Programme of Community action on health monitoring within the framework for action in the field of public health, 1997-2001

Established within the framework of Community action in the area of public health, this programme aims to contribute to the creation of a Community health monitoring system which makes it possible to:

- Measure health status, trends and determinants throughout the Community;
- Facilitate the planning, monitoring and evaluation of Community programmes and actions (including Europe Against Cancer, Europe against AIDS, Drugs action programme, etc.);
- Provide Member States with appropriate health information to make comparisons and to support their national health policies.

The various actions carried out under the programme (See "Subdivisions" section of this summary) will aim at encouraging cooperation between the Member States and, if necessary, supporting their action through promoting coordination of their policies in the area of health monitoring. There will also be close collaboration with non-member countries and international organizations active in the field.
To contribute to the establishment of a community health monitoring system capable of: monitoring health status, trends and determinants; facilitating the planning, monitoring and evaluation of Community programmes and actions; and providing Member States with appropriate health information to make comparisons and to support their national health policies.
Three areas:

- Establishment of Community health indicators:
To establish comparable Community health indicators by means of a critical review of existing health data and indicators, by developing methodologies for obtaining comparable health data and indicators, and by developing appropriate methods for the collection of the progressively comparable health data needed to establish these indicators:

. Identification, review and critical analysis of existing health indicators and data at European and Member State levels taking as a basis data validated by the Member States in order to determine their relevance, quality and coverage with regard to the establishment of Community health indicators;
. Identification of a set of Community health indicators, including a subset of core indicators for the monitoring of Community programmes and actions in public health and a subset of background indicators for the monitoring of other Community policies, programmes and actions, for providing Member States with common measurements for making comparisons (See the "Implementation" section of this record for a non-exhaustive list of the areas in which health indicators may be established);
. Development of and support for the routine collection of health data to be made comparable by the drawing up of data dictionaries, the establishment of appropriate conversion methods and rules, and other methods to achieve the programme's objectives;
. Contributing to the collection of comparable data by supporting the preparation of surveys, including Community-wide surveys in support of the framing of Community policies, or drawing up agreed specimen modules or questionnaires for use in existing surveys;
. Fostering cooperation with international organizations competent in the field of Community health data and indicators and fostering networks for the exchange of health data covering specific areas in public health, in order to enhance comparability of data;
. Encouragement and support for the assessment of the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of compiling standardized health resource statistics with the aim of including them in the Community health monitoring system to be established;
. Support for continuation of the feasibility study in progress into the possibility of establishing a permanent structure for the monitoring and evaluation of Community health data and indicators;

- Development of a Community-wide network for sharing health data:

To enable the establishment of an effective and reliable system for the transfer and sharing of health data and indicators using telematic interchange of data as the principal means:
. Encouragement and support for the establishment of a network for transferring and sharing health data, mainly using telematic interchanges and a system of distributed databases, in particular by the establishment of data specifications and of procedures with regard to access, retrieval, confidentiality and security for the different types of information to be included in the system;

- Analyses and reporting:
To develop methods and tools necessary for analysis and reporting and to support analyses and reporting on health status, trends and determinants and on the effect of policies on health:
. Encouragement and support for the development of capacity for analyses by enhancing existing capabilities and for feasibility studies for possible new structures, comparative and predictive methodologies and tools, the testing of hypotheses and models and the evaluation of health scenarios and outcomes;
. Support for the analysis of the impact of Community actions and programmes in the field of public health, and for drawing up and disseminating reports evaluating that impact;
. Support for the preparation, drafting and dissemination of reports, analyses and other information in order to help to make comparisons on the subject of health status and trends, health determinants, and the effect of policies on health.
The Commission is responsible for implementing the programme assisted by a committee composed of two members designated by each Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

The activities to be implemented in pursuit of the programme's objectives are grouped under three headings:

- Establishment of Community health indicators;
- Development of a Community-wide network for sharing health data;
- Analyses and reporting.

(Details of the various actions to be implemented under these headings are contained in the "Subdivisions" section of this summary.)

The Decision establishing the programme sets out a non-exhaustive list of areas in which health indicators may be established. These cover:

- Health status grouped under the headings of life expectancy, mortality, morbidity, functioning and quality of life, and anthropometric characteristics;
- Life style and health habits including tobacco, alcohol and illegal drug consumption, physical activities, diet, and sex life;
- Living and working conditions including employment and unemployment, work environment, housing conditions, home and leisure activities, transport, and external environment;
- Health protection including financing sources, facilities/manpower, cost/expenditure and consumption/uses for different types of care and pharmaceutical products, and health promotion and disease prevention;
- Demographic and social factors including gender, age, marital status, region of residence, education, income, population subgroups and health insurance status;
- Miscellaneous including product safety.

In addition to the EU Member States, participation in the programme will be open to those Central and East European Countries which have signed association agreements with the Community (on the basis of the additional protocols to these agreements covering their participation in Community programmes). Participation will also be open to Cyprus and Malta in accordance with the same rules as those to be applied for the EFTA countries.

Close cooperation will also be established with international organizations active in the field of public health, in particular the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

During the next Community Statistical Programme (scheduled to run between 1998-2002), the Commission is to ensure that the development of statistics in the area of health monitoring is adequately covered.