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Background: Primary healthcare has emerged as a powerful global concept, but little attention has been directed towards the pivotal role of the healthcare workforce and the diverse institutional setting in which they work. This study aims to bridge the gap between the primary healthcare policy and the ongoing healthcare workforce crisis debate by introducing a health system and governance approach to identify capacities that may help respond effectively to the HCWF crisis in health system contexts. Methods: A qualitative comparative methodology was employed, and a rapid assessment of the primary healthcare workforce was conducted across nine countries: Denmark, Germany, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom/ England. Results: Our findings reveal both convergence and pronounced diversity across the healthcare systems, with none fully aligning with the ideal attributes of primary healthcare suggested by WHO. However, across all categories, Denmark, the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent Kazakhstan, depict closer alignment to this model than the other countries. Workforce composition and skill-mix vary strongly, while disparities persist in education and data availability, particularly within Social Health Insurance systems. Policy responses and interventions span governance, organisational, and professional realms, although with weaknesses in the implementation of policies and a systematic lack of data and evaluation. Conclusions: Aligning primary healthcare and workforce considerations within the broader health system context may help move the debate forward and build governance capacities to improve resilience in both areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a clothing thermal resistance model to investigate and compare the effects of climate and human variability on human thermal load. To investigate the effect of climate variability, we introduced the mean clothing thermal resistance r c l ¯ . For characterizing the effect of human variability, we used the standard deviation of clothing thermal resistance ∆ r c l . We distinguished people based on their body type. We also defined the average human, a man and a woman, with thermal resistances of rcl,m and rcl,f. The investigation was carried out for the European region in the cold season for the period of 1981–2010. The climate variables were taken from the ERA5 reanalysis database. Our most important results are the following. (1) The macroscale pattern of the r c l ¯ and ∆ r c l fields are very similar, based on which it can be stated that human variability does not modify the spatial distribution of r c l ¯ . (2) The ∆ r c l values are roughly a quarter of the r c l ¯ values. The highest r c l ¯ values (3.2–3.4 clo) are in Lapland, and the smallest (1–1.2 clo) in Andalusia. (3) The macroscale pattern of the rcl,m and rcl,f fields is similar to the macroscale pattern of the rcl values of the mesomorphic person rcl,2. The field of rcl,2 can be used for climate classification purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Maternal‐neonatal healthcare services were severely disrupted during the COVID‐19 pandemic in even high‐income countries within the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. The objective of this study was to compare trends in the quality of maternal and neonatal care (QMNC) in Sweden and Norway to 12 other countries from the WHO European Region during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and to identify domains for improvement. Material and Methods: This cross‐sectional study included women giving birth in Europe from March 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022. Women answered an online, anonymous questionnaire which included 40 WHO Standard‐based Quality Measures collectively scored as the total QMNC index (0–400) and separately in four subdomains (0–100): provision of care, experience of care, availability of human and physical resources, and reorganizational changes due to COVID‐19. To assess reported QMNC changes over time, we used adjusted quantile regression models. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336. Results: Of the 45151 women included in the study, 13 117 (29.1%) were from Sweden and Norway and 32034 (70.9%) from the 12 WHO European countries. The total QMNC index for Sweden and Norway (median: 325, IQR: 285–355) was higher than the 12 WHO European countries (median: 315, IQR: 265–350, p < 0.001) as were trends in QMNC index over time (Sweden and Norway median: 310–345; 12 WHO European countries median: 305–340). Sweden and Norway also had higher scores in three‐of‐four QMNC subdomains, with the 12 WHO European countries scoring higher only for reorganizational changes due to COVID‐19. In adjusted quantile models of the total QMNC index, Sweden and Norway had higher scores, with largest differences in the lower quantiles (p < 0.001 in all percentiles). Conclusions: Across Europe, there are significant gaps in the quality of maternal‐neonatal healthcare services. Although