in care in five countries: some issues of social class', Journal of Education Policy, Volume 14 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article reviewed evidence from Europe concerning ways to change population levels of physical activity for health. It used a lifespan approach with physical activity behaviour change for children and adolescents, adults, and older adults. Intervention success had been variable – often due to weak fidelity and short-term implementation – and process evaluation was missing from many studies. Nevertheless, evidence pointed to possible behaviour change across all age groups and through multiple settings, including schools, worksites, and the community.
Source: Stuart Biddle, Walter Brehm, Marieke Verheijden, and Marijke Hopman-Rock, 'Population physical activity behaviour change: a review for the European College of Sport Science', European Journal of Sport Science, Volume 12 Issue 4
Links: Article
Date: 2012-May
An article examined acquisition deals targeting healthcare provider organizations in western Europe between 1990 and 2009, focusing on the role of financial services organizations as acquirers. The findings suggested a penetration of private capital into healthcare provision that might be interpreted as a specific form of privatization, as well as pointing to the rising internationalization of healthcare.
Source: Federica Angeli and Hans Maarse, 'Mergers and acquisitions in western European health care: exploring the role of financial services organizations', Health Policy, Volume 105 Issue 2/3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the recent restructuring and subsequent convergence of European long-term care models. It highlighted the increased role of migrant care workers, and the need for greater social and governmental recognition for all care providers. The provision of long-term care was complex, divided between state, market, and family providers; the state alone could not and did not act as the sole provider of care. The extent to which different sectors were relied upon was largely dependent on the ideology of the country's welfare state.
Source: Alice Anderson, 'Europe s care regimes and the role of migrant care workers within them', Journal of Population Ageing, Volume 5 Number 2
Date: 2012-May
An article said that service user involvement was essential in the development and evaluation of the forthcoming new mental health strategy for Europe.
Source: Felicity Callard and Diana Rose, 'The mental health strategy for Europe: why service user leadership in research is indispensable', Journal of Mental Health, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined how long-term care systems, and in particular the incorporation of needs-based entitlements to care services or benefits, influenced formal and informal care utilization dynamics in Europe. In all countries, formal and informal care were more often complements than substitutes. The likelihood of becoming a formal or informal care user varied significantly between countries. In the Scandinavian countries and in several continental European countries with needs-based entitlements, the transition to formal care was strongly related to informal support being or becoming unavailable. There was little evidence of country differences in the effect of health variables on the transition to formal care. Although rates of formal care utilization continued to differ considerably between European countries, formal care allocation practices were not very dissimilar across northern and continental European welfare states: there was evidence for all countries of targeting of older persons living alone and of the most care-dependent older people.
Source: Joanna Geerts and Karel Van den Bosch, 'Transitions in formal and informal care utilisation amongst older Europeans: the impact of national contexts', European Journal of Ageing, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined whether the way in which health systems were financed in high-income countries influenced whether health policy-makers were more or less interested in accessible and equitable health services. The key findings were:
Improving population health outcomes was more likely to be on the agenda under tax-based systems and when centre-left parties were dominant in government.
Health systems funded through social insurance were more preoccupied with efficiency and cost containment than tax-funded systems.
The political complexion of governments was not a major factor shaping health policy agendas.
Since 2003 there had been an increasing interest in initiatives that addressed public health concerns, access, and equity, and population health outcomes.
Source: Tim Tenbensel, Samantha Eagle, and Toni Ashton, 'Comparing health policy agendas across eleven high income countries: islands of difference in a sea of similarity', Health Policy, Volume 106 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined and assessed empirical studies that explicitly used a welfare regime typology in comparative health research. Just under one-half of studies comparing outcomes by regime found at least some evidence that health inequalities were lowest, or population health was the best, in social democratic countries. Studies analyzing the relationship between health (mortality) and the political determinants or policies of welfare states were more likely to report results consistent with welfare regime theory. But health differences by regime were not always consistent with welfare regime theory: measurement of policy instruments or outcomes of welfare regimes might be more promising for public health research than the use of typologies alone.
