The Department of Health Inequalities and the Social Determinants of Health has obtained 99,000 Euros from the European Union Health Programme to fund a project addressing diseases of the heart and circulatory system (cardiovascular disease or CVD).
The EuroHeart Health Two project builds on the current EuroHeart Health project, which provided a valuable overview of policies, plans and legislation on public health, CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, alcohol, food, tobacco, stress, inequalities across 16 European countries.
Professor Simon Capewell, Dr Ffion Lloyd-Williams and colleagues will identify the most effective and cost effective CVD prevention policies across a number of European countries.
As part of the project, literature and other relevant policies will be reviewed and analysed for content. Interviews will be conducted with policy-makers and thought-leaders to elicit their views on a very wide range of possible strategies and policy options covering the entire CVD prevention spectrum in European countries including Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia.
A system will be developed to categorise and compare these CVD policies resources, implementation and results. Data will be systematically analysed to identify the most effective and cost effective CVD prevention policies. Specifically the team will examine whether falls in major risk factors and CVD deaths have been greater in the EU countries with a larger number of effective national policies.
The outcomes of the EuroHeart Health Two study will allow decision makers to develop CVD prevention policies based on the most up-to-date statistical data and scientific impact models, empower stakeholders to assess and address the situation in their countries, empower the CVD NGO (non-governmental organization) sector to have a larger impact on health related nutrition and physical activity policy in their country. It will also strengthen the impact of the CVD patient community in the decision making process and allow health professionals to link the process of disseminating CVD guidelines with health outcomes.