women giving birth in Sweden and Norway reported higher QMNC scores in all subdomains except for "reorganizational changes due to COVID‐19," there is room for improvement and shared learning across Europe. Policymakers should prioritize long‐term investments in maternal and neonatal healthcare, ensuring that facilities are adequately equipped during public health crises and that all women have access to high‐quality, evidence‐based, equitable, and respectful care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The elimination of both measles and rubella remains a priority for all 53 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. To provide an update on the epidemiological status of measles and rubella in the Region, we reviewed surveillance data on both diseases for 2023 submitted monthly by national surveillance institutions. We analyzed the cases of measles and rubella for 2023 by age group, case classification, vaccination, hospitalization, and importation status and report on measles-related deaths. In 2023, 60,860 measles cases, including 13 fatal cases, were reported in 41 countries. Most cases (95%; n = 57,584) were reported by six countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, the Russian Federation, and Türkiye. Of the 60,848 cases with data on age, 19,137 (31%) were 1–4 years old and 12,838 (21%) were 5–9 years old. A total of 10,412 (17%) were 20 years and older. The genotypes identified in the Region were largely dominated by D8 variants (n = 1357) and the remainder were B3 variants (n = 221). In 2023, 345 rubella cases were reported by 17 countries, mostly from Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. A total of 262 cases (76%) were classified as clinically compatible and 79 (23%) were laboratory-confirmed. To achieve the elimination of measles and rubella in the Region, political commitment needs to be revived to enable urgent efforts to increase vaccination coverage, improve surveillance and outbreak preparedness, and respond immediately to outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between environmental externalities and green innovation is being increasingly explored in the literature but there is no paper exploring the nexus between green innovation (GI) and sustainable development. This article sheds light on the connection between GI and mineral rents from 2007 to 2021. In order to verify our results, we conduct a robustness assessment using a variety of natural resource rents, encompassing coal rents, gas rents, and forest rents. Our research furnishes evidence indicating that the adoption of environmental innovation is poised to curtail the consumption of most mineral resources, with the exception of forest rents in the PCSE and FGLS estimates. While GI does not exhibit statistical significance in the short term, its long-term impact reduce reliance on mineral rents. These findings maintain their robustness and reliability when accounting for endogeneity, fixed effects, and heterogeneity. To illuminate the relationship between institutional quality and mineral rents (MR), we incorporate six different indicators of institutions: voice and accountability (VA), government effectiveness (GE), rule of law (RL), regulatory quality (RQ), political stability and absence of violence/terrorism (PV), and control of corruption (CC). Our findings underscore the fact that integrating GI with institutions diminishes activities associated with mineral rents; from this we provide important policy recommendations for promoting GI development to use mineral resources more efficiently.

The elimination of both measles and rubella remains a priority for all 53 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. To provide an update on the epidemiological status of measles and rubella in the Region, we reviewed surveillance data on both diseases for 2023 submitted monthly by national surveillance institutions. We analyzed the cases of measles and rubella for 2023 by age group, case classification, vaccination, hospitalization, and importation status and report on measles-related deaths. In 2023, 60,860 measles cases, including 13 fatal cases, were reported in 41 countries. Most cases (95%; n = 57,584) were reported by six countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, the Russian Federation, and Türkiye. Of the 60,848 cases with data on age, 19,137 (31%) were 1–4 years old and 12,838 (21%) were 5–9 years old. A total of 10,412 (17%) were 20 years and older. The genotypes identified in the Region were largely dominated by D8 variants (n = 1357) and the remainder were B3 variants (n = 221). In 2023, 345 rubella cases were reported by 17 countries, mostly from Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. A total of 262 cases (76%) were classified as clinically compatible and 79 (23%) were laboratory-confirmed. To achieve the elimination of measles and rubella in the Region, political commitment needs to be revived to enable urgent efforts to increase vaccination coverage, improve surveillance and outbreak preparedness, and respond immediately to outbreaks.

