This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Musculoskeletal health recognized as a top European Union priority on the health agenda

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

COPENHAGEN — The World Health Organization’s European Regional Office announced that it will add musculoskeletal disorders to its non-communicable disease priority list. Additionally, the European Commission invited musculoskeletal experts to join discussions on research priorities in public health in the coming years.

“We have a vision of an age-friendly Europe, and my message to the delegates of the symposium is let’s work together to map out what evidence exists and where the gaps are, so that we can then make appropriate health policy decisions and research recommendations for [musculoskeletal disorders] MSDs in Europe,” Manfred Huber, PhD, coordinator of the WHO Europe’s Ageing, Disability and Long-term Care Department said at the 12th EFORT Congress 2011 here.

These announcements for musculoskeletal health care in Europe came during the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology’s (EFORT) first European Union Political Symposium. The symposium brought together officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, the European Parliament and key opinion leaders in musculoskeletal health, addressed the need for musculoskeletal disorders to become a key European Union priority in the context of an increasing aging population and to examine the role of the musculoskeletal community in contributing to healthy aging. The Active Aging program is a key priority action area on the European Institutions policy agenda for 2012 and is the theme of the WHO’s World Health Day next April.

Jorge Pinto Antunes, senior policy officer in the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumers, explained the new European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging and announced that key musculoskeletal health experts will be joining workshops to shape research directions for future public health policy in the European Union.

“By 2050, we are going to see a 177% increase in the number of European citizens over the age of 65. The European program is aimed at increasing healthy life years and will stimulate action on prevention, early detection, integrated care, active and healthy aging, and strengthening primary care. Musculoskeletal diseases present a very interesting area of action for the European Commission because enough evidence exists already. We just need plans for implementation of best practice – and this represents possibilities for ‘quick wins’ in public health, that is, noticeable and substantial improvements,” he said.

Anna Rosbach, Danish member of the European Parliament, also addressed the delegation about the European Union’s Active Ageing initiative.

“Elderly people have to see themselves as a useful part of society and not a burden — this is essential to the health of Europe as a whole,” she said.

Reference:

• Huber M. Preventing chronic diseases in the elderly – Healthy Ageing: The Commission’s perspective. Presented at the 12th EFORT Congress 2011. June 1-4. Copenhagen.

Follow OrthoSuperSite.com on Twitter