Source: Sarah Brennenstuhl, Amelie Quesnel-Vallee, and Peggy McDonough, 'Welfare regimes, population health and health inequalities: a research synthesis', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 66 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A briefing paper discussed the key policy implications of European research findings showing that, if existing patterns of social care use and supply persisted, supply of care was likely to fall behind demand. Meeting the required care capacity posed multifarious challenges for European welfare states, namely: how to limit the growing burden of long-term care expenditure on social security or government budgets, especially in countries that relied heavily on formal care; and how to avoid an increased informal caregiver burden, while at the same time ensuring adequate care for disabled older persons. Technological advances could help close the care gap, by reducing the need for care and boosting the productivity of formal and informal care workers, or by lessening the need for care. As it was impossible to assess whether these efficiency gains would suffice to bridge the care gap, policies should anticipate an increasing care burden and plan accordingly for how to deal with its consequences.
Source: Joanna Geerts and Peter Willeme, Projections of Use and Supply of Long-Term Care in Europe: Policy Implications, Policy Brief 12, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Brief
Date: 2012-Apr
A study reported on the quality-assurance indicators for long-term care in different European countries according to three dimensions: organization type (indicators applied to formal institutional care); quality dimensions (indicators about effectiveness, safety, patient value responsiveness or co-ordination); and system dimensions (input, process or outcome indicators).
Source: Roberto Dandi and Georgia Casanova, Quality Assurance Indicators of Long-Term Care in European Countries, Research Report 110, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the implications of cash-for-care systems for the relationships between users and care workers, based on a qualitative study in Norway and the United Kingdom. The UK system tended to foster one of two kinds of relationships – a master-servant type of relationship or a strong solidarity/emotion-based relationship: the Norwegian system tended to encourage a more professional type of relationship. In everyday practice, however, relationships could be mixed types or they could even resist the direction more usually taken within the particular cash-for-care system.
Source: Karen Christensen, 'Towards sustainable hybrid relationships in cash-for-care systems', Disability & Society, Volume 27 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book provided a cross-national and cross-sectoral study of social care work in Europe, covering policy, provision, and practice, as well as exploring how care work was conceptualized and understood. It considered possible future directions, including the option of a generic professional worker, educated to work across the life course; and whether 'care' would, or should, remain a distinct field of policy and employment.
Source: Claire Cameron and Peter Moss, Care Work in Europe: Current understandings and future directions, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the deinstitutionalization of social care in Europe, and the development of community-based alternatives. The transition from institutional to community-based care was desirable and – despite difficulties – achievable if all stakeholders played their part in the process – researchers, European Union institutions, and member states.
Source: Dorota Tomalak (with Stephen Barnett and John Halloran), Developing Community Care, European Social Network)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book provided a radical re-examination of the nature of social care, the way it was practised, and its purpose. Rather than being confined to a qualified cohort of designated carers, social care was an activity for all: it was the gateway to the humanization of both care-giver and care-receiver. Yet the process of humanization, in order to be effective, needed to encompass both the personal and political worlds. The resultant integral social care could be re-imagined as 'compassionate activism'.
Source: Mark Garavan, Compassionate Activism: An exploration of integral social care, Peter Lang
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the quality-assurance policies for long-term care in European countries. It identified four clusters of countries based on quality policies and indicators, and made policy recommendations.
Source: Roberto Dandi, Georgia Casanova, Roberto Lillini, Massimo Volpe, Antonio Giulio De Belvis, Maria Avolio, and Ferruccio Pelone, Long-Term Care Quality Assurance Policies in European Countries, Research Report 111, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A report provided an overview of alcohol policies in Europe. Alcohol was the third most important risk factor for disease and mortality in Europe after tobacco and high blood pressure.
Source: Peter Anderson, Lars Moller, and Gauden Galea (eds.), Alcohol in the European Union: Consumption, harm and policy approaches, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A report highlighted the extent to which certain sections of society, particularly undocumented migrants, were excluded from healthcare systems in the European Union.