Background: There is an increasing demand for universal, high-quality access to palliative care in Austria. To ensure this, the implementation of palliative care in the medical studies curriculum is essential. This is the first study to investigate the state of undergraduate palliative care education at Austrian medical schools. Methods: For this mixed-methods study with concurrent embedded design, expert interviews and online surveys were conducted between March and August 2022. The interviews were subjected to a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke, while the questionnaires were analysed descriptively-statistically. For the final integration, the results of both methods for each topic are presented and discussed complementarily. Both the primary qualitative and supportive quantitative data were collected to combine the advantages of the in-depth nature of the qualitative data and the consistent structure of the quantitative data to provide a more precise representation of the state of teaching. Results: Twenty-two persons participated in the study, of whom twenty-one participated in the interview and eight in the questionnaire. The participants were experts in palliative care teaching at Austrian medical schools. Currently, palliative care is taught at seven out of the eight universities. Large differences were found in the number of hours, organisation, teaching formats, and interprofessional education. At present, three universities have a chair for palliative care and at least five universities have access to a palliative care unit. Conclusion: Undergraduate palliative care education in Austria is very heterogeneous and does not meet the minimum standards suggested by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) curriculum recommendations. However, several universities are planning measures to expand palliative care teaching, such as the introduction of mandatory teaching or the establishment of new teaching formats. Better coordination and networking within and between universities would be beneficial for the expansion and quality of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to globalization, logistics has been constituting the main and capillary vessels of foreign trade. In today's global supply chains, better logistics systems allow for and facilitate the efficient flow of resources, goods and services. Since logistics plays an important role on countries' economic growth, development and competitiveness, measuring the logistics capability of a country is critical. In this study, we collected data for 32 countries in the European region from various sources covering the period 2010 through 2018 and estimated several static panel data models to evaluate their logistics performance and to understand the factors that propel their LPIs. The results indicate that GDP per capita, the percentage of commercial service imports, and the liner shipping connectivity index have significant effects on the LPI at country level, surpassing other factors. Even though supported at only a significance level of 0.10, the most striking evidence is the negative relationship between the LPI and the percentage of commercial transport service imports, which has not been extensively investigated in the related literature. The strength of this study lies in adopting a panel-data approach with the inclusion of a variety of factors to explain the variance in the LPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since winter 2020, excess deaths due to COVID-19 have been higher in Eastern Europe than most of Western Europe, partly because regulatory enforcement was poor. Methods: This paper analysed data from 50 countries in the WHO European Region, in addition to data from USA and Canada. Excess Mortality and vaccination data were retrieved from "Our World In Data" and regulation implementation was assessed using standard methods. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between mortality and each covariate. Results: Excess mortality increased by 4.1 per 100 000 (P = 0.038) for every percentage decrease in vaccination rate and with 6/100 000 (p=0.011) for every decreased unit in the regulatory implementation score a country achieved in the Rule of Law Index. Conclusion: Degree of regulation enforcement, likely including public health measure enforcement, may be an important factor in controlling COVID-19's deleterious health impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The macroeconomic effect of the obesity epidemic on environmental degradation was examined for panel data from thirty-one European countries from 1991 to 2016. The quantile via moments model (QVM) was used to realize our empirical investigation. The empirical results indicate that the obesity epidemic, electricity consumption, and urbanisation encourage environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions, while economic growth decreases them. Moreover, we identify that the obesity epidemic raises the environmental degradation problem in three ways. First, the obesity epidemic is caused by the increased consumption of processed foods from multinational food corporations. The increase in food production will positively impact energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. Second, obesity reduces physical and outdoor activities, increasing the intensive use of home appliances and motorized transportation and screen-viewing leisure activities, consequently increasing energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. A third possible way can be related indirectly to economic growth, globalization, and urbanisation. This empirical investigation will contribute