< PreviousOUTCOMESEHFG 202010 3. From data to decisionss How then can we ensure that all the health- related data we can rapidly generate and share brings actual benefit to people, increases cooperation across countries and translates into coordinated action on our biggest challenges? At the EHFG 2020, dealing with uncertainties, transferring good practices, and turning data into plans and strategies that will benefit all were central topics – as well as looking at the ‘dark side of data’, and evaluating the protections needed to safeguard people’s privacy and liberty while we make new strides in using Big Data for health. The pathway of translating evidence into action starts with the way we generate data in academia. In a complex system full of uncertainty, such as a fast-moving health crisis, stubborn adherence to a biomedical scientific paradigm cannot suffice to address the threat, reminded Trish Greenhalgh, Professor, University of Oxford. Real-world data observed from pragmatic interventions can complement other forms of evidence such as randomised controlled studies. To build trust with policymakers, being honest about the fact that most data in a complex system will be flawed or incomplete is vital, counselled Greenhalgh. This sentiment was shared by the ‘advisees’ on the other side of the policy equation: “Don’t be afraid to say what you don’t know”, appealed Chris Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Malta, “At the end of the day, the most important thing science has is trust.” It is not only during a pandemic that translating evidence into action and transferring best practices between countries proves a challenge. The slower moving threat of NCDs remains an area in which sharing data and successful policy across Europe is crucial. Examples from countries and regions that have worked with European Joint Actions illustrated how this could be achieved. Francisco Ruiz, Advisor, Andalusian Ministry of Health, has overseen the Andalusian implementation of a Workplace Health Promotion intervention initiated in the Lombardy region of Italy, which was selected OUTCOMESEHFG 202011 as a good practice example by the European Joint Action CHRODIS PLUS. Thanks to the Joint Action, even more possibilities of transnational scale-up are on the horizon for this intervention: the programme has already garnered attention from the OECD as well as from Ireland and the Netherlands. The Europe Beats Cancer Plan (EBCP) also offers hope for a renewed European commitment to fighting the burden of NDCs, but much work remains to be done. The overwhelming majority of participants in an interactive session focused on the EBCP agreed that a European cancer dashboard is needed for the plan, marking progress towards its goals on the basis of parameters defined and accessible by all stakeholders - crucially among them patients and the public. Finally, when considering the potential of data to spur action and translation, we cannot disregard the need to safeguard peoples’ rights and privacy against the interests of data commercialisation. “One thing we really need to address going on from this crisis is how to better move data back into the hands of entities whose job and responsibility it is to use data in the public interest”, stressed Carly Kind, Director, Ada Lovelace Institute. “Data can defeat disease!” Mike Ryan, Executive Director, World Health Organization Emergencies Programme “One thing we really need to address going on from this crisis is how to better move data back into the hands of entities whose job and responsibility it is to use data in the public interest.” Carly Kind, Director, Ada Lovelace InstituteOUTCOMESEHFG 202012 How do we make sure that people and communities have a say in their health and well-being, and empower them even and especially during times of crisis? Meaningful agency in health requires access to knowledge as well as to care and services, and several sessions in the EHFG 2020 programme focused on levelling the playing field with regard to both. As pointed out by Kaisa Immonen, Director of Policy, European Patients’ Forum, public authorities remain a well-trusted source of information for people – but they have a long way to go when it comes to communicating crucial health information effectively and understandably. Empowering young people to be the leaders of tomorrow as well as listening to their voices in the here and now will be crucial to improve health policy on resilience, prevention, literacy, digitalisation, and beyond. As summarised by Susana Solís Pérez, MEP, during an interactive session focused on harnessing the priorities of young professionals and advocates: “Now more than ever, policymakers need to collaborate with young people to build a brighter and more inspiring future for Europe.” When it comes to equitable access to pharmaceuticals and medical products, an oftentimes tenuous balance must be struck between public and private interests. New models of partnership are needed to work together constructively in service of greater access to affordable medicines for people, while maintaining commercial viability for producers. At the EHFG 2020, the WHO Regional Office for Europe together with the Norwegian Ministry for Health and Care Services announced the kick-off of one such new model, the Oslo Medicines Initiative, convening Member States and non-state actors for an inclusive dialogue focused on finding tangible solutions for access to novel medicines. “Let’s not just look at the same parts of the equation again and try to add or subtract”’, encouraged Nathalie Moll, Director 4. Empowerment and agency OUTCOMESEHFG 202013 General, EFPIA, “there are completely new parts of the equation that we need to factor in, and we need to be a bit brave indeed.” Getting practical about making health more democratic, examples from Thailand, France and Portugal showcased how participatory bodies that include civil society in health advisory and governance can be institutionalised. However, during the COVID-19 crisis, in many places civil society has also been kept entirely outside of expert committees and decision-making processes. “More voices in decision-making are not a luxury”, urged Agnès Soucat, Director, Department for Health Systems Governance and Financing, World Health Organization, “they are not the cherry on top of the cake of a modern health system – they are at the root. Governance is fundamentally about people’s voices and agency. If we want to leave no- one behind, everyone needs to be part of the social contract.” “More voices in decision- making are not a luxury - they are fundamental. If we want to leave no-one behind, everyone needs to be part of the social contract.” Agnès Soucat, Director, Department for Health Systems Governance and Financing, World Health Organization “Now more than ever, policymakers need to collaborate with young people to build a brighter and more inspiring future for Europe.” Susana Solís Pérez, MEPOUTCOMESEHFG 202014 Ultimately, building agency in health cannot happen without a joint commitment. While individualistic and uncoordinated responses to the pandemic have laid bare the fault- lines in European cooperation, they have also served as a clarion call for unity and a bigger mandate on health for the bloc as a whole. As pointed out by Ilona Kickbusch, Founding Director of the Global Health Programme, Graduate Institute Geneva: “The challenge is not to make the EU responsible for every problem, but to foster collaboration, and to do so in solidarity with the rest of the world.” The COVID-19 crisis has spotlighted the political importance of health and proven to be a catalyst in changing mindsets and even the EU budget – but how we choose to focus this new commitment remains key, stressed Caroline Costongs, Director, EuroHealthNet: “We need to strengthen a psychosocial approach to crisis preparedness, not only a biomedical approach.” To empower the EU in safeguarding health across the continent as well as championing global health solidarity, “we need to both apply the current EU instruments more effectively, and to strengthen the health mandate with additional financial and regulatory powers”, clarified Marta Temido, Minister of Health, Portugal. Other panelists reminded us that we may need to be pragmatic in our approaches to achieve common goals, with Thomas Steffen, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Germany, calling for substance over style. Can a ‘European Health Union’ chart the way out of the current crisis and create the tools to build a more resilient future? The path forward may be a rocky one, but one message was clear: health as a fundamental human right is at the very core of the European idea. As summarised by Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, “Returning to the old normal is clearly not an option! Right now, we have a chance to move forward together and evolve to create a healthy, more resilient EU bolstered by multilateralism and solidarity.”OUTCOMESEHFG 202015 Session Videos Conference Archive Press & Media Additional Links Imprint European Health Forum Gastein Tauernplatz 1, 5630 Bad Hofgastein, Austria www.ehfg.org · info@ehfg.org Becky Hatchett and Naomi Fein Think Visual November 2020 Publisher: Illustration and design: Published: Next >