Source: Access to Health Care for Vulnerable Groups in the European Union in 2012: An overview of the condition of persons excluded from healthcare systems in the EU, Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined whether hospitals with a good organization of care (such as improved nurse staffing and work environments) could affect patient care and nurse workforce stability in European countries. The percentage of nurses reporting poor or fair quality of patient care varied substantially by country. Nurses with better work environments were half as likely to report poor or fair care quality and give their hospitals poor or failing grades on patient safety. Each additional patient per nurse increased the odds of nurses reporting poor or fair quality care, and poor or failing safety grades. Patients in hospitals with better work environments were more likely to rate their hospital highly and recommend their hospitals. Results were similar in the United States of America. Improvement of hospital work environments might be a relatively low-cost strategy to improve safety and quality in hospital care and to increase patient satisfaction.
Source: Linda Aiken, Walter Sermeus, Koen Van den Heede, Douglas Sloane, Reinhard Busse, Martin McKee, Luk Bruyneel, Anne Marie Rafferty, Peter Griffiths, Maria Teresa Moreno-Casbas, Carol Tishelman, Anne Scott, Tomasz Brzostek, Juha Kinnunen, Rene Schwendimann, Maud Heinen, Dimitris Zikos, Ingeborg Stromseng Sjetne, Herbert Smith, and Ann Kutney-Lee, 'Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care: cross sectional surveys of nurses and patients in 12 countries in Europe and the United States', British Medical Journal, 20 March 2012
Links: Article
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the role of childhood conditions and social inequality in older Europeans' propensity to age successfully, controlling for later-life risk factors. Unfavourable childhood conditions exhibited a harmful influence on individuals' chances to age well across all European welfare states considered in the study. Policy interventions should thus aim at improving the conditions for successful ageing throughout the entire life course.
Source: Martina Brandt, Christian Deindl, and Karsten Hank, 'Tracing the origins of successful aging: the role of childhood conditions and social inequality in explaining later life health', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 74 Issue 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article critically examined the approach taken by the European Court of Justice regarding the application of the internal market principles (or market freedoms) to the field of healthcare services.
Source: Danielle da Costa Leite Borges, 'European health systems and the internal market: reshaping ideology?', Health Care Analysis, Volume 19 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A new book examined obesity as a big public health issue in affluent societies. Obesity was a response to stress, and some types of welfare regimes were more stressful than others. English-speaking market-liberal societies had higher levels of obesity, and also higher levels of labour and product market competition, which induced uncertainty and anxiety.
Source: Avner Offer, Rachel Pechey, and Stanley Ulijaszek (eds.), Insecurity, Inequality, and Obesity in Affluent Societies, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
See also: Avner Offer, Rachel Pechey, and Stanley Ulijaszek, 'Obesity under affluence varies by welfare regimes: the effect of fast food, insecurity, and inequality', Economics & Human Biology, Volume 8 Issue 3
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined legal and policy issues in relation to 'advance directives' within European healthcare – written or oral statements intended to govern healthcare decision-making for their authors, should they lose decision-making capacity in the future.
Source: Tom Goffin, 'Advance directives as an instrument in an ageing Europe', European Journal of Health Law, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined legal issues related to cross-border reproductive care in the European Union. The EU's interests in harmonization and unification were at odds with the right to national identity of individual states in areas of contested morality.
Source: Wannes Van Hoof and Guido Pennings, 'Extraterritorial laws for cross-border reproductive care: the issue of legal diversity', European Journal of Health Law, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the diversity of approaches to organizing and financing primary healthcare in the Netherlands, England, and United States of America. Approaches differed widely in the three countries: in England the emphasis was on improving the management of patients with multimorbidity, preventing hospital admissions in order to contain costs, and satisfying the increased demand of patients for access to primary care. In all three countries the need to improve co-ordination and integration of chronic disease care remained a core challenge.
Source: Antje Erler, Thomas Bodenheimer, Richard Baker, Nick Goodwin, Cor Spreeuwenberg, Hubertus Vrijhoef, Ellen Nolte, and Ferdinand Gerlach, 'Preparing primary care for the future – perspectives from the Netherlands, England, and USA', German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Health Care, Volume 105 Issue 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined alcohol consumption, health outcomes, and action to reduce harm across the European Union, including the latest research on effective alcohol policies.