to the literature and for policymakers and governments. Therefore, this investigation will encourage the development of initiatives to mitigate the obesity problem in European countries and accelerate the energy transition process. Finally, this investigation will open a new topic in the literature regarding the correlation between the obesity epidemic and environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Investigate the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during childbirth in the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, from the mothers' perspective, as key service users. Methods: Women who gave birth in an Italian facility from March 1, 2020 to February 29, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO Standard-based Quality Measures. Descriptive and multivariate quantile regression analyses were performed. Results: In total, 4824 women were included, reporting heterogeneity of practices across regions: among 3981 women who underwent labour 78.4% (63.0%-92.0%) were not allowed a companion of choice, 44.6% (28.9%-53.3%) had difficulties in attending routine antenatal visits, 36.3% (24.9%-61.1%) reported inadequate breastfeeding support, 39.2% (23.3%-62.2%) felt not involved in medical choices, 33.0% (23.9%-49.3%) experienced unclear communication from staff, 24.8% (15.9%-39.4%) were not always treated with dignity and 12.7% (10.1%-29.3%) reported abuses. Findings in the group of women who did not experience labour were substantially similar. Multivariate analyses confirmed a significant lower QMNC index for regions in southern Italy compared to North and Central regions. Conclusion: Mothers reported substantial inequities in the QMNC across Italian regions. Future studies should monitor QMNC over time. Meanwhile, actions to ensure high QMNC for all mothers and newborns across Italy are urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global trends reveal that the currently available estimates of obesity have become almost three times when compared with the estimates in the year 1975. Even children have not been spared of this threat and close to 39 million children in the under-5 age group were overweight or obese. Even though a wide range of factors determines the prevalence of childhood overweight or obesity in a region, the findings of a recently released report from the European region have emphasized the digital marketing of foods rich in fats, salt, and sugars to children. There is no doubt that the food marketing industry has played a defining role in aggravating the problem by ensuring the promotion of obesogenic food items in such a way that they are cheaper, more visible, and easily available in contrast to healthy foods. To conclude, among the lack of appropriate regulations to control digital marketing, the epidemic of childhood obesity is going to increase further. It is the need of the hour to understand the importance of the issue and bridge the existing gaps to minimize the burden of childhood obesity.

Summary: Background: Multi-country studies assessing the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined by WHO Standards, are lacking. Methods: Women who gave birth in 12 countries of the WHO European Region from March 1, 2020 - March 15, 2021 answered an online questionnaire, including 40 WHO Standard-based Quality Measures. Findings: 21,027 mothers were included in the analysis. Among those who experienced labour (N=18,063), 41·8% (26·1%- 63·5%) experienced difficulties in accessing antenatal care, 62% (12·6%-99·0%) were not allowed a companion of choice, 31·1% (16·5%-56·9%) received inadequate breastfeeding support, 34·4% (5·2%-64·8%) reported that health workers were not always using protective personal equipment, and 31·8% (17·8%-53·1%) rated the health workers’ number as “insufficient”. Episiotomy was performed in 20·1% (6·1%-66·0%) of spontaneous vaginal births and fundal pressure applied in 41·2% (11·5% -100%) of instrumental vaginal births. In addition, 23·9% women felt they were not treated with dignity (12·8%-59·8%), 12·5% (7·0%-23·4%) suffered abuse, and 2·4% (0·1%-26·2%) made informal payments. Most findings were significantly worse among women with prelabour caesarean birth (N=2,964). Multivariate analyses confirmed significant differences among countries, with Croatia, Romania, Serbia showing significant lower QMNC Indexes and Luxemburg showing a significantly higher QMNC Index than the total sample. Younger women and those with operative births also reported significantly lower QMNC Indexes. Interpretation: Mothers reports revealed large inequities in QMNC across countries of the WHO European Region. Quality improvement initiatives to reduce these inequities and promote evidence-based, patient-centred respectful care for all mothers and newborns during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond are urgently needed. Funding: The study was financially supported by the Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy. Study registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336

