Events

European Health Award 2008

Winner & short-listed projects

01-04 October 2008, Bad Hofgastein

We would like to congratulate the winning project CAWT Renal Project.

The quality of care for patients with renal deficits are influenced by location and geography (physical access to serices) and the distance for border populations to their own national centres of service. The importance of medical care for nephrological deficits increases with the number of patients requiring dialysis (which raises 10% per annum). Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT) is a partnership that facilitates collaborative working between health and social care organisations and staff across the Irish border and ameliorates any deficiencies associated with the relatively poor border region of Ireland. The effects of the project are agreements on the clinical standards concerning the quality of healthcare in haemodialysis patients, increased border flow of patients and cross-border provision of specialist care and the implementation of shared strategies to achieve improvements in quality of renal care.

Participant countries: Ireland, United Kingdom

SHORTLISTED PROJECTS

Project 1: CAWT Renal Project: Cross-Border Collaboration for Quality Improvement in Delivery of Renal Care

Project 2: Improving public health responses to extreme weather events/heat-waves – EuroHEAT

The general aim of the EuroHEAT project was to improve public health responses to weather extremes and in particular heat-waves by developing practical tools to inform decision-makers and to support health authorities in developing and improving heat–health action plans. On the basis of the results generated by the EuroHEAT project, two tools for public health interventions were made available: A web-based climate information support tool which provides decision makers with early information about potential dangers for human health from heat-waves and a guidance for heat-health action plans aiming at ministries of health and regional and local health authorities to support them in designing, improving and implementing heat–health action plans.

Participating countries: Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The Netherlands, United Kingdom

Project 3: European Heart Health Charter

Each year, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) kill more than 2 million in the European Union (EU). It is responsible for 45% of all deaths in women across Europe and 38% of the deaths in men. Cardiovascular disease is estimated to cost the EU economy € 192 billion per annum. But cardiovascular disease is in large part preventable. The project's aim is to provide a variety of tools to be used by government officials, health organisations and associations to improve public understanding about CVD and its risk factors. The project created an alliance at European level between the medical profession, patients, heart health promotion specialists and policy makers around Heart Health in Europe. As result, 28 European countries have officially adopted and launched the Charter. The partners exchange the best practice through the dedicated website.

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom

Project 4: European Immunization Week

European Immunization Week is an annual event, assisting member states of the WHO European Region to fulfil their obligations of universal immunization. The main purpose is to increase the number of people in the European Region that are immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. The initiative has grown from nine participating countries in 2005 to 32 in 2008, covering three quarters of the Region’s population of 880 million people. Approaches vary from public awareness campaigns to workshops for health professionals, and the introduction of new immunization guidelines and vaccination schedules. Hard-to-reach groups are specifically targeted.

Participating countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan

Project 5: Regional Network for the Improvement of Healthcare Services

"Healthregio" is the first major co-operation project in the health care sector within Central Europe - with the main focus on the elimination of regional disparities between old and “new” Member States. The project aimed at providing a sound basis of planning for policy and economic decision makers to ensure the targeted control of health policy for this region with its specific challenges. It pooled all available know-how of and in the region, explored concrete needs for joint projects, defined common objectives and promoted quality assurance. The long-term objective of "healthregio" is to create concrete value added for the people, the health systems and the economy of Central Europe, by promoting the integration of the region through cross-border co-operation and intensified economic and political co-ordination.

Participating countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia

Project 6: HELENA: Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence in 13-16 years adolescents across Europe

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are associated with lifestyle factors - and most of them that affect a huge number of people in western countries - have their origin during childhood and adolescence but the relationship between the development of non-communicable diseases and the adolescence process is poorly understood. An environment that supports positive health behaviour and healthy lifestyle is key to tackling NCDs. The main objective of the project was to obtain reliable and comparable data of a representative sample of European adolescents, concerning: foods and nutrients intake, food choices and preferences, obesity prevalence, vitamin and minerals status, physical activity and fitness patterns. The results are that 28 European countries have officially adopted and launched the Charter and exercise a dialogue among experts, cardiovascular health promotion organisations and policy makers at government level. Through the dedicated website the best practice is exchanged. The project produced assessment of current state of health of European adolescents and established intervention programmes to increase physical activity and vegetable intake.

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Spain and UK

Project 7: The Mental Health Project for South-Eastern Europe

The Mental Health Project for south-eastern Europe was launched in 2001, under the auspices of the Stability Pact. The aim is to bring the South-eastern countries closer to the norms and standards of the European Union. It is an action plan to improve mental health in the nine countries in the region. The project was focused on developing national mental health policies and legislation with human rights protection that comply with international standards. Furthermore, it aimed at establishing a common SEE model for community mental health services, including a pilot community mental health center in each country.

Participating countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

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