June, 29, 2016
SELF-CARE AND PREVENTION RECOMMENDATIONS
Healthcare affordability is a crucial theme for European Member States. The benefits of prevention and self-care measures are supported by evidence, but barriers still prevent full exploitation of their potential.
In view of the urgent need for change, this Committee recommends three clusters of actions to be taken at EU, Member State and community level. The aim is to empower patients and health and community actors, and to influence policy makers and payers.
AT EUROPEAN LEVEL, THE EUROPEAN HEALTH PARLIAMENT CALLS UPON:
- The European Commission to enhance the assessment of the performance of healthcare systems, with a focus on patient and societal outcomes of prevention measures, and the effect of fiscal incentives
- The European Commission to create a European Joint Action focusing on self-care and prevention to coordinate on-going work in prevention and to increase awareness of self-care as a patient-empowerment tool
- The European Parliament to create an Interest Group on prevention and self-care, to promote a unified strategy on prevention and self-care across Europe and to place it as a strategic legislative priority
- The upcoming Slovakian and Maltese EU Presidencies to include recommendations around self-care and prevention in their priorities relating to food improvement and obesity, and in particular to encourage collaboration and joint funding among finance, education and health ministries on early childhood initiatives on healthy eating
AT MEMBER STATE LEVEL, THE EUROPEAN HEALTH PARLIAMENT CALLS UPON:
- Member States to increase collaborative efforts across health, social affairs, finance, education and environment ministries in support of a “prevention in all policies” approach
- Member States to increase their budget allocation for public health and prevention activities beyond the current 3% average
- Member States to develop policies, practices and incentives for prevention in the form of financial benefits for employers, and for the implementation of self-care and prevention measures for employees in the work place • Payers to promote and incentivise consumers to make positive choices and adopt healthy and sustainable habits
AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, THE EUROPEAN HEALTH PARLIAMENT CALLS UPON:
- Investors to take part in a fund for the implementation of self-care and preventive policies and programmes
- Public-private partnerships between food, IT and healthcare industries and governments to address current inconsistencies relating to labeling of foods
- Patient organisations and associations of healthcare professionals to prioritise education of the community on the importance of self-care and the role of lifestyle in prevention of diseases
- Healthcare professionals in the community to embrace and advocate self-care to prevent avoidable chronic diseases
Read the ‘Self-care and prevention recommendations’