The relationship between environmental externalities and green innovation is being increasingly explored in the literature but there is no paper exploring the nexus between green innovation (GI) and sustainable development. This article sheds light on the connection between GI and mineral rents from 2007 to 2021. In order to verify our results, we conduct a robustness assessment using a variety of natural resource rents, encompassing coal rents, gas rents, and forest rents. Our research furnishes evidence indicating that the adoption of environmental innovation is poised to curtail the consumption of most mineral resources, with the exception of forest rents in the PCSE and FGLS estimates. While GI does not exhibit statistical significance in the short term, its long-term impact reduce reliance on mineral rents. These findings maintain their robustness and reliability when accounting for endogeneity, fixed effects, and heterogeneity. To illuminate the relationship between institutional quality and mineral rents (MR), we incorporate six different indicators of institutions: voice and accountability (VA), government effectiveness (GE), rule of law (RL), regulatory quality (RQ), political stability and absence of violence/terrorism (PV), and control of corruption (CC). Our findings underscore the fact that integrating GI with institutions diminishes activities associated with mineral rents; from this we provide important policy recommendations for promoting GI development to use mineral resources more efficiently. • We examine impacts of green innovation on mineral rents. • We employ four different indicators of green innovation. • Green innovation adoption reduces mineral rents. • Green innovation adoption enhances a country's mineral resource use in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of national strategies aimed at improving the well-being of the population of the country is one of the current approaches to reforming the public policies of the countries of the world. It is the socioeconomic determinants of health that determine the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and getting old, as well as the spheres of influence on these conditions, such as public policy, state of economic development, demographic trends, etc. The aim. In this way, our research has focused on a comparative analysis of macroeconomic indicators that determine the effectiveness of socioeconomic determinants of healthcare in Europe and Ukraine, that are used to provide scientific justification for the construction of humanistic models for the provision of pharmaceutical care to the population in the context of the rapid stratification of Ukrainian society according to socioeconomic indicators. Materials and methods. The research methodology is based on the principles of systems analysis and an interdisciplinary scientific and systemic approach. The study used the empirical method, the method of comparative analysis and synthesis of statistical data, the graphical method. Results. A comparative analysis of the socioeconomic determinants of health in the countries of the European region and in Ukraine was carried out on three levels of indicators: the level of health-care expenditure, the structure of health-care expenditure and expenditure on medicines. The analysis revealed that in 2019, the average health expenditure of the countries analyzed was 8.2 % of GDP. Only two of the 34 countries - Ukraine and Turkey - have a rate below the 5 % that recommended by WHO. Public health financing schemes and compulsory health insurance are the main funding mechanisms in all countries, with the exception of Cyprus. Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Latvia and Bulgaria have the largest share of direct costs to patients as a source of health care financing. The results of the analysis of the medicine expenditure indicator as a proportion of total health expenditure showed that the highest level was in Bulgaria (35.4 %), the lowest in Denmark (6.4 %). Overall, five countries have high levels of pharmaceutical expenditures. In most European countries, the cost of purchasing medicines has been found to range from 346 to 619 USD per person per year. The highest value of this indicator from the European region is in Switzerland (894 USD per person), and the lowest is in Ukraine (73 USD). Based on the results of the comparative analysis, the countries were grouped according to key indicators into three categories - high, medium and low. Conclusions. A comparative analysis of key indicators of the socio-economic determinants of health in the country of the European region has been carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The macroeconomic effect of the obesity epidemic on environmental degradation was examined for panel data from thirty-one European countries from 1991 to 2016. The quantile via moments model (QVM) was used to realize our empirical investigation. The empirical results indicate that the obesity epidemic, electricity consumption, and urbanisation encourage environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions, while economic growth decreases them. Moreover, we identify that the obesity epidemic raises the environmental degradation problem in three ways. First, the obesity epidemic is caused by the increased consumption of processed foods from multinational food corporations. The increase in food production will positively impact energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. Second, obesity reduces physical and outdoor activities, increasing the intensive use of home appliances and motorized transportation and screen-viewing leisure activities, consequently increasing energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. A third possible way can be related indirectly to economic growth, globalization, and urbanisation. This empirical investigation will contribute to the literature and for policymakers and governments. Therefore, this investigation will encourage the development of initiatives to mitigate the obesity problem in European countries and accelerate the energy transition process. Finally, this investigation will open a new topic in the literature regarding the correlation between the obesity epidemic and environmental degradation.

