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The European Public Health Association
Newsletter - June 2023
 
 

Newsletter - June 2023

  1. Editorial
  2. EUPHA update
  3. European Public Health Conference
  4. EUPHA members update
  5. European Journal of Public Health
  6. Call for proposals, job opportunities
  7. Interesting news
  8. Upcoming courses and conferences
  9. Interesting publications
  10. European Institutes news
  11. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control news
  12. WHO news
 

1. Editorial

With summer around the corner, we present you this June edition of the EUPHA newsletter, in which we gathered updates from EUPHA and our members, news from the EPH conference (check your abstract submission result if you have not done so yet!), and many interesting publications, events and opportunities from across Europe. Please also take a couple of minutes of your time to fill in the short survey on the European Public Health Week to help us improve future editions. Your feedback is much appreciated!

Enjoy the read,

Iveta Nagyova, EUPHA president and Marieke Verschuuren, Executive Director 

2. EUPHA update

EUPHA President Dr. Iveta Nagyova at national public health congress Lisbon


On 15-16 June, EUPHA’s President Dr. Iveta Nagyova attended the Portuguese national public health congress in Lisbon. The congress was jointly organised by three EUPHA members: the Portuguese Association for the Public Health Promotion (APPSP), the Portuguese Association of Public Health Doctors (ANMSP), and the Portuguese Society of Public Health (SPSP). Dr. Nagyova spoke during the opening session on public health synergies and innovation through behavioural insights and on EUPHA’s work. With 900 participants, the event was a great opportunity for EUPHA to connect with its members and the wider public health community in Portugal.

European Public Health Week 2023

With 230 events in 39 European countries, the 2023 European Public Health Week was a great success! We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the participants, both event attendees and event organisers, for making it an inspiring and engaging experience. The diverse range of events and discussions truly showcased the passion and dedication within our public health community.

We would like to invite everyone, regardless of whether you were able to participate in this year’s Week or not, to provide valuable feedback by filling in the evaluation survey. Your insights will help us further improve and shape future editions of the European Public Health Week. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts by clicking on the following link: https://forms.gle/DAJkTCdCv4ZMEErB9. We greatly appreciate your contribution and thank you in advance.

Bulgaria at EUPHW

Our member, the Bulgarian Public Health Association, made a nice overview of the no less than 72 events that were organised in Bulgaria during the European Public Health Week in May. Events ranged from lectures and sports activities to campaigns and screenings. Check it out here!

EUPHA advocates for more space for civil society

This month, EUPHA together with partner organisations has been active advocating more space for civil society in European health policy. In the beginning of June, civil society organisations all across Europe, including EUPHA as part of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance, published a manifesto in run-up to the 2024 EU elections, calling for better civic space and civil dialogue. And on June 26, EUPHA attended a hybrid event organised by EPHA in the European Parliament on the need for sustainable funding for health NGOs. EUPHA is fully supportive of the call issued during the event for multi-annual frameworks for European Commission funded operating grants. These are needed for independence, continuity, and a level playing field, as described in this EJPH editorial.

EJPH author videos

For selected papers in the European Journal of Public Health (EJPH), short author videos are available. These are great tools for getting informed about the newest public health evidence quickly. In 2-3 minutes, the authors bring you up to speed on their papers. Available through the EJPH homepage.

4. European Public Health Conference

16th EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE, DUBLIN, IRELAND, 8 - 11 NOVEMBER 2023
OUR FOOD, OUR HEALTH, OUR EARTH: A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR HUMANITY

Abstract submission results

We received 2,316 abstracts for single presentations and 255 abstracts for workshops. Abstracts have been reviewed and you can access the decision on your abstract by logging into your personal account here. Accepted abstracts are published in the Abstract Supplement of the European Journal of Public Health but only if you have registered for and presented at the Dublin conference.

Next steps for accepted abstracts

If your abstract is accepted, these are your next steps:

  1. Corrections: check your abstract by logging into your personal account here. The system accepts your corrections until 15 July 2023, noon (12.00 CET).
  2. Registration/confirmation: confirm that you are presenting your abstract by registering for the conference before 15 July 2023. If you do not register your abstract will not be included in the conference programme and the Abstract Supplement of the European Journal of Public Health. If you are organizing a workshop, all your presenters must register. Read more.

