European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 25, No. 1, 178–179 ß The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1093/eurpub/cku218
European Public Health News n this European public health news, the main
I topics are governance, leadership and commu-
nication. Jakab addresses governance and emphasizes the need for enabling and rewarding joint action. McKee showcases the Glasgow 2014 conference as an excellent and much needed tool for communication. Zeegers Paget elaborates on the new leadership role for EUPHA and Barnhoorn shows that governance, leadership and communication all come together at the annual European Public Health Conference.
Dineke Zeegers Paget EUPHA Executive Director
nce upon a time, communication of public messages involved a doctor, often wearing a white coat, standing in front of an audience and giving a basic lecture in biology. The topic might be food hygiene, explaining the basics of the germ theory as a way to encourage the audience to wash their hands before preparing meals. Or it might be sexual health, explained with the help of anatomical drawings of the reproductive system, usually without any explanation of how it came to be that the male and female versions actually came together. All of this was happening at a time when those making products that were damaging health, in particular the tobacco industry, were using ever more sophisticated and subtle techniques to get their message across. In countless movies of the time, tobacco industry sponsorship ensured that smoking was portrayed as cool. The tobacco companies weren’t lecturing their audience, they were selling a lifestyle. The alcohol manufacturers were not far behind. Several generations of those of us who lived in Ireland were brought up to believe that ‘Guinness is good for you’. Although those in the forefront of health promotion began to change their approach, adopting techniques drawn from social marketing, the way many public health professionals spoke to each other seemed hardly to have changed. We came to conferences and sat listening (at least those who managed to stay awake) to long and often tedious presentations illustrated by slides that were invariably prefaced by the words ‘you won’t be able to read this but . . .’. Questions from the audience provided an opportunity for those who had not been invited to speak, often for good reason, to give the lecture they believed we all needed to hear. The concept of the succinct soundbite was one that had passed them by.
O health
Martin McKee EUPHA President
EUPHA office column e are excited to announce that EUPHA’s
WGoverning Board adopted the new strategy
for the period 2014–20 in its meeting in Glasgow on 20 November 2014. The Board agreed unanimously with the new strategy as presented by Martin McKee, who took over from Walter Ricciardi as EUPHA’s President in the same meeting. Martin set out by explaining that EUPHA has a unique position in the field of public health in Europe being the largest network of public health professionals and covering nearly all countries of Europe. EUPHA has an excellent reputation of being a strong, independent and broad science-based network. At the same time, it should use this unique position to the fullest extent and this second EUPHA strategy aims to do just that by combining support to our members with representation of our members at European and global level. EUPHA’s mission is to facilitate and activate a strong voice of the public health network by facilitating visibility of the evidence and by enhancing the capacity of public health professionals. There are three main objectives:
(1) To be a leading scientific and independent voice in the field of public health and health services research and policy; (2) To build capacity and knowledge in the field of public health and health services research with the aim of supporting evidence-informed practice and policy decisions; and (3) To prepare the next generations of engaged and connected public health professionals for their leadership role in public health. The Governing Board elected Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Malta, as its new President Elect. She was selected with a clear majority in an election which featured excellent candidates from Spain and France as well. Natasha will take over the Presidency from Martin McKee in November 2016. As said, Martin McKee took over the Presidency from Walter Ricciardi who has led EUPHA for 4 years. From the office we would like to thank Walter for his commitment and inspiring leadership and we very much look forward to working with Martin in the coming years.