Source: Peter Anderson, Lars Moller, and Gauden Galea, Alcohol in the European Union. Consumption, harm and policy approaches, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report | WHO press release
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the experiences and views of experts in 14 European countries regarding mental healthcare for six socially marginalized groups: long-term unemployed people; street sex workers; homeless people; refugees/asylum-seekers; irregular migrants, and members of the travelling communities. Experts held similar views on what constituted good practice: care might be improved through better service organization, co-ordination, and information.
Source: Stefan Priebe, Aleksandra Matanov, Ruth Schor, Christa Strassmayr, Henrique Barros, Margaret Barry, Jose Manuel Diaz-Ollala, Edina Gabor, Tim Greacen, Petra Holcnerova, Ulrike Kluge, Vincent Lorant, Jacek Moskalewicz, Aart Schene, Gloria Macassa, and Andrea Gaddini, 'Good practice in mental health care for socially marginalised groups in Europe: a qualitative study of expert views in 14 countries', BMC Public Health, Volume 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined quality-assurance policies for long-term care in European countries.
Source: Roberto Dandi, Georgia Casanova, Roberto Lillini, Massimo Volpe, Antonio Giulio De Belvis, Maria Avolio, and Ferruccio Pelone, Long-Term Care Quality Assurance Policies in the European Union, Research Report 111, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Report
See also: Roberto Dandi, Quality Assurance Policies and Indicators for Long-Term Care in the European Union, Policy Brief 11, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined the interrelationship between human rights law in Europe and a wide range of health issues – including access to healthcare, health data protection, the quality of pharmaceutical drugs, and medical-ethical issues such as abortion and euthanasia.
Source: Brigit Toebes, Mette Hartlev, Aart Hendriks, and Janne Rothmar Herrmann (eds.), Health and Human Rights in Europe, Intersentia
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined informal and formal home-care use among older adults in European countries. Older adults were more likely to receive informal care only in countries with fewer home-based services, less residential care, more informal care support, and more women working full time. The incorporation of societal determinants rather than commonly used welfare state classifications resulted in a better understanding of the conditions that determined older adults' care use.
Source: Bianca Suanet, Marjolein Broese Van Groenou, and Theo Van Tilburg, 'Informal and formal home-care use among older adults in Europe: can cross-national differences be explained by societal context and composition?', Ageing and Society, Volume 32 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined which policy-relevant characteristics of healthcare systems contributed to health-system efficiency in developed (OECD) countries. Broader health-system structures, such as Beveridgian or Bismarckian financing arrangements or gatekeeping, were not significant determinants of efficiency. Significant contributors to efficiency were policy instruments that directly targeted patient behaviours, such as insurance coverage and cost sharing; and those that directly targeted physician behaviours, such as physician payment methods.
Source: Dominika Wranik, 'Healthcare policy tools as determinants of health-system efficiency: evidence from the OECD', Health Economics, Policy and Law, Volume 7 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined the extent of the problem of substandard housing for Roma people in Europe, and in particular the situation of Traveller groups, who often had difficulties finding a place in halting sites. Problems faced by the Roma included high overcrowding rates, lack of access to improved forms of sanitation, and high levels of urban segregation thus limiting access to healthcare services. These issues reinforced existing health inequalities among Roma people, including an increased risk of disability, chronic illness, and obesity.
Source: Daniel Molinuevo, Maarten Koomen, and Klara Foti, Living Conditions of the Roma: Substandard housing and health, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined recent developments and debates in relation to child protection policy and practice in advanced western societies, with particular reference to England. It considered why the profession of social work was continually subject to criticism in child protection work but, at the same time, continued to be entrusted with playing the central role in it. A major reason for this was that social work played a key role in 'governing the family'. Although it was important that children were protected from harm, it was also important that the privacy of the family was not undermined. Social work expertise was key to maintaining this fine balance and mediating between the various tensions involved.
