Dear colleagues,

We would like to thank all members who submitted proposals for the upcoming European Public Health Conference and those who proposed activities for the section over the past weeks. The section relies on active participation, and we encourage anyone interested in contributing ideas, initiatives, or collaborations to contact us at THSR@charite.de.

Starting with this issue, we are also introducing a new “Interesting reading” section. Each month we will curate a brief selection of papers and policy reports relevant to Health Services Research, drawing from the European Journal of Public Health, WHO, OECD and other institutional and scientific sources, with the aim of supporting ongoing exchange within the community.

Best regards,

Lorena Dini, lorena.dini@charite.de and Filippo Quattrone, f.quattrone@santannapisa.it

Invitation to HSR Community consultation

We are holding an online consultation meeting of the EUPHA Health Services Research (EUPHA-HSR) Section on Friday 13 March 2026, 16:00–18:00 CET. This meeting is open to all the section members.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to meet fellow members, discuss priorities and planned activities for 2026, and exchange views on upcoming initiatives.

Provisional agenda

• 16.00 Welcome and introductions
• 16.30 Proposal of planned activities for 2026
• European Public Health Conference in Bilbao
• European Public Health Week
• HSR Mid-term event and Spring School
• Webinar programme
• 17.45 Other collaborations and activities
• 18.00 Closing

You can join the meeting using the following Teams link. If you want to add the event to your Google Calendar you can use this link. We encourage all members interested in contributing to the section’s activities to participate.

Opportunities to contribute to HSR Section activities

The EUPHA HSR Section continues its activities in preparation for 2026 activities and invites members to actively contribute.

In view of the European Public Health Conference 2026 (Bilbao, 11–13 November; pre-conference 10 November), we welcome expressions of interest for participation in coordinated HSR workshop and pre-conference proposals. Members are invited to share short ideas, abstracts or potential contributions so that they can be organised into thematic submissions on behalf of the section (indicative deadline: 31 March 2026).

We also encourage members to organise local, hybrid or online initiatives during the upcoming European Public Health Week (4–8 May 2026) under the EUPHA-HSR umbrella.

To facilitate interaction within the community, an EUPHA-HSR Microsoft Teams space is available and more than 30 members have already joined the group. Please note that access to the Teams community requires an invitation. To join, please email us with the subject Join HSR Community (including your name, country and organisation in your signature) and we will add you.

For all expressions of interest or proposals, please contact the section at THSR@charite.de.

Webinar series – proposed formats

The section is planning a 2026 webinar series and invites proposals for webinar topics as well as volunteers willing to act as speakers, with particular encouragement to early-career researchers.

Members are invited to submit proposals within, or inspired by, the following formats:

• HSR Hot Topics – short sessions presenting rapid international comparisons on emerging issues relevant to health systems and services.
• HSR in Depth – discussion seminars based on a selected article shared in advance, focusing on interpretation, limitations and what goes beyond the published paper.
• Methods in HSR: Make it Better – practical methodological sessions aimed at strengthening analytical and research skills.
• HSR Dialogues – joint sessions with other EUPHA Sections addressing concrete health service challenges and practical solutions.
• HSR House of Fame – sessions highlighting landmark authors and foundational contributions to Health Services Research.

Proposals can be sent to THSR@charite.de.

Interesting Reading

Each month we highlight a small selection of recent scientific articles and international policy publications relevant to Health Services Research.

If you would like to signal a recent publication or report to be considered for the next newsletter, please write to THSR@charite.de.

Highlights from the European Journal of Public Health – February 2026

Elovainio M. et al.
Risk factors for unmet health care need: evidence from the large population-based Healthy Finland 2022 cohort
European Journal of Public Health, 36(1): 64–70
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf217

Scherzer M. et al.
Navigating new healthcare systems: barriers, facilitators and service utilization among Ukrainian refugees in five host countries
European Journal of Public Health, 36(1): 71–76
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf198

Gentili S. et al.
Predictors of avoidable and unavoidable hospital admissions in older adults: a 15-year population-based cohort study
European Journal of Public Health, 36(1): 49–55
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf264

Michalska K. et al.
IT solutions for health workforce shortages: improving administrative processes and care access — a comparative study of five European countries
European Journal of Public Health, 36(1): 56–63
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf224

Policy reports and international publications

OECD/ILO (2026)
Flexible Learning Pathways into Healthcare Occupations
Getting Skills Right Series, OECD Publishing, Paris
https://doi.org/10.1787/a114f653-en

OECD/European Commission (2026)
Delivering High Value Cancer Care: European Cancer Inequalities Registry Analytical Report
OECD Publishing, Paris
https://doi.org/10.1787/060869fe-en

WHO Regional Office for Europe (2026)
Policies and approaches to promote safe nurse staffing: technical brief
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2026-13146-52920-82459

WHO Regional Office for Europe (2026)
Unlocking funding for well-being, equity and healthy societies: primer
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2026-12798-52572-81397

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2026)
Edwards N., Lewis R., Chaouali M., Zapata T., Richardson E.
Dealing with the challenges in urgent and emergency care: What are the policy options?
https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/dealing-with-the-challenges-in-urgent-and-emergency-care-what-are-the-policy-options

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2026)
del Rey Puech P., Saund J., Panteli D., McKee M.
Demystifying artificial intelligence in health: what health policy-makers need to know
https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/demystifying-artificial-intelligence-in-health-what-health-policy-makers need-to-know

Commonwealth Fund (February 2026)
Rich E.C. et al.
Medicare Alternative Payment Models That Support Improved Primary Care
https://doi.org/10.26099/3wpt-gk39

Klein S. (10 February 2026)
Training in Place: How a Unique Scholarship Program Is Catalyzing Innovation in Rural Health
https://doi.org/10.26099/882c-7q44