Evidence to Achieve an Optimal Model for Children’s Health in Europe

Abstract

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) was a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary and multi-method study that aimed to identify the best models of provision of primary care for the children of the European Union. The research has identified two main conclusions: (1) The depth of interdependency of health, economy and society. Primary care needs to be an active partner in public debate about current child health concerns. It should orientate more effectively in addressing wider societal influences on child health through advocacy and collaborative intersectoral public health approaches with those agencies responsible for public and community health if it is to address effectively issues such as childhood obesity, mental health and vaccine hesitancy. As part of this, it needs to address its workforce composition and skills, not least in two-way communication. (2) The European Community has many visions and commitments to children and child health policies, but their effectiveness is largely unfulfilled. The Commission can strengthen its impact on children's health and healthcare services within current remits and resources by focusing on a number of key fields: planned and structured research, providing insight into optimal human resources and skills in child primary care, developing and using ethical means of listening to children's views, remedying the invisibility of children in data, measuring the quality of primary care from a child-centric perspective, understanding the economics of investing in children's health, developing e-health standards and evaluation, collaborative and harmonised use of downloaded research databases, understanding and respecting children's rights and equity, and appreciating and allowing for children's evolving autonomy as they grow up. An optimal model of primary care for children is proactive, inclusive, corporately linked, based on and providing

Developmental monitoring: benefits of a preventive health care system

“…The Dutch PCH system may thus be a valuable example of a developmental monitoring system for other countries. Such an example is especially needed, since the pediatric primary care system in many European countries is suboptimal due to 1) a relatively poor use of guidelines for mental health assessment [21], 2) limited availability of strategies securing access to various primary mental health care for adolescents [22], and 3) a shortage of school health professionals, who if available also frequently lack specific training in prevention [4]. Given this variation across Europe in pediatric primary care systems [21], our findings can in particular be considered benchmark data if assessing other pediatric primary care systems.…”