Dineke Zeegers Paget EUPHA Executive Director
Downloaded from http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on November 16, 2015
President’s Column
How things have moved on! The 7th European Public Health conference, held in Glasgow, showed what can be done. Plenary lectures were, at most, 15 min. And our marvellous speakers demonstrated clearly that they needed no more time to get their message across. Others had even less time. Researchers from four EU funded projects put their ideas to a health minister (actually Sir Harry Burns, the exceptional former Chief Medical Officer of Scotland) in only 3 min—the time you might get in an elevator at a major international meeting. They then had a further 2 min to answer his often penetrating questions. As those present will have observed, they had not been forewarned of the questions. Not everyone would be willing to expose themselves to a large audience in this way and we admire their courage in taking part, as well as their obvious ability to communicate a clear and concise message. Other plenaries assumed the format of a chat show, with our now regular anchorman, Josep Figueras, showing how to get the best from conversations with senior officials. And the communication did not stop at the walls of the conference centre. Twitter ensured that the messages were conveyed to a large audience far beyond Glasgow, many of whom then engaged actively in the debates (although, inevitably, they included among them some who see any attempt to improve health as an attack on their individual freedom or, in many cases, the profits of their paymasters). And within Glasgow, a team including Chris Birt, Ane Bonde, Modi Mwatsama and Nanette Mutrie set off on bicycles to local coffee shops for pop up talks to members of the public on nutrition and physical activity. And there was much more communication going on in Glasgow, not just in the lecture theatres and breakout rooms but also in the corridors, over coffee and around the posters. This was not an accident. It reflected the fact that this was an incredibly well-organized conference. We are very grateful to the chair of the conference, Alastair Leyland, for guiding all participants through the conference programme and giving us a clear understanding and appreciation of Scottish hospitality. The EPH Conference Foundation, with great support from Dineke and her team, has proven once again that it is capable to organise a successful conference where inspirational, innovative and international communication comes together. We are extremely grateful to all of them. So, onwards and upwards. It is already clear that we will have another excellent conference in Milan in 2015. I look forward to seeing you all there.
European Public Health News
179
MESSAGE FROM THE WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE: SECURING BETTER GOVERNANCE FOR SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Governance for health
The full-length version of this article is available online.
Health is shaped by the diverse social and environmental determinants that affect all areas of our societies. These include the nature and type of employment; housing and environmental conditions; income level and security and participation in education and community resources. Addressing these challenges requires new innovative and integrated whole-of-government and -society approaches to governance for health using, partnership models that involve a range of actors, including both civil society and the private sector. At the same time, the nature of how we govern is growing increasingly complex. A wide range of social, technological, political and cultural factors are dispersing governance across societies. Decisions and impacts are increasingly interdependent and complex across all sectors and actors within a society, and accordingly solutions need to be jointly produced. There are a number of formal and informal mechanisms that facilitate such action. Entry points exist for common policy action across sectors, delivering both overall health
This is the fifth article of a series in which, through the support of the editor of The European Journal of Public Health, I shall present the European health policy framework Health 2020 as an agenda for action to deal with today’s health challenges.
Health 2020’s value and themes Today, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the social determinants of health and their impact on health inequities. The health and well-being of populations are best achieved if the whole of both government and society are fully engaged. Health 2020 also makes the case for moving our policy thinking ‘upstream’ so as to address the root causes of poor health and health inequities. This approach brings both health and economic benefits.
improvement and reduced health inequities provided that the action taken is proportionate to the position of policy recipients across the health gradient. Responding to the differential needs of deprived and marginalized groups is vital.
Conclusion It is essential that we promote and ensure shared responsibility for health and health equity across all sectors of government, strengthening the range and consistency of instruments to deal with the social and environmental determinants of health; enabling and rewarding joint action across government at the local, regional and national levels and promoting and extending accountability.
Zsuzsanna Jakab Regional Director WHO Regional Office for Europe
FROM 7TH TO 8TH EPH CONFERENCE: FROM GLASGOW TO MILAN ith the 7th EPH Conference behind us, we
W are looking forward to the 8th edition which
will be organized in Milan from 14 to 17 October 2015. The theme of the 8th EPH Conference is ‘Health in Europe—from global to local policies, methods and practices’. In Glasgow, we welcomed more than 1500 delegates from more than 70 countries. Among them we had researchers, educators, policy makers, community representatives and health managers, all sharing new information and insights from their experiences
with interventions to reduce health inequalities, the theme of the conference. We learned that health inequalities remain a persistent problem in European countries. Although health in Europe has improved in recent decades, inequalities in health have widened as well. Health inequalities exist not only between countries but also in countries and continue to increase. The evidence presented at the EPH Conference in Glasgow was overwhelming. Health inequalities within countries continue to rise. In Glasgow, for example,
there is a 9 year gap in male life expectancy between neighbourhoods. In times of austerity, people are cutting back on healthy lifestyles, especially in the lower income groups, thereby increasing health inequalities. A comprehensive summary of the conference will be published by the end of February on our website www. ephconference.eu.
