European Advisory Council for Mid-Life and Older Woman’s Health
The European Advisory Council (EAC), hosted by the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH), was established in 1996 in response to the overwhelming recommendations of delegates who attended a conference in Dublin to launch the EIWH policy paper “Women in Europe: towards Healthy Ageing.”
Working in Partnership
It evolved into a pan-European network of experts working in fields as diverse as health, research and gender mainstreaming policies to public communication, by engaging and working with clinicians, epidemiologists, researchers, health economist, sociologist, health and social NGOs, women’s and patient groups, employers, unions, politicians and the media. The common ground for all members was the need to ensure that health issues, and particularly, women’s health issues became a vital component of EU policy development. Over the past eight years the EAC and its members have made great strides in making gender-mainstreaming a part of the EU public health policy and research agenda. An outline of achievements follows.
EU health policy continues to evolve steadily. But for good health to become the driving force behind all policy making, we need to ensure that all actors in society act in concert with government departments and their agencies, and that this co-operation is understood and supported by their citizens.
Healthy Choices
To tackle such currently important challenges as our ageing population, life-style related diseases and obesity in Europe, we need to encourage and engage everybody in the process of health policy formulation, from researchers to GPs and from policy makers to patient advice groups. We need to empower people at all levels of society to make healthy choices.
Commissioner Byrne’s Reflection Paper for a new EU Health Strategy points the way forward. “Good health is a shared responsibility” underlines this need for the widest co-operation between different groups. The Women in Europe report pointed out that women are the family’s health managers and still make up a large part of informal carers. Women therefore have a particularly vital role to play in this process.
The EIWH and the EAC
The EIWH has vast practical experience in working with different sectors, disciplines and cultures and moving from national to EU level and vice-versa. The EAC, as the policy advisory arm of the EIWH, is well placed to tackle health as a shared responsibility, build partnerships and co-operate with the Commission, European Parliament, health policy makers and others.
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Operation of the EAC
The EAC is a high level advisory platform attached to the EIWH and sharing the Institute’s mission and objectives. To remain a flexible and dynamic, but at the same time non-exclusive group, the EAC will act as a pool of experts helping the Institute to promote quality and equity in health policy and health-care. It will provide a sounding board for developing effective policies that reflect society’s shared responsibility for good health.
Objectives
Become an agenda-setting network for advocating an integrated approach to good health and well-being;
Consult widely and inform the health policy debate at EU and national level;
Work towards influencing health policy change and integrating health into all other relevant policies.
EAC Membership
Membership of the EAC, is free and open to all organisations and individuals who have a strong commitment to the objectives outlined including:
– EU and national policy makers and politicians
– Women’s groups: business and professional women
– Health and Social NGOs, Patient groups
– Academics, researcher and the health professions
– Communication specialists
Contributing to new EU Public Health Strategy
Tackling life style related health determinants Eating disorders and obesity
Prevention of chronic diseases
Encouraging and supporting mental and physical health and well-being
Highlighting ageing and health across the lifespan
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Influencing European Framework Research Programme 7
Pursuing Gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women o Equal opportunities, disadvantaged and minority groups, violence against women
The Story So Far
The EIWH, with the advice and support of the EAC, has made a significant contribution to the European health policy agenda by:
Researching and developing publications and public information
Women in Europe- Towards Healthy Ageing;
Dementia care- Challenges for an Ageing Europe;
Eating Disorders -Geda;
Promoting Gender Equity in EU Public Health Policy;
The Health of Mid-life and Older women in the European Union-Facts and Figures;
The application of a gender perspective in the evaluation of research protocols by research ethics committees:
results from case studies in five European countries;
Cervical Cancer in the EU and Accession countries-Cervical Cancer Audit.
Cancer information project for women1997, hosted on EIWH website;
Development of Seniors online, e-Te@room;
Integrated System for Long distance psychiatric Assistance and Non-conventional Distributed health Services (ISLANDS)
SESAMI – meeting accessibility needs of elderly and disabled
Hosting Conferences and Briefings
European Conference on Women in Europe – Towards Healthy Ageing;
International conference to launch Dementia Care policy document;
International Women’s Day briefing session on Gender, in the European Parliament, co- hosted by MEP Heidi Hautala, then chair of the Health Intergroup.
International conference -Gender Mainstreaming in EU Public Health Roundtable on Gender Mainstreaming in Health.
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Working with Expert Groups
UN/WHO Expert group on mainstreaming gender into the health sector;
WHO expert panel on Gender Mainstreaming in Europe;
European Commission External Advisory Group on Ageing and Disability;
Expert Advisory Group for the European Commission Gender Impact Assessment FP5 2002;
Member of International Osteoporosis Foundation’s consultation panel on osteoporosis;
Member of the Executive Committee of the European Men’s Health.
Influencing Policy
Developed European Policy Paper on Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia;
Invited by European Commission DG Environment Directorate to contribute to Gender Mainstreaming and Environment Policy;
Successfully argued for inclusion of gender and ageing in the new public Health Strategy 2003-08;
Invited by European Commission DG Research to chair meeting on Gender as a Determinant of Healthy Ageing;
Drafted statement on gender for inclusion in the 6th Framework Programme Research;
Advised the European Commission’s Women in Science Unit on the wording on gender for inclusion in Applications for Funding Guides for Evaluators and Guides for Proposers for the 6th Framework Programme;
Prepared position paper on ageing for EU Commission External Advisory group on Ageing and Disability;
Made presentations of research findings at the European Parliament Health Intergroup.
Organised European Parliament Roundtable on ageing hosted by the then MEP Eryl Mc Nally;
Lobbied the European Parliament’s Environment and Health Committee to complete an opinion on Cancer Screening and contributed to its content.