EC Health Indicators

A key objective of the Public Health Programme (2003-2008) is to provide comparable information on the health of European citizens by developing health indicators and collecting data. The information to be collected should cover the health-related behaviour of the population (e.g. data on lifestyles and other health determinants); diseases (e.g. incidence and ways to monitor chronic, major and rare diseases) and health systems (e.g. data on access to care, on the quality of care provided, on human resources, and on the financial viability of healthcare systems).
The data collection will be based on comparable health indicators applicable to the whole of Europe, and on agreed definitions and methods of collection and use.

Under the current EU Health Programme, a list of European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) has been drawn up. Work on these indicators and the data collection is carried out by coordinated Working Parties and Task Forces, in close cooperation with Eurostat and the Community Statistical programme. Links will be strengthened with WHO, OECD and other international organisations active in health information.

The EU action focuses on improving the quality and comparability of these indicators to facilitate Member States and European networks in analysing information, and in order to increase the accessibility of information and data on public health. The final objective is thus to develop a European Union System of Health Information and Knowledge which is fully accessible to European experts and the general public.

Links to the EU activities

Public Health
- Developing health indicators and data collection
  Work done at EU level to develop comparable indicators on health and health-related behaviour of the population (for the future health monitoring system)
- Dissemination of health information and data
  Information on the EU aim to develop the European Union Health Information System

Data on Population
- Population by gender/age
  Information and data on the EU population by gender and age
- Age dependency ratio
  Information and data on the population by age dependency ratio
- Crude birth rate
  Data on the number of events (births or deaths) to the mean of the population in a given year
- Population projections
  Data on the populations projections based on assumptions on total fertility rate, life expectancy and migration
- Life expectancy
  Data on life expectancy of the population if subjected throughout his life to the current mortality conditions
- Standardized death rates Eurostat 65 causes
  Information on death rates of a population of a standard age distribution

Health Status
- Perceived general health, prevalence
  Data on self perceived health and disability status
- Health expectancy, based on limitation of usual activities
  Data on health expectancy, based on limitation of usual activities
- Prevalence of any chronic illness
  Self-perceived indicators to perform daily activities because of chronic conditions

Babies and Children
- Infant mortality
  Data on infant mortality
- Perinatal mortality
  Data on perinatal mortality (foetal deaths and early neonatal mortality)
- (Low) birth weight
  Data on low birth weight distributions
- Vaccination coverage in children
  Data on the percentage of infants reaching their first birthday who have been fully vaccinated

Elderly
- Health expectancy, based on limitation of usual activities at 65
  Information on health expectancy as a mean average of the number of remaining years that a person of a certain age is supposed to live without disability
- Age dependency ratio
  Information and data on the population by age dependency ratio

Women
- Mother’s age distribution (teenage pregnancies, aged mothers)
  Data on the distribution of mother’s age reached in the year the life birth took place
- Fertility rate
  Data on fertility rates
- Breast cancer screening coverage
  Data on the percentage of women reporting specific preventive examinations

Tobacco
- Regular smokers
  Data on the percentage of smokers by age (15-24 by) and gender
- Lung cancer
  Data on the incidence of malignant neoplasm of the trachea, bronchus and lung per country

Drugs
- Drug-related deaths
  Information and data on deaths that are caused directly by the consumption of drugs of abuse

Alcohol
- Total alcohol consumption
  Data on litres per capita of pure alcohol consumed among the population aged 15 and over

Nutrition
- Consumption/availability of fruit
  Data on the consumption of fruit per country
- Consumption/availability of vegetables
  Data on the consumption of vegetables per country

Road Safety
- Injuries: road traffic
  Data on the number of fatalities caused by road accidents

Social environment
- Population below poverty line
  Unemployment rates representing unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force

Environmental health
- PM10 exposure
  Data on the percentage of urban population exposed to air pollution concentration levels exceeding limit values

At Work
- Injuries: workplace
  Incidence rates of accidents occurring in the course of work that lead to physical or mental harm
- Total unemployment
  Data on the total rate of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force

HIV-AIDS
- HIV-AIDS
  Data on the AIDS incidence rate

EU Health indicators
- Lung cancer
  Data on the incidence and prevalence of malignant neoplasm of the lung per country
- Breast cancer
  Data on the incidence of malignant neoplasm of the breast per country
- Breast cancer screening coverage
  Percentage of women reporting specific preventive breast examinations
- Cervical cancer screening coverage
  Percentage of women reporting specific preventive examinations (cervical smear test)
- Survival rates breast, cervical cancer
  Data on survival rates for breast and cervical cancer

Hospital Activity
- Hospital beds
  Data on the beds accommodating patients who are hospitalised for treatment and/or care
- Hospital in-patient discharges
  Data on discharge of patients from hospitals
- Average length of stay (ALOS)
  Data on the average length of stay
- Surgeries: PTCA, hip, cataract, etc.
  Data on main surgical operations and procedures performed in hospitals
- MRI units, CT scans
  Number of MRI units and CT scanners per million of population

Health Staff
- Nurses employed
  Data on the total number of qualified nurses and midwives per 100 000 inhabitants
- Physicians employed
  Data on practising physicians/doctors and licensed physicians/doctors per 100 000 inhabitants
- General practitioners utilisation
  Data on the number of patient contacts to General Practitioners (GP) within a calendar year

Expenditures on Health
- Expenditures on health
  Data on total expenditure on health

European Commission
Health-EU. The Public Health Portal of the European Union

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