Implementing the European Core Health Indicators (ECHI) in the Netherlands: an overview of data availability

Area of Science:

• Public Health Monitoring
• Health Indicator Data Management
• European Health Information Systems

Background:

• The European Commission and EU Member States developed the European Core Health Indicators (ECHI) shortlist for public health monitoring.
• Developmental work on ECHI indicators continued through the Joint Action for European Community Health Indicators and Monitoring (ECHIM) from 2009-2012.
• This study assesses the current data availability for ECHI indicators in the Netherlands and recent progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the availability of data for ECHI indicators in the Netherlands.
• To assess the progress in data availability over the past five years.
• To illustrate challenges in harmonizing national data with international requirements.

Main Methods:

• Consulted Dutch data experts, relevant websites, and reports on health monitoring.
• Compared available Dutch data against ECHI definitions, preferred data sources, and dimensions.
• Assessed data availability for 75 ECHI indicators.

Main Results:

• Data is available for 66 out of 75 assessed ECHI indicators in the Netherlands.
• Data for 48 indicators are extractable from international databases, and 18 are available through other sources.
• Breakdowns by socio-economic status or region are not possible for 35% of available indicators; definitions differ for 32%.

Conclusions:

• Overall data availability for ECHI indicators in the Netherlands is considered good.
• Dutch and European harmonization efforts since 2009 have significantly improved and will continue to improve data availability.
• Sustainable European initiatives are crucial for trend monitoring, despite challenges with scattered data ownership in the Netherlands.