EUPHA: Projects

Migrant and Ethnic Health Observatory Project

The ethnic composition of the European population is changing which has major influence on the demands to health care sectors. A project with a public health perspective focusing on the health of immigrant/ethnic minority groups in Europe is not yet established. With the Migrant and Ethnic Health Observatory (MEHO) we want to place this topic more on the public health agenda. The main objective of MEHO is to develop indicators to monitor the health status of immigrant/ethnic minority groups in Europe. Therefore existing health related databases and surveys will be used and an European network of epidemiological observatories on migrants’ health will be established. This network will generate an European overview of comparable and exchangeable data on sociodemographic and health profile of immigrant/ethnic minority groups for selected health problems. Specific attention will be paid to the conceptual, methodological, ethical and practical issue of identifying immigrants and ethnic minorities in health databases and to the assessment of valid comparisons between these groups within countries and between countries.

We do not only include immigrant/ethnic minority groups in Western Europe but also the Roma population in Central and Eastern Europe.

We focus on five critical health areas for which we know already that ethnic specific health data is available: mortality, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, infectious diseases, cancer, self-perceived health and health care use.

Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/public-health/sphere/spherehome.htm
Final brochure of the project: click here

SPHERE has described public health research at European level, including support by national governments, and advised how it can be strengthened and most effectively integrated with European health policy.

Public health research has supported the improvement of the health of European citizens in many fields – for example, through immunisation, population screening, access to health care, chronic disease control, risk management, pharmaceuticals monitoring, health promotion and environmental control. Our research will engage the public health science and policy communities through the European Public Health Association, through national and European political and administrative stakeholders, and with international scientific bodies and institutions.

SPHERE has been undertaken by a consortium of 19 European public health experts from 13 EU Member States. The study has reviewed multi-language scientific literature, investigated viewpoints and programmes of stakeholders, organised conferences and work of European collaborative groups, and assessed the contribution of research training. It has developed understanding of quality, effectiveness and impact of public health research. It has also drawn on evidence from outside Europe, particularly North America, and reviewed public health research in selected NIS countries.

Three main workshops, in 2005, 2006 and 2007 have been linked to the annual major conferences of the European Public Health Association, while two interval workshops addressed key dimensions of methodolgies and research policy implementation. Reports from participants have been integrated at the Second main workshop, and the preliminary assessment report has been further consulted on with stakeholders, especially at national levels and with European institutions. The process has contributed to developing public health research within the Seventh Framework Research Programme, the public health programme of EC DG Health and public health policy implementation in member states. The final publication will provide a unique point of reference for the European Research Area.

This research project is supported by the European Commission's Sixth Framework Research Programme.

Website: http://www.aspher.org/index.php?auto=accreditation_in_ph....

The European Accreditation of PH Education (PH-ACCR) project is an EU-funded project (Leonardo da Vinci funding programme) coordinated by Jagiellonian University, Institute of Public Health, Medical College in Krakow (Poland). The PH-ACCR project started in November 2005 and will end in November 2007. It is structured around nine work packages coordinated by one project partner and with involvement of the other partners. Partners in the PH-ACCR project include:

Institute of Public Health Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland (as promoter and coordinator)
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, UK
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
National School of Public Health (ENSP), Rennes, France
Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Faculty of Public Health, Medical University Sofia, Bulgaria
Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER)
European Public Health Association (EUPHA), The Netherlands

The main aim of this project is to develop the standardisation and quality criteria with respect to PH education, test it and institutionalise it in the form of a European Accreditation Agency for Public Health Education.

The Accreditation Standards have been elaborated based upon the APD document (2005) and grouped in a set of 9 Dimensions. The Procedure for Accreditation has been agreed upon and a working draft is now prepared. The same applies to the Structure of the Accreditation Agency (EAAPHE). These documents together with the finally completed Report of Systems of Accreditation of Education and of PH in Europe are parts of the Accreditation System description.

Based up on these foundations, a Pilot Accreditation system has been proposed and an Accreditation International Experts research procedure has been finalised ending up with a pool of 20 persons established following a conference organised in Copenhagen in December 2006 to discuss the accreditation system. Also a Review and Mapping of European Accreditation of PH Education Stakeholders has been finalised. Two MPH programs chosen for pilot accreditation (Sheffield in the UK and Kaunas in Lithuania) underwent in Spring 2007 a pilot accreditation review with two separate expert teams. A PH Accreditation Conference in Krakow (Poland) on 29-30th November 2007 will be the final event for the project presenting the state of art of the European Accreditation of Public Health education.

The EURHOMAP project: Mapping professional home care in Europe

Website: http://www.nivel.nl/

EC project
EURHOMAP (Mapping professional home care in Europe) is a research funded project by the European Community under the Public Health Action Programme (2003-2008).

Organisation
The EURHOMAP project is coordinated by NIVEL (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research) and involves a network of institutions and organisations from 9 member states. EURHOMAP is supported by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), and the European Forum for Primary Care.

Project aims
EURHOMAP will show the preparedness of European health care systems for coping with changes in care preferences and increasing demands for community health services because of demographical changes.
More specifically, the objective of EURHOMAP is to show the variation in the degree of development and the levels of provision and utilisation of professional home care in the countries in Europe.
This will be achieved by gathering, analysing and disseminating information on various aspects of home care services.

Participating countries
The EURHOMAP project will cover the 27 European Union (EU) member states, one EU candidate country (Croatia), and three members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

Expected results
The ultimate result of EURHOMAP is to put home care on the European map by showing its different roles (e.g. good practices) in European health care systems, the variation in financing and provision, the links with other sectors of health care and social services, and the type of patients' needs and demand home care is responding to.

Duration
The EUROMAP project will run from 1 September 2007 until 1 September 2010.

The PHAMEU project: Primary Health Care Activity Monitor for Europe

Website: http://www.phameu.eu/

EC project
PHAMEU (Primary Health Care Activity Monitor for Europe) is a research funded project by the European Community under the Public Health Action Programme (2003-2008).

Organisation
The PHAMEU project is coordinated by NIVEL (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research) and involves a network of institutes and organisations from 10 member states.

Project aims
Overall, PHAMEU aims to establish a sustainable health information and knowledge system on the state and development of primary care systems in Europe.
More specifically, PHAMEU will monitor the degree of development of primary care systems by means of a measurement instrument that is applicable to all national situations in Europe and that is able to capture the essential elements of primary care. The measurement instrument will be developed, implemented and will have two complete data collection rounds in all participating countries. This will result in a validated instrument producing up-to-date primary care information.

Participating countries
The PHAMEU project will cover the 27 European Union (EU) member states, one EU candidate country (Turkey), and three members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

Expected results
PHAMEU will result in a primary care monitoring instrument providing country descriptions, international comparisons, trends in primary care and implications for primary care policy.
The project will create an infrastructure for repeated application of the monitoring instrument.
Recommendations will be made for policy makers, including models of good practice and future monitoring of primary care.
Results will be disseminated to policy makers, communities of professionals and researchers, and to the general public

Duration
The PHAMEU project will run from 1 November 2007 until 1 November 2010.