Funding opportunities

EUPHA and EPH Conference Foundation have set up the Jouke van der Zee Fund offering registration fee waivers to delegates from lower-middle and upper-middle income countries in the WHO European Region and who have an active role at the EPH Conference 2023. You may apply for a waiver if you are an oral, pitch or poster presenter, speaker or panellist in a workshop. Deadline for applications: 1 July 2023. Read more.

Early registration is open

You can benefit from early bird registration fees until 1 September. Discover our new registration panel: more user-friendly and easier to navigate. Unfortunately we also had to increase our fees, but despite the sky-high global inflation, we were able to make do with a modest 3-5% in most categories. Reduction is offered to EUPHA members and colleagues from Ireland. No price increases for students and colleagues from low and middle income countries. Register here.

Pre-conference programme

Pre-conferences are held on Wednesday 8 November at the CCD. The full programme is announced on our website. Pre-conferences are held for half day (morning or afternoon) or full day. Attending a pre-conference requires separate registration. This can be done during the registration for the main conference, but also by adding a pre-conference to your existing registration at a later date. Registration fees are €75 and €150. Sponsored pre-conferences are €20. (All inclusive network buffet lunch and VAT).

Theme and plenary programme

The in person 16th EPH Conference will be held in Dublin, Ireland, from 8 – 11 November 2023. Theme of the EPH conference 2023 is: Our Food, Our Health, Our Earth: A Sustainable Future for Humanity.

The plenary programme is organised in collaboration with our partners and the tentative themes of the sessions are as follows. Names of speakers and moderators will be announced shortly on our website. Read more about the plenary programme here.

Transitioning to more sustainable food systems that support health and wellbeing, organised by EuroHealthNet, Thursday 9 November, 14:00 – 15:00 (all Dublin times)

Noncommunicable diseases: risk factors and commercial determinants (title tbc), organised by EUPHA and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Thursday 9 November, 17:50 – 18:50

Building the future One Health workforce, organised by ASPHER and EHMA, Friday 10 November, 10:30 – 11:30

On the path to an equitable and sustainable digital future for European health systems, organised by WHO Regional Office for Europe, Friday 10 November, 14:00 – 15:00

Safeguarding Health Together: Unveiling the European Union's future Health priorities (title tbc), organised by European Commission, Saturday 11 November, 10:30 – 11:30

Conference venue

The 16th EPH Conference will be held in the Convention Centre Dublin. The CCD is one of Europe's most environmentally-friendly venues. In 2021, the CCD secured ISO 20121 accreditation, which is a recognized international accreditation that demonstrates commitment to running sustainable events. Read more.

                            

4. EUPHA members update

National public health congress by SFSP

The Société Française de Santé Publique (SFSP) organises its national public health congress on 4-6 October this year at the conference centre of Saint-Etienne, France. Working language will be French. Favourable early bird-tariffs apply when registering by July 17. The preliminary programme is available here.

5. European Journal of Public Health

Volume 33, Issue 3, June 2023

EDITORIALS

Child poverty is exacerbated by the current war-induced cost-of-living crisis: need for new European-wide measures 
Aapo Hiilamo and Tea Lallukka
Private equity investment in Europe’s primary care sector—a call for research and policy action 
Bernd Rechel and others

VIEWPOINTS

Decolonizing global health—what does it mean for us? 
Birger C Forsberg and Jesper Sundewall
Decolonizing global health—what is the plan? 
Adelson Guaraci Jantsch
The ‘decolonization of global health’ agenda in Africa: harnessing synergies with the continent’s strategic aspirations 
Aloysius Ssennyonjo and others

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS

The relationship of income on stroke incidence in Finland and China 
Honghui Yao and others
The self-reported health of the Sámi in Sweden: the SámiHET study 
Miguel San Sebastián and Jon Petter Stoor
Disruption and selection: the income gradient in mortality among natives and migrants in Sweden 
Olof Östergren and others
The effect of sample attrition in the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions on the estimates of Eurostat’s Healthy Life Years 
Magdalena M Muszyńska-Spielauer and Martin Spielauer

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

HIV treatment, antiretroviral adherence and AIDS mortality in people who inject drugs: a scoping review 
Anneli Uusküla and others
Regional variations in multimorbidity burden among office-based physicians in Germany 
Isabel Geiger and others
Continuity of care and treatment intensity at the end of life in Swiss cancer patients 
Caroline Bähler and others
Association between language barrier and inadequate prenatal care utilization among migrant women in the PreCARE prospective cohort study 
Maxime Eslier and others

