Authors: OECD

This second edition of Health at a Glance: Europe presents the most recent comparable data for selected indicators of health and health systems in 35 European countries – the 27 member states of the European Union, five candidate countries and three EFTA countries – up to 2010. The publication also provides detailed information on health expenditure and financing trends.

Authors: Ilona Kickbusch and David Gleicher (Global Health Europe, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies)

The study on governance for health in the 21st century, commissioned by WHO - Europe Regional Office, describes the attempts of governments and other actors to steer communities, whole countries or even groups of countries in the pursuit of health as integral to well-being. This study tracks recent governance innovations to address the priority determinants of health and categorizes them into five strategic approaches to smart governance for health. It relates the emergence of joint action by the health sector and non-health sectors, by public and private actors and by citizens, all of whom have an increasing role to play in achieving seminal changes in 21st-century societies.

This study was commissioned to provide the evidence base for the new European health policy, Health 2020. Calling for a HiAP health-in-all-policies, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, Health 2020 uses governance as a “lense” through which to view all technical areas of health.

Geoff Wong, Ray Pawson and Lesley Owen

Legislation is one of the most powerful weapons for improving population health and is often used by policy and decision makers. Little research exists to guide them as to whether legislation is feasible and/or will succeed. This paper details work which aimed to produce a coherent and transferable evidence based framework of threats to legislative interventions to assist the decision making process and to test this through the 'case study' of legislation to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

Author: Bruce Alberts (Science)

Science's editorial, against the use of the journal impact factor in judging the individual scientist's work.

EU news source, Portal, identifies ALICE RAP as one of the major pan-European initiatives tackling the problems of addiction, with a special focus on youth.