Child Health, Health Services and Systems in UK and other European countries

Background This work in child population medicine describes child health problems, increases knowledge of health services, systems, and wider determinants, and makes recommendations for improvements. Aims To explore trends in UK child health and health service quality and highlight policy lessons from the UK and other European countries To study child health and health services in western Europe and derive lessons from different approaches to common challenges To enhance knowledge on child to adult transition care To describe trends in UK and EU15+ child and adolescent mortality and seek explanations for deteriorating UK health system performance, and make recommendations for improving survival Methods Population level measures of health status and system performance; primary and secondary research on policies and practice for health system assessments. Quantitative: mortality rate trends, excess deaths, DALYs, healthcare processes Qualitative: case reports, system descriptions, analyses Results European child survival has improved, but variably between countries. The UK has not matched recent EU mortality gains. There are 6,000 excess deaths annually in children under 15 years in EU14 countries. There are child survival inequities; countries investing in social protection have lower mortality. Children in the UK, compared with other EU countries, are more likely to be poor than adults. Non-communicable diseases are now dominant causes of child death, disease, and disability. Mortality, processes, and outcomes of healthcare amenable conditions varies between countries. Better outcomes seem to be associated with flexible health care models promoting cooperation, team working, and transition. Conclusions Child health in Europe is improving, but unevenly. Child health systems are not adapting sufficiently to meet needs. Recommendations are made for improving health systems and services. How do European countries compare when it comes to child health statistics? How do different child health services, systems, and wider determinants impact long term influences for good or harm? Why do some countries seem to do better than others in safeguarding their children’s and young people’s health and wellbeing? And what can we do to make things better for children? This thesis explores some of these difficult but important issues, and despite describing some serious signals of concern about child health, offers recommendations and clear ways forward for countries to ensure healthier futures for children.