Post on 27-Mar-2015
European Health Examination Survey
Establishment of the EHES Reference Centre and the Joint Action for
the pilot EHES
HIC subgroup on HES meeting, 20 January 2010, Luxembourg
What is EHES?
• A health examination survey (HES) • Includes both questionnaire and physical
measurements• Based on a random sample of the
general population• For many health indicators, the most
reliable data source• Complementary to EHIS and
administrative registers
Why EHES?
• To collect comparable, high quality data on health of the European adult population
• To provide reliable and comparable data for planning and evaluation of health policies and health promotion activities, and research
Setting up EHESPhase I Phase II
Setting up EHES RC
Manual for all EU and EEA/EFTA countries
Training programme
Planning and preparing a national HES, including a pilot survey, in 14 countries
Full-size HES in the pilot countries
Planning, preparing and conducting a national HES in other countries
Gradual development to a sustainable EHES system
Funding through a Tender and Joint Action for 2 years in 2009-2011
0 1 2 3 4
Timing of the Phase I
2009 2011
08 0801 01
EHES Reference Centre
Joint Action
2010 2012
03
EHES target population
• Entire country• Permanent residents, including
institutionalized persons• Age group: 25-64 years
• Can be extend to 18+
EHES sampling
• Two stage sampling
• Sample size at least 4000 persons• Equal sample
size for each stratum
Selection of HES measurements
• Based on:• Epidemiological and public health criteria• Availability of international standards
• Existing recommendations:• ECHI list• Other Projects of the Public Health Programme• European Health Risk Monitoring (EHRM)
Project • WHO STEPS
What to include?
• A set of core questions and measurements will be included in all countries
• Additional questions and measurements can be included in each country based on their• Interests• Experience• Resources
Core measurements
• Physical measurements• Weight• Height• Waist circumference• Blood pressure
• Blood samples• Total cholesterol• HDL cholesterol• Fasting glucose
• Questionnaire items• Basic background
characteristics• Health behaviours• Health status
• Where applicable, EHIS question will be used
Additional measurements
• Physical measurements• Hip circumference• Physical function test• Dental examinations• Bone density• Etc.
• Various markers from blood samples
• Saliva samples• Urine samples• Etc.
• Wider questionnaires• Physical activity• Diet and nutrition• Drinking habits• Use of health services• Social support• Psychological distress• Mental health• Reproductive health • Etc.
HES measurements require
• Standardized protocols• Good training and quality control• Adherence to specific ethical and
legal requirements• Informed consent from the
participants
National HES models
• Light model• Questionnaire supplemented by a core
HES measurements
• Extensive model• Thorough clinical examination by a
survey team and several modules and/or several phases of fieldwork
• Potential for both health monitoring and specific epidemiological studies
The EHES Reference Centre
Established jointly by• National Institute for Health and
Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland• Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS),
Rome, Italy• Statistics Norway (SSB), Oslo,
Norway
Tasks for EHES Reference Centre
• EHES manuals• The EHES Manual• National Manuals
• Training programme• Training seminars• Training materials
• Quality control• Coordination of external
quality control • Preparation of
guidelines for internal quality control
• Blood sample handling and storage protocols
• Development of principles and rules for data sharing
• Development of data transfer and management system
• Development of reporting system• Basic reports
• Evaluation of the pilot surveys
• Final conference
Joint Action for piloting EHES
• Supports the national activities needed to build the capacity for organizing HES in 14 countries
Finland
Germany
Netherlands
Poland
Czech RepublicSlovakia
Hungary
Greece
ItalyMalta
Spain
Portugal
UK/England
Norway
Tasks of the Joint Action
• Preparation of national HES plans• Preparation of sampling descriptions• Completing field work for the pilot• Transferring the pilot HES data to the
EHES RC• Quality assessment of the pilot HES
data• Preparation of the national
dissemination and the reporting plan
More information
The EHES web site at
http://www.ehes.info