MENTAL HEALTH

Time use, time pressure and sleep: is gender an effect modifier? 
Anna J Scovelle and others
Externally oriented thinking style increases primary health care use in adolescence 
Virve Kekkonen and others
Alive and kicking: suicide rates and major soccer events in Austria, Germany and Switzerland 
Eva-Maria Pichler and others

WORK AND HEALTH

EDITOR'S CHOICE
Work–life balance and work engagement across the European workforce: a comparative analysis of welfare states 
Janina M Björk-Fant and others
Emotional demands and all-cause and diagnosis-specific long-term sickness absence: a prospective cohort study in Sweden 
Elisabeth Framke and others
The Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire-Short Form and 2-year follow-up of registered work disability 
Eveliina Heikkala and others

CHRONIC DISEASE

Challenges in heart failure care in four European countries: a comparative study 
Bianca Steiner and others
Pet ownership during the first 5 years after breast cancer diagnosis in the NEON-BC cohort 
Luisa Lopes-Conceição and others

OVERWEIGHT, OBESITY

Changes in adult obesity prevalence in Denmark, 1987–2021: age–period–cohort analysis of nationally representative data 
Stine Schramm and others
International differences in gradients in early childhood overweight and obesity: the role of maternal employment and formal childcare attendance 
Lidia Panico and others

VACCINATION

Vaccine attributes and vaccine uptake in Hungary: evidence from a conjoint experiment 
Jack Thompson and others
COVID-19 vaccination and changes in preventive behaviours: findings from the 2021 vaccine roll-out in Switzerland 
Sara C Hitchman and others
Explaining the gender gap in COVID-19 vaccination attitudes 
Dimiter Toshkov
Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and intention to get vaccinated in Western Balkans: cross-sectional survey 
Vida Jeremic Stojkovic and others

SCREENING

Survey of current policies towards widening cervical screening coverage among vulnerable women in 22 European countries 
Meritxell Mallafré-Larrosa and others
The impact of influences in a medical screening programme invitation: a randomized controlled trial 
Christian Patrick Jauernik and others
Coverage by examinations associated with early detection of colorectal neoplasia in the Czech Republic 
Ondřej Ngo and others

COVID-19

Differences in hospitalizations associated with severe COVID-19 disease among foreign- and Swedish-born 
Sol P Juárez and others
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community-based testing for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections in the WHO European Region, March to August 2020 
Laura Fernàndez-López and others
Intimate partner violence complaints during COVID-19 lockdown in Spain: a cross-sectional and a case–control study 
Belén Sanz-Barbero and others
Cause-specific mortality in Spain during the pandemic: educational differences and its impact on life expectancy 
Jeroen J A Spijker and Sergi Trias-Llimós

EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH NEWS

European Public Health News 
Marieke Verschuuren and others

6. Call for proposals, job opportunities

European Health Leadership Award 2023 call for applications is open.

This award showcases and supports the achievements of organisations that display exceptional leadership in safeguarding or improving the health of people in Europe. The Award, which includes prize money of EUR 10.000, is funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and is organised by the European Health Forum Gastein.
The deadline for submissions is Monday 17 July 2023, 23:59 CEST. And the Award will be presented at the 26th EHFG, which will take place in Austria's Gastein Valley from 26 – 29 September 2023.
For more details on the application and selection process, please visit this website.

2023 EU4Health calls for action grants

Check out recent calls for action grants under the EU4Health Programme here.

7. Interesting news

The importance of restoring nature in Europe - briefing by European Environment Agency

Nature, along with its inherent biodiversity, is key to functioning societies and economies. It provides the food we eat, filters the water we drink, cleans the air we breathe, and is important for our mental and physical health. Yet in the EU, many habitats and species are in a poor or bad state, and only a very small fraction of these has shown any improvement over recent years. The restoration of Europe’s habitats and species is important not only for the inherent value of nature itself: it is also key for improved human health and well-being, and reduced climate change impacts.
Read the full briefing here.

Responding to the perma-crisis: Strengthening health systems resilience priorities and best practices

This session held 8 June 2023 in Madrid, Spain, marks the Observatory’s Silver Jubilee and 25 years of learning from each other to bridge evidence and policy. This session with senior policy-makers from EU Member States, highlights how they are responding on the key priorities of governance, health workforce, and innovations in healthcare delivery. The session also explores European and international governance responses to strengthen health system resilience, with the European Commission, WHO, and the current trio of EU presidencies: Sweden, Spain, and Belgium. Watch the recording here.