Source: Nigel Parton, 'Reflections on "governing the family": the close relationship between child protection and social work in advanced western societies – the example of England', Families, Relationships and Societies, Volume 1 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the effect of providing unpaid adult care on the caregivers' probability of being employed, using data from the European Community Household Panel.
Source: Emanuele Ciani, 'Informal adult care and caregivers' employment in Europe', Labour Economics, Volume 19 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined whether choice and competition reforms in healthcare in European countries were only a route to improving economic efficiency, or whether other goals buttressed the so-called choice agenda. Although competition and choice reforms had primarily been driven by the attainment of micro-efficiency and modernization goals, 'middle-class politics' and (to a some extent) provider interests had also appeared to prompt choice reforms.
Source: Joan Costa-Font and Valentina Zigante, Are Health Care "Choice-and-Competition" Reforms Really Efficiency Driven?, Working Paper 26/2012, LSE Health (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
See also: Valentina Zigante, Assessing Welfare Effects of the European Choice Agenda: The case of health care in the United Kingdom, LEQS Paper 35, European Institute (London School of Economics)
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined the issue of how care should be arranged within European states' welfare policies in the context of an ageing population. Projections of population ageing, and concerns about the future ratio of workers to non-working people with care needs, had elevated care into an important policy concern for many European states, and on the level of the European Union.
Source: Umut Erel, 'Transnational care in Europe: changing formations of citizenship, family, and generation', Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 19 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
An article examined whether the public health strategy that had been used to tackle smoking in European countries could be useful in fighting obesity. It discussed whether such public health measures were compliant from a human and patients' rights perspective.
Source: Mette Hartlev, 'Healthy ageing – a patients' rights perspective', European Journal of Health Law, Volume 19 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book investigated the hypothesis that obesity was a response to stress, and that some types of welfare regimes were more stressful than others. English-speaking market-liberal societies had higher levels of obesity, and also higher levels of labour and product market competition, which induced uncertainty and anxiety.
Source: Avner Offer, Rachel Pechey, and Stanley Ulijaszek (eds.), Insecurity, Inequality, and Obesity in Affluent Societies, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
See also: Avner Offer, Rachel Pechey, and Stanley Ulijaszek, 'Obesity under affluence varies by welfare regimes: the effect of fast food, insecurity, and inequality', Economics & Human Biology, Volume 8 Issue 3
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined the choice of income-related health inequality measures in comparative studies. Relative indices of inequality in health attainments and shortfalls embodied distinct vertical equity judgments, where each might represent ethically defensible positions in specific contexts. Further research was needed to explore people's preferences over distributions of income and health.
Source: Paul Allanson and Dennis Petrie, Understanding the Vertical Equity Judgements Underpinning Health Inequality Measures, Working Paper 264, Department of Economic Studies, University of Dundee
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined national quality-assurance policies and indicators for long-term care systems in 15 European Union member states; derived a typology of systems; and made recommendations at all levels (European, national, and local) to improve the quality of long-term care in Europe.
Source: Roberto Dandi, Quality Assurance Policies and Indicators for Long-Term Care in the European Union, Policy Brief 11, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
Links: Brief
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined recent European Union laws on advanced therapy medicinal products (a new legal category of medical product in regenerative medicine), and how two national regimes (France and the United Kingdom) regulated ATMPs that did and did not fall under the scope of EU regulation.
Source: Aurelie Mahalatchimy, Emmanuelle Rial-Sebbag, Virginie Tournay, and Alex Faulkner, 'The legal landscape for advanced therapies: material and institutional implementation of European union rules in France and the United Kingdom', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 39 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined long-term trends in the healthcare financing mix in developed (OECD) countries, developing and applying a trichotomous concept that distinguished taxes, contributions, and private sources.
Source: Ralf Gotze and Achim Schmid, Healthcare Financing in OECD Countries: Beyond the public-private split, TranState Working Paper 160, Collaborative Research Center 597 (University of Bremen)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined the rise of welfare markets in western societies, focusing on old age provision (both retirement provision and elderly care). It considered whether pension and care systems were converging under the influence of globalization – with marketization being a key phenomenon – and to what extent this was creating a transnational culture of welfare markets.
