Health 21 or Health21 is the name given to the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO)
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an Region
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
framework derived from the "
health-for-all policy for the twenty-first century" passed by the
World Health Assembly
The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
T ...
in 1998.
[World Health Assembly]
Resolution WHA51.7. Health for all policy for the twenty-first century.
Geneva: World Health Organization, 1998. Accessed 2013 Apr 9. The framework was called "Health 21" not only because it dealt with
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
in the 21st century, but also because it laid out 21 "targets" for improving the health of Europeans.
[Health21: an introduction to the health for all policy framework for the WHO European Region.]
(European Health for All series; no. 5.) Copenhagen: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 1998. . Accessed 2013 Apr 9.[Health21: the health for all policy framework for the WHO European Region.]
(European Health for All series; no. 6.) Copenhagen: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 1999. . Accessed 2013 Apr 9.
Targets
The Health 21 targets were:
[
# "Solidarity for health in the European Region," or "closing the health gap between countries"
# "Equity in health," or "closing the health gap within countries"
# "Healthy start in life," for example "]policies
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
should... create a supportive family, with wanted children and good parenthood capacity"
# "Health of young people," that is, "young people in the region should be healthier and better able to fulfil their roles in society"
# "Healthy aging" as reflected in increases in life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
, disability-free life expectancy, and the proportion of older people who are healthy and at home
# "Improving mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
"
# "Reducing communicable diseases"
# "Reducing non-communicable disease
A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, os ...
s"
# "Reducing injury
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...
from violence and accidents"
# "A healthy and safe physical environment"
# "Healthier living" such as "healthier behaviour in such fields as nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...
, physical activity and sexuality" and "increase in the availability, affordability and accessibility of safe and healthy food"
# "Reducing harm from alcohol, drugs and tobacco"
# "Settings for health," specifically, "people in the region should have greater opportunities to live in healthy physical and social environments at home, at school, at the workplace and in the local community"
# "Multisectoral responsibility for health"
# "An integrated health sector" with "better access to family- and community-oriented primary health care
Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...
, supported by a flexible and responsive hospital system"
# "Managing for quality of care" by focusing on outcomes
# "Funding health services and allocating resources," calling for "sustainable financing and resource allocation mechanisms for health care system
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, Mental health, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World H ...
s based on the principles of equal access, cost–effectiveness, solidarity, and optimum quality"
# "Developing human resources for health
''Human Resources for Health'' is a peer-reviewed open-access public health journal publishing original research and case studies on issues of information, planning, production, management, and governance of the health workforce, and their links w ...
" to ensure that health professionals and others "have acquired appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills to protect and promote health"
# "Research and knowledge for health": "health research, information and communication systems" should "better support the acquisition, effective utilization, and dissemination of knowledge"
# "Mobilizing partners for health," including governments, professionals, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and individual citizens
# "Policies and strategies for health for all" at "country, regional and local levels"
See also
*Health policy
Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...
*Health promotion
Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health."
Scope
The WHO's 1986 Ottawa Charter for Healt ...
** Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion is the name of an international agreement signed at the First International Conference on Health Promotion, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Ottawa, Canada, in November 1986.Worl ...
** Bangkok Charter The Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World is the name of an international agreement reached among participants of the 6th Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Bangkok, Thailand in August 2005, convened by the World Heal ...
** Jakarta Declaration The Jakarta Declaration on Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century is the name of an international agreement that was signed at the World Health Organization's 1997 Fourth International Conference on Health Promotion held in Jakarta.World He ...
* Primary health care
Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...
** Health for all
** Alma Ata Declaration Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC), Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata), Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), Soviet Union 6–12 September 1978.WHODeclaration from the websi ...
* Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
**Healthy city
Healthy city is a term used in public health and urban design to stress the impact of policy on human health. It is a municipality that continually improves on a physical and a social level until environmental and pathological conditions are reach ...
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Department of Health (1999) ''Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation''. London: DoH.
* WHO (1999) ''Reducing inequalities in health''. Copenhagen: WHO.
European medical and health organizations
World Health Organization
Health policy