20^th European Health Forum Gastein, 4-6 October 2017

European Health Award 2017: Six projects shortlisted

Six cross-border health projects have now been short-listed for the prestigious European Health Award 2017. They cover topics such as migrant health, health security and disease prevention, mastocytosis, coeliac disease, e-learning and health education. The prize-winner will be chosen by a panel of leading health experts, and the award presented at the European Health Forum Gastein in early October.

Bad Hofgastein, August 2017– Six cutting-edge projects are in the running for the prestigious €10,000 European Health Award 2017, sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and FOPI, which brings together Austria's research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The winner will be chosen by a panel of leading health experts, and announced during the 20^th European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), being held in the Gastein Valley from the 4-6 October.

The European Health Award honours initiatives aiming to improve public health or health care in Europe. Important criteria are that more than one European country should be involved in the initiative, it should show innovation and be sustainable, and that the results are transferable to other states and address a significant health threat.

“The purpose of the European Health Award is to honour initiatives which have made a significant contribution in addressing major challenges that the European health systems are facing today“, says newly elected EHFG President Dr Clemens Martin Auer. “The EHFG is a superb market place of great ideas for health reforms in the EU Member States. My aim is to transform great visions into reality in order to effectively improve the health of Europe’s citizens. Our Award perfectly serves this purpose by promoting cross-border cooperation and the development of sustainable & innovative best practice initiatives.”

Last year's award went to the European Antibiotics Awareness Day, which is aimed at providing a platform to support national campaigns on the prudent use of antibiotics and is coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The 2017 short-list in detail:

Project 1: Education Against Tobacco (EAT) http://educationtobacco.org/

Through EAT more than 1,500 medical students from 28 German, four Austrian and two Swiss medical schools educate 23,800 adolescents effectively in the classroom setting per year, educate hundreds of prospective physicians for tobacco cessation in inpatient settings and conduct the largest school-based tobacco prevention trials worldwide.

Project 2: EUropean Refugees - HUman Movement and Advisory Network (EUR-HUMAN)  http://eur-human.uoc.gr/about/

EUR-HUMAN aimed to rapidly enhance Primary Health Care capacity across Europe to address refugee and migrant health needs and safeguard them from risks including minimising cross-border care risks. An evidence-based, validated approach was utilised, well-tailored to their needs and matched to available services.

Project 3: The European Competence Network on Mastocytosis (ECNM) http://ecnm.net/homepage/index.php

The ECNM is a multi-center network and high-level initiative of EU experts working in the field of mastocytosis. The general aim of the ECNM is to improve recognition, diagnosis and therapy in patients with mastocytosis in Europe and other countries. The ECNM has succeeded in developing widely accepted guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with mastocytosis.

Project 4: Innovative patient centred health care services – advantages of establishing a close CE network in coeliac disease patient health care (Focus IN CD) http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/Focus-IN-CD.html

Focus IN CD project will demonstrate the development of an innovative health service model and will gain data to develop e-learning tools for health care professionals (HCPs) and patients, to close existing knowledge gaps and to improve patient support.

Project 5: The Gen-Equip Project: Equipping European Primary Care Health Professionals to Deal with Genetics www.primarycaregenetics.org

The Gen-Equip project is a European initiative to provide free, online education in genetics to health professionals, particularly general practitioners, nurses and midwives providing primary care.  The main aim is to improve healthcare of patients who have or are at risk of a condition with an underlying genetic cause.

Project 6: The impact on maritime transport of health threats due to biological, chemical and radiological agents including communicable diseases (EU SHIPSAN ACT) http://www.shipsan.eu/

EU SHIPSAN ACT focused on the impact of maritime transport on health threats due to biological, chemical and radiological agents including communicable diseases. The project aimed to strengthen an integrated strategy and sustainable mechanisms