Floris Barnhoorn Deputy Director, EPH Conference Office
Downloaded from http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on November 16, 2015
Introduction
European Public Health News n this European public health news, the main
I topics are governance, leadership and commu-
nication. Jakab addresses governance and emphasizes the need for enabling and rewarding joint action. McKee showcases the Glasgow 2014 conference as an excellent and much needed tool for communication. Zeegers Paget elaborates on the new leadership role for EUPHA and Barnhoorn shows that governance, leadership and communication all come together at the annual European Public Health Conference.
Dineke Zeegers Paget EUPHA Executive Director
nce upon a time, communication of public messages involved a doctor, often wearing a white coat, standing in front of an audience and giving a basic lecture in biology. The topic might be food hygiene, explaining the basics of the germ theory as a way to encourage the audience to wash their hands before preparing meals. Or it might be sexual health, explained with the help of anatomical drawings of the reproductive system, usually without any explanation of how it came to be that the male and female versions actually came together. All of this was happening at a time when those making products that were damaging health, in particular the tobacco industry, were using ever more sophisticated and subtle techniques to get their message across. In countless movies of the time, tobacco industry sponsorship ensured that smoking was portrayed as cool. The tobacco companies weren’t lecturing their audience, they were selling a lifestyle. The alcohol manufacturers were not far behind. Several generations of those of us who lived in Ireland were brought up to believe that ‘Guinness is good for you’. Although those in the forefront of health promotion began to change their approach, adopting techniques drawn from social marketing, the way many public health professionals spoke to each other seemed hardly to have changed. We came to conferences and sat listening (at least those who managed to stay awake) to long and often tedious presentations illustrated by slides that were invariably prefaced by the words ‘you won’t be able to read this but . . .’. Questions from the audience provided an opportunity for those who had not been invited to speak, often for good reason, to give the lecture they believed we all needed to hear. The concept of the succinct soundbite was one that had passed them by.
O health
Martin McKee EUPHA President
EUPHA office column e are excited to announce that EUPHA’s
WGoverning Board adopted the new strategy
for the period 2014–20 in its meeting in Glasgow on 20 November 2014. The Board agreed unanimously with the new strategy as presented by Martin McKee, who took over from Walter Ricciardi as EUPHA’s President in the same meeting. Martin set out by explaining that EUPHA has a unique position in the field of public health in Europe being the largest network of public health professionals and covering nearly all countries of Europe. EUPHA has an excellent reputation of being a strong, independent and broad science-based network. At the same time, it should use this unique position to the fullest extent and this second EUPHA strategy aims to do just that by combining support to our members with representation of our members at European and global level. EUPHA’s mission is to facilitate and activate a strong voice of the public health network by facilitating visibility of the evidence and by enhancing the capacity of public health professionals. There are three main objectives:
(1) To be a leading scientific and independent voice in the field of public health and health services research and policy; (2) To build capacity and knowledge in the field of public health and health services research with the aim of supporting evidence-informed practice and policy decisions; and (3) To prepare the next generations of engaged and connected public health professionals for their leadership role in public health. The Governing Board elected Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Malta, as its new President Elect. She was selected with a clear majority in an election which featured excellent candidates from Spain and France as well. Natasha will take over the Presidency from Martin McKee in November 2016. As said, Martin McKee took over the Presidency from Walter Ricciardi who has led EUPHA for 4 years. From the office we would like to thank Walter for his commitment and inspiring leadership and we very much look forward to working with Martin in the coming years.
