Ministerial Conference on chronic illnesses on 20 october

EU Member States are increasingly facing common challenges with the growing burden of chronic diseases in the European Union, representing 86% of mortality in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region and having significant economic implications. Many of these diseases are preventable and are linked by common risk factors such as tobacco use, overweight and obesity, hypertension, alcohol abuse and sedentary lifestyle.
The Belgian Presidency of the European Union has decided to draw attention on this crucial issue by organising a Ministerial Conference on "Innovative approaches for chronic illnesses in public health and healthcare systems", scheduled for 20 October. Against a background of innovation and solidarity, this Ministerial Conference aims to bring Member States, patients and other relevant stakeholders together to discuss and share experiences and best practices in the field of chronic diseases. The perception of people living with chronic conditions by society and by patients themselves will be a central theme of the conference.
In the area of prevention, the discussion will address innovative initiatives to improve healthy lifestyles, cost-effective strategies and their implementation, and the importance of collaboration of relevant stakeholders to tackle common risk factors in chronic diseases. In the area of care, the discussion will include: the role of new technologies to prevent hospital re-admissions and to improve the chronic patient’s ability to live independently, the importance of integration of care and multidisciplinary cooperation to ensure optimal support for chronic patients, the importance of increased empowerment of patients and their role in care systems.
On 19 October two pre-events on musculoskeletal diseases and chronic respiratory diseases will be organised in collaboration with the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS). At both the conference and the pre-events, innovative, patient-oriented and collaborative initiatives in the area of prevention and care will be discussed.
Conclusions on chronic diseases will be presented to the EPSCO Council in December 2010.

*For further information, please see:
http://www.eutrio.be/calendar/2010-10-20/all?mini=calendar%2F2010-10%2Fall