Source: Ingo Bode, The Culture of Welfare Markets: The international recasting of pension and care systems, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined whether differences between welfare regimes in advanced countries could manifest diverse consequences for the health effects of insecure and precarious employment. Precarious workers in Scandinavian welfare states were found to report better or equal health status when compared with their permanent counterparts. By contrast, precarious work in the remaining welfare state regimes was found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, including poor self-rated health, musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, and mental health problems.
Source: Il-Ho Kim, Carles Muntaner, Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Alejandra Vives, Christophe Vanroelen, and Joan Benach , 'Welfare states, flexible employment, and health: a critical review', Health Policy, Volume 104 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A baseline assessment was published of the magnitude of environmental health inequality in Europe, based on a core set of 14 inequality indicators. Socio-economic and demographic inequalities in risk exposure were present in all countries in varying degrees. The report reviewed inequalities related to housing, injuries, and the environment; identified gaps in evidence that still needed to be filled; and suggested priority action to be taken at both sub-regional and national levels.
Source: Environmental Health Inequalities in Europe. Assessment report, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the relationship between suicide mortality and social expenditure in 26 European countries; attitudes towards welfare systems and their relationship with suicide mortality; and attitudes towards welfare provision in eastern and western Europe. Higher social expenditure and greater confidence in welfare provision appeared to have suicide-preventive effects.
Source: Andriy Yur'yev, Airi Varnik, Peeter Varnik, Merike Sisask, and Lauri Leppik, 'Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention', International Journal of Social Welfare, Volume 21 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A paper examined the variety of models for children's services delivery that existed in developed countries, and placed these in the context of existing United Kingdom policy and practice.
Source: Delivering Children's Services in the UK and Other Parts of the World: A short policy context, Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the development of health technology assessment in Europe, and its impact on policy and practice – with a focus on England, France, Germany, and Sweden.
Source: Corinna Sorenson and Kalipso Chalkidou, 'Evolution of health technology assessment in Europe', Health Economics, Policy and Law, Volume 7 Special Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the motivation for introducing activity-based funding for hospitals in European countries. The evidence available suggested that activity-based funding had been associated with an increase in activity, a decline in length of stay, and/or a reduction in the rate of growth in hospital expenditure in most of the countries under consideration.
Source: Jacqueline O'Reilly, Reinhard Busse, Unto Hakkinen, Zeynep Or, Andrew Street, and Miriam Wiley, 'Paying for hospital care: the experience with implementing activity-based funding in five European countries', Health Economics, Policy and Law, Volume 7 Special Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined a European Union Directive that provided a legal framework for cross-border healthcare. The impact of the Directive reached far beyond patient mobility: it created patients' rights, dealt with the quality and safety of healthcare services, and created an 'excessive structure' of co-operation in the field of healthcare.
Source: Miek Peeters, 'Free movement of patients: Directive 2011/24 on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare', European Journal of Health Law, Volume 19 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the introduction of policies to promote or strengthen patient choice in 4 northern European countries – Denmark, England, the Netherlands, and Sweden. There seemed to be convergence among these countries in the overall policy rhetoric about the objectives associated with patient choice, embracing both concepts of empowerment (the intrinsic value) and market competition (the instrumental value). The institutional context and policy concerns (such as waiting times) had been important in affecting the timing of the introduction of choice policies and implementation: but less so in the design of choice policies.
Source: Karsten Vrangbaek, Ruth Robertson, Ulrika Winblad, Hester Van de Bovenkamp, and Anna Dixon, 'Choice policies in northern European health systems', Health Economics, Policy and Law, Volume 7 Special Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
An article related the rise of the 'regulatory state' to the path-dependent trajectories and institutional legacies of discrete European healthcare systems. Although the three countries examined faced similar problems of multilevel governance of networks of third-party payers and providers, each system also gave rise to its own distinct regulatory challenges.
Source: Jan-Kees Helderman, Gwyn Bevan, and George France, 'The rise of the regulatory state in health care: a comparative analysis of the Netherlands, England and Italy', Health Economics, Policy and Law, Volume 7 Special Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
