Conference on the Future of Healthcare in Europe

A high-level one day conference is convened by The Finnish Institute in London, the UCL European Institute and the UCL Grand Challenges on 13 May 2011.

European governments face a growing number of major health challenges, which are putting unprecedented pressures on public health systems. These include those posed by an ageing population, such as the increasing complexity of diseases and health care needs; the rise of mental health problems across age groups and social strata; and the effects of chronic diseases fuelled by environmental and socioeconomic factors as well as increasingly by lifestyle. Furthermore, healthcare provision confronts significant structural challenges in balancing access fo high-quality care whilst meeting increasing patient expectations. The distributive ethic of European healthcare is likely to be increasingly tested as demands on healthcare provision increase and cost pressures intensify.

Bringing together expertise from academia, government, public policy institutes, think-tanks and third sector from across Europe, the conference will seek to define the major health challenges that Europe faces and explore the ways in which different European countries are responding to these to find potential solutions. The conference will also consider the extent to which there might be economic benefit from pan-European action on healthcare, and how the impact of prevention in healthcare can be measured. By stimulating knowledge exchange across sectors in the UK and the EU, the conference aims to increase research, governmental, and non-governmental co-operation on this vital issue.

The conference features over 25 speakers, with keynote addresses from Professor Sir Michael Marmot(UCL Epidemiology and Public Health and Chair of WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health) and Michael Hübel (Head of Health Determinants Unit, DG Health & Consumers, European Commission). Other speakers include Dr Jennifer Dixon (The Nuffield Trust), Professor Peter Littlejohns, (National Institute for Heath and Clinical Excellence, NICE), and Dr Marina Erhola (Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare).

A post-conference publication will be issued by the Finnish Institute in London, in cooperation with UCL.

More information about the conference here.