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[Health surveys in Europe. Overview and activities to harmonize the methods and instruments for comparing the data]
1Institut für Medizinische Soziologie und Sozialmedizin im Medizinischen Zentrum für Methodenwissenschaften und Gesundheitsforschung, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany. cbormann@uni-bremen.de
Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz
|November 18, 2005
Summary
European health surveys are improving in quality and availability, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Harmonization efforts by WHO and EU aim to address challenges in survey design and cross-country data comparability for better health planning.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Services Research
Context:
- Population-based health surveys are crucial for health status assessment and service planning across Europe.
- Significant improvements in data availability and quality have been observed in European health surveys over the past 10-15 years.
- Central and Eastern European countries show particular progress in health survey data.
Purpose:
- To describe the current status of health surveys in Europe.
- To highlight the ongoing challenges in survey design, data quality, and cross-national comparability.
- To outline harmonization initiatives by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) for health surveys.
Summary:
- European health surveys are vital for understanding population health and informing health services and prevention.
- Despite improvements, challenges persist in standardizing survey methodologies and ensuring data comparability across diverse European contexts.
- The World Health Organization and the European Union are actively engaged in harmonizing health survey methods and instruments.
Impact:
- Enhanced comparability of health data across European nations.
- Improved evidence base for public health policy and resource allocation.
- Facilitation of cross-national research and comparative health analysis.