Sustainable Food Consumption Report

This evidence review report "Towards Sustainable Food Consumption" by SAPEA was published in June 2023.

How can the EU support sustainable innovation and access to effective antibiotics?

During the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2023, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs worked together to better understand how the EU can support sustainable innovation and access to effective antibiotics. The EU has an important role to play both in combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and in contributing to global solutions.
During the high-level webinar held 21 June 2023 this question was discussed. Watch the recording here.
And in this policy brief by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, read the policy options for existing and new medicines.

8. Upcoming courses and conferences

AI4Health Summer School
3 Jul 2023 - 7 Jul 2023 / Paris, France and online
Organiser: Interdisciplinary Institutes for Artificial Intelligence, MIAI, 3IA Côte d’Azur, Health Data Hub

Observatory Venice Summer School 2023 - Health Security: from public health to strengthening health systems
23 Jul 2023 - 29 Jul 2023 / Venice, Italy
Organiser: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Specialized Master in Public Health Methodology academic year 2022-2023
1 Aug 2023 - 30 Jun 2023 / Brussels, Belgium
Organiser: School of Public Health, Université Catholique de Louvain, Université de Mons

SSPH+ Lugano Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics and Management – 32nd Edition
21 Aug 2023 - 26 Aug 2023 / online, on-site, and hybrid
Organiser: Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics, and Management

Health in Detention
11 Sep 2023 - 15 Sep 2023 / Allschwil, Switzerland
Organiser: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Strategic Planning for Health Interventions
18 Sep 2023 - 22 Sep 2023 / Hybrid: Allschwil, Switzerland and online
Organiser: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

Observatory silver jubilee: 25 years learning from each other
21 Sep 2023 / Brussels and online (hybrid)
Organiser: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Connecting Health & Climate Change
11 Oct 2023 - 12 Oct 2023 / Stockholm, Sweden
Organiser: EU funded ENBEL project by Umeå University, University of Tartu and CICERO Center for International Climate Research

33rd Alzheimer Europe Conference
16 Oct 2023 - 18 Oct 2023 / Helsinki, Finland
Organiser: Alzheimer Europe and Muistiliitto (Alzheimer Society of Finland)

9. Interesting publications

Child socioemotional behavior and adult temperament as predictors of physical activity and sedentary behavior in late adulthood

BMC Public Health | 19 June 2023
This longitudinal study concludes that although few weak associations of socioemotional behavior and temperament with physical activity and sedentary behavior were detected in women, they were observed over several decades, and thus, deserve attention in future studies.

Meeting the long-term health needs of Ukrainian refugees

Public Health | July 2023
This short communication reports the main conclusions from the workshop held in November 2022 at the European Public Health Conference in Berlin.

10. European Institutes news

A comprehensive approach to mental health

On 7 June, the European Commission published a communication on ‘a comprehensive approach to mental health’ and a related fact sheet.

Earlier this year, with the support of the EUPHA Public mental health section, EUPHA provided input to the call for evidence on this matter. Find our contribution here.

European Parliament SANT Committee held a hearing on Mental health of youth

On 29 June European Parliament Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT) held a hearing on ‘Mental health of youth’. Mental health is one of the most important public health issues in the Union and one that in particular has an impact on youth. Protecting adolescents from adversity, promoting socio-emotional learning and psychological well-being, and ensuring access to mental health care are critical for their health and well-being during adolescence and adulthood.

Formal stakeholder body created under the Health Technology Assessment Regulation

The inaugural meeting of the Health Technology Assessment Stakeholder Network took place in Brussels on 14 June. The meeting marks the creation of a formal stakeholder body under the Health Technology Assessment Regulation. EUPHA is represented in this Network by the President and vice-President of our HTA section. Read more here.

Commission publishes Expert Group report on health promotion and disease prevention indicators

The Commission published a report by the EU Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA) titled “Mapping metrics of health promotion and disease prevention for health system performance assessment”.
The report examines which indicators are used by EU Member States to collect data on disease prevention and health promotion as part of their national health system performance assessment frameworks.  
The related webinar on Mapping metrics of health promotion and disease prevention for health system performance assessment took place on 21 June 2023 and was organised by DG SANTE in collaboration with the Health Policy Platform. Watch the recording of the webinar until 01/07/2023 using the password @HPP_webinar2023.

European Health Union: EU steps up the fight against antimicrobial resistance

The Council of the European Union adopted the Commission's proposal to strengthen EU action against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Recommendation focusses on infection prevention and control, surveillance and monitoring, innovation and availability of efficient antimicrobials, prudent use and cooperation among Member States and globally. Read more here.

11. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control news

Eurosurveillance - Volume 28, Issue 22, 01 June 2023

Rapid communication
Severe and fatal neonatal infections linked to a new variant of echovirus 11, France, July 2022 to April 2023
Surveillance
Towards One Health surveillance of antibiotic resistance: characterisation and mapping of existing programmes in humans, animals, food and the environment in France, 2021
Emergence, spread and characterisation of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.640 circulating in France, October 2021 to February 2022
Systematic Review
Assessing the robustness of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy trials: systematic review and meta-analysis, January 2023
Miscellaneous   
ECDC Director vacancy now open
Eurosurveillance editorial team

Eurosurveillance - Volume 28, Issue 23, 08 June 2023        

Editorial
Lessons from a recent multicountry iatrogenic botulism outbreak
Outbreaks
A large travel-associated outbreak of iatrogenic botulism in four European countries following intragastric botulinum neurotoxin injections for weight reduction, Türkiye, February to March 2023
Surveillance     
Establishing severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance in a sentinel hospital, Ireland, 2021 to 2022
Perspective
Developing evidence-informed indicators to monitor HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis programmes across EU/EEA countries: a multi-stakeholder consensus

Eurosurveillance - Volume 28, Issue 24, 15 June 2023

Rapid communication
Fulminant echovirus 11 hepatitis in male non-identical twins in northern Italy, April 2023
SDG 3: Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis in times of war and crisis: Epidemiological trends and characteristics of patients born in Ukraine, Germany, 2022
Surveillance        
Rare cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome after COVID-19 vaccination, Germany, December 2020 to August 2021
Research
Post-exposure vaccine effectiveness and contact management in the mpox outbreak, Madrid, Spain, May to August 2022
Perspective
Innovative platforms for data aggregation, linkage and analysis in the context of pandemic and epidemic intelligence

Eurosurveillance - Volume 28, Issue 25, 22 June 2023

Surveillance
Dynamics of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants < 2 years old following PCV7/13 implementation using two infant and a booster dose schedule: evidence for indirect protection of young infants, Israel, 2004 to 2019
Impact of intensified prevention measures on rates of hospital-acquired bloodstream infection in medical-surgical intensive care units, Israel, 2011 to 2012
Research
Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 circulation revealed by a nationwide sewage surveillance programme, the Netherlands, August 2020 to February 2022
Estimated protection against COVID-19 based on predicted neutralisation titres from multiple antibody measurements in a longitudinal cohort, France, April 2020 to November 2021

12. WHO news

36 million people across the European Region may have developed long COVID over the first 3 years of the pandemic

Statement by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe to the press on COVID-19, extreme heat and mpox, delivered 27 June.

Long COVID remains a complex condition we still know very little about. According to estimates from WHO-Euro’s collaborating centre, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, nearly 36 million people across the WHO European Region may have experienced long COVID in the first 3 years of the pandemic. That’s approximately 1 in 30 Europeans over the past 3 years. Read the full statement here.

New global resolution calls for establishment of behavioural science units or teams

The first ever global resolution on behavioural sciences for health is a reality. This milestone agreement highlights the importance of behavioural sciences in understanding the factors that affect healthy behaviours and in tackling key public health challenges. Adopted by the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly on 29 May 2023, it aligns closely with the WHO European regional resolution on behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) for health from 2022.

With the international public health emergency ending, WHO/Europe launches its transition plan for COVID-19

With the pandemic now in its fourth year, it is clear the virus is likely to stay with us for many years to come – if not forever. Responding to the current situation, and looking to the future, WHO/Europe is launching its transition plan for COVID-19. WHO/Europe’s new transition plan provides a framework to leverage innovations and lessons from COVID-19 and other recent emergencies into the development of the next regional 5-year action plan to strengthen health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience in the WHO European Region, 2024–2029 – what WHO/Europe is calling Preparedness 2.0. Read more.

WHO/Europe explores collaborations to improve quality of health information online

The WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens recently joined forces with YouTube Health to host a workshop in Berlin to enhance the quality of health information online and support Member States’ efforts in this area. This collaborative endeavour lays the groundwork to promote health literacy and make high-quality health information universally accessible. “We are very much looking forward to working together for a world where people can access the health information they need online without having to guess its accuracy,” noted Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of WHO/Europe’s Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, at the workshop. Read more.

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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HaDEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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