Controlling measles outbreaks in the country of Georgia and throughout Europe is crucial for achieving the measles elimination goal for the World Health Organization's European Region. However, large-scale measles outbreaks occurred in Georgia during 2013-2015 and 2017-2018. The epidemiology of these outbreaks indicates widespread circulation and genetic diversity of measles viruses and reveals persistent gaps in population immunity across a wide age range that have not been sufficiently addressed thus far. Historic problems and recent challenges with the immunization program contributed to outbreaks. Addressing population susceptibility across all age groups is needed urgently. However, conducting large-scale mass immunization campaigns under the current health system is not feasible, so more selective response strategies are being implemented. Lessons from the measles outbreaks in Georgia could be useful for other countries that have immunization programs facing challenges related to health-system transitions and the presence of age cohorts with historically low immunization coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male sexual dysfunctions (MSDs) often remain undiagnosed and untreated in Asia compared to Europe due to conservative cultural and religious beliefs, socioeconomic conditions, and lack of awareness. There is a tendency for the use of traditional medicines and noncompliance with and reduced access to modern healthcare. The present systematic review compared the incidence and factors of MSD in European and Asian populations. English language population/community-based original articles on MSDs published in MEDLINE from 2008 to 2018 were retrieved. A total of 5392 studies were retrieved, of which 50 (25 Asian and 25 European) were finally included in this review. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) (0%-95.0% vs. 0.9%-88.8%), low satisfaction (3.2%-37.6% vs. 4.1%-28.3%), and hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) (0.7%-81.4 vs. 0%-65.5%) was higher in Asian than in European men, whereas the prevalence of anorgasmia (0.4% vs. 3%-65%) was lower in Asian than in European men. Age was an independent positive factor of MSD. In European men over 60 years old, the prevalence of premature ejaculation (PE) decreased. The prevalence of MSD was higher in questionnaires than in interviews. The significant factors were age, single status, low socioeconomic status, poor general health, less physical activity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, lower urinary tract symptoms, prostatitis, anxiety, depression and alcohol, tobacco, and drug use. The prevalence of MSD differed slightly in Asian and European men. There is a need to conduct large studies on the various Asian populations for the effective management of MSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the systemic problems of the modern world community in the relationship " person-society", "person-state", "state - international community", which provoked the COVID-19 pandemic. From the position of public administration mechanisms in the field of collective security, changes in the system of public relations in the post-coronavirus period are predicted. The author proposes a gradation of the crisis of systemic relationships triggered by a pandemic. From the point of view of mutual relations, the problems faced by the countries of the European region in connection with mass labour migration and quarantine are considered. The main challenges of modern collective security are analyzed, and the challenges that society will face in the post-coronovirus period are predicted. The main emphasis is on reformatting the relationship of the person to himself, his safety and health, understanding his duties and rights regarding society as a whole, duties and rights regarding native state and state, where person lives and works. The article discusses the possible main directions of interstate and international relations development in the post-coronovirus period, where military threats will no longer be considered as priority for response. The focus of efforts will be concentrate on epidemiological, epizootic, biological and food threats. We offer our vision of changes in relationship systems and their development paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Seventeenth World Congress on Public Health final declaration discusses the various challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the world of public health due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global issues. The document highlights the impact of the pandemic on global health, including the reversal of previous improvements and the disproportionate effects on disadvantaged populations. It also addresses other interconnected threats to health, such as climate change, conflicts, and the spread of misinformation. The declaration emphasizes the importance of promoting equity, taking urgent action, countering power imbalances, prioritizing peace, embracing scientific progress, combating false information, and working together across sectors to address current challenges. The document concludes by emphasizing the dedication of the public health community and the need for continued efforts to protect people and the planet. [Extracted from the article]

This article describes the peculiarities of the National immunization programs for adolescents in the WHO Euro region. A comparative analysis of the groups was conducted based on economic development. The best and the worst performing states were identified in every group. It was demonstrated that economic development is not the leading factor that determines a country’s vaccination policy.

