Disaster: Germany ranks 17th in the Public Health Index
The AOK Federal Association and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have published the first Public Health Index (PHI), which assesses the status of implementation of scientifically recommended preventive measures in 18 northern and central European countries. Germany ranks 17th, ahead of Austria but behind Switzerland. The index, which will be updated every two years in the future, shows that German prevention policy has a lot of catching up to do.
In the fields of tobacco, alcohol and nutrition, Germany is at the bottom of the rankings, with exercise in the lower midfield. The front-runners are Great Britain, Finland and Ireland, followed by Norway and France. These countries are consistently implementing measures such as health-based taxation, advertising restrictions, smoke-free environments and healthy school lunches. The DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) brings up the rear, as only a few evidence-based measures are implemented here.
The interdisciplinary research team criticizes the lack of political will in Germany, despite broad social support and high economic costs from tobacco (97 billion euros), obesity (63 billion euros) and alcohol (57 billion euros). A comprehensive prevention policy according to WHO guidelines is recommended in order to reduce the burden of disease and costs. The PHI is intended to highlight weaknesses and provide impetus for further development through best-practice examples.
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Public Health Index | AOK Press
Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR
Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.
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