Dineke Zeegers Paget EUPHA Executive Director
Downloaded from http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on November 16, 2015
President’s Column
How things have moved on! The 7th European Public Health conference, held in Glasgow, showed what can be done. Plenary lectures were, at most, 15 min. And our marvellous speakers demonstrated clearly that they needed no more time to get their message across. Others had even less time. Researchers from four EU funded projects put their ideas to a health minister (actually Sir Harry Burns, the exceptional former Chief Medical Officer of Scotland) in only 3 min—the time you might get in an elevator at a major international meeting. They then had a further 2 min to answer his often penetrating questions. As those present will have observed, they had not been forewarned of the questions. Not everyone would be willing to expose themselves to a large audience in this way and we admire their courage in taking part, as well as their obvious ability to communicate a clear and concise message. Other plenaries assumed the format of a chat show, with our now regular anchorman, Josep Figueras, showing how to get the best from conversations with senior officials. And the communication did not stop at the walls of the conference centre. Twitter ensured that the messages were conveyed to a large audience far beyond Glasgow, many of whom then engaged actively in the debates (although, inevitably, they included among them some who see any attempt to improve health as an attack on their individual freedom or, in many cases, the profits of their paymasters). And within Glasgow, a team including Chris Birt, Ane Bonde, Modi Mwatsama and Nanette Mutrie set off on bicycles to local coffee shops for pop up talks to members of the public on nutrition and physical activity. And there was much more communication going on in Glasgow, not just in the lecture theatres and breakout rooms but also in the corridors, over coffee and around the posters. This was not an accident. It reflected the fact that this was an incredibly well-organized conference. We are very grateful to the chair of the conference, Alastair Leyland, for guiding all participants through the conference programme and giving us a clear understanding and appreciation of Scottish hospitality. The EPH Conference Foundation, with great support from Dineke and her team, has proven once again that it is capable to organise a successful conference where inspirational, innovative and international communication comes together. We are extremely grateful to all of them. So, onwards and upwards. It is already clear that we will have another excellent conference in Milan in 2015. I look forward to seeing you all there.
European Public Health News
179
MESSAGE FROM THE WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE: SECURING BETTER GOVERNANCE FOR SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Governance for health
The full-length version of this article is available online.
Health is shaped by the diverse social and environmental determinants that affect all areas of our societies. These include the nature and type of employment; housing and environmental conditions; income level and security and participation in education and community resources. Addressing these challenges requires new innovative and integrated whole-of-government and -society approaches to governance for health using, partnership models that involve a range of actors, including both civil society and the private sector. At the same time, the nature of how we govern is growing increasingly complex. A wide range of social, technological, political and cultural factors are dispersing governance across societies. Decisions and impacts are increasingly interdependent and complex across all sectors and actors within a society, and accordingly solutions need to be jointly produced. There are a number of formal and informal mechanisms that facilitate such action. Entry points exist for common policy action across sectors, delivering both overall health
This is the fifth article of a series in which, through the support of the editor of The European Journal of Public Health, I shall present the European health policy framework Health 2020 as an agenda for action to deal with today’s health challenges.
Health 2020’s value and themes Today, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the social determinants of health and their impact on health inequities. The health and well-being of populations are best achieved if the whole of both government and society are fully engaged. Health 2020 also makes the case for moving our policy thinking ‘upstream’ so as to address the root causes of poor health and health inequities. This approach brings both health and economic benefits.
improvement and reduced health inequities provided that the action taken is proportionate to the position of policy recipients across the health gradient. Responding to the differential needs of deprived and marginalized groups is vital.
Conclusion It is essential that we promote and ensure shared responsibility for health and health equity across all sectors of government, strengthening the range and consistency of instruments to deal with the social and environmental determinants of health; enabling and rewarding joint action across government at the local, regional and national levels and promoting and extending accountability.
Zsuzsanna Jakab Regional Director WHO Regional Office for Europe
FROM 7TH TO 8TH EPH CONFERENCE: FROM GLASGOW TO MILAN ith the 7th EPH Conference behind us, we
W are looking forward to the 8th edition which
will be organized in Milan from 14 to 17 October 2015. The theme of the 8th EPH Conference is ‘Health in Europe—from global to local policies, methods and practices’. In Glasgow, we welcomed more than 1500 delegates from more than 70 countries. Among them we had researchers, educators, policy makers, community representatives and health managers, all sharing new information and insights from their experiences
with interventions to reduce health inequalities, the theme of the conference. We learned that health inequalities remain a persistent problem in European countries. Although health in Europe has improved in recent decades, inequalities in health have widened as well. Health inequalities exist not only between countries but also in countries and continue to increase. The evidence presented at the EPH Conference in Glasgow was overwhelming. Health inequalities within countries continue to rise. In Glasgow, for example,
there is a 9 year gap in male life expectancy between neighbourhoods. In times of austerity, people are cutting back on healthy lifestyles, especially in the lower income groups, thereby increasing health inequalities. A comprehensive summary of the conference will be published by the end of February on our website www. ephconference.eu.
Floris Barnhoorn Deputy Director, EPH Conference Office
Downloaded from http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on November 16, 2015
Introduction