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues its ascent in terms of the reported cases, the number of deaths and the geographical distribution. In an attempt to improve the preparedness activities and national response plan, the European region has designed an Adaptt tool, which can assist the program managers and hospital authorities to enhance the capacity for extending quality-assured inpatient care. This enhancement can be with regard to identifying the number of beds required for providing care for different categories of patients. The recommendations for enhancing the capacity of the hospital to meet the requirement of providing acute and intensive care broadly targets four domains, namely staff, premises, supplies and finally the system. In conclusion, the Adaptt tool developed in the European region is an effective strategy to respond to the challenge of the sudden upsurge in the number of COVID-19 cases and thereby improve our preparedness level and response to the detected cases. [Med-Science 2020; 9(2.000): 524-5]

The global trends reveal that the currently available estimates of obesity have become almost three times when compared with the estimates in the year 1975. Even children have not been spared of this threat and close to 39 million children in the under-5 age group were overweight or obese. Even though a wide range of factors determines the prevalence of childhood overweight or obesity in a region, the findings of a recently released report from the European region have emphasized the digital marketing of foods rich in fats, salt, and sugars to children. There is no doubt that the food marketing industry has played a defining role in aggravating the problem by ensuring the promotion of obesogenic food items in such a way that they are cheaper, more visible, and easily available in contrast to healthy foods. To conclude, among the lack of appropriate regulations to control digital marketing, the epidemic of childhood obesity is going to increase further. It is the need of the hour to understand the importance of the issue and bridge the existing gaps to minimize the burden of childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations of ionospheric parameters Total Electron Content (TEC) by GNSS, critical frequency (foF2) by vertical sounding and electron density (Ne) by low-altitude satellite were studied at high, mid and low latitudes of the European sector during the magnetic storm of August 25–26, 2018. During the main phase of the storm the ionospheric F2-layer was under the positive disturbance at mid and low latitudes. Then the transition from the positive to negative ΔfoF2 values occurred at all latitudes. The recovery phase was characterized by negative ionospheric disturbance at all latitudes. This is due to the decrease of thermospheric O/N2 ratio during the recovery phase of the storm. The intense Es layers screened the reflections from the F2-layer on August 26th at high and at low latitudes but at different times. Some blackouts occurred due to the high absorption level at high latitudes. In general, foF2 and TEC data were highly correlated. The major Ne changes were at the low latitudes. In general, Ne data confirmed the ionospheric dynamics revealed with foF2 and TEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper was to investigate factors influencing flight delays of a European airline. Besides the identification and analysis of those factors the paper offers possible suggestions on how to eliminate the delays. The research is based on data acquired over the period of time spanning from June to September in 2008 – 2014. Analysis of contingency tables, including Pearson’s chi‑squared test, has been used for data processing. The dependencies have been presented in graphical form by using correspondence maps. The proportion of delayed flights reaches approx. 50 % during nearly the entire monitored period only in September the proportion drops to 45 %. Flight delays are most frequently caused by delays of previous flights of the same plane. These previous delayed flights are the main culprit of long delays and the frequency of delay occurrence caused by this reason increases significantly during the day. Longer delays of flights appear also due to technical maintenance or aircraft defects. On the contrary other factors such as operational control and crew duty norms, air traffic control and airport limitations tend to cause rather shorter delays of flights with the air traffic control encountering more problems with coordination of flights in the early morning. The supply and service companies also manage to eliminate long delays.

Introduction Despite availability of safe and cost-effective vaccines to prevent it, measles remains one of the significant causes of death among children under five years of age globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) European Region has seen a drastic decline in measles and rubella cases in recent years, and a few of the once common measles genotypes are no longer detected. Buoyed by this success, all Member States of the Region reconfirmed their commitment in 2010 to eliminating measles and rubella, and made this a central objective of the European Vaccine Action Plan 2015–2020 (EVAP). Nevertheless, sporadic outbreaks continue, recently affecting primarily adolescents and young adults with no vaccination or an incomplete vaccination history. The European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination was established in 2011 to evaluate the status of measles and rubella elimination based on documentation submitted annually by each country’s national verification committee. Discussion Each country’s commitment to eliminate measles and rubella is influenced by competing health priorities, and in some cases lack of capacity and resources. All countries need to improve case-base surveillance for both measles and rubella, ensure documentation of each outbreak and strengthen the link between epidemiology and laboratory data. Achieving high coverage with measles- and rubella-containing vaccines will require a multisectoral approach to address the root causes of lower uptake in identified communities including service delivery challenges or vaccine safety concerns caused by circulating myths about vaccination. Conclusions The WHO European Region has made steady progress towards eliminating measles and rubella and over half of the countries interrupted endemic transmission of both diseases by 2015. The programmatic challenges in disease surveillance, vaccination service delivery and communication in the remaining endemic countries should be addressed through periodic evaluation of the strategies by all stakeholders and exploring additional opportunities to accelerate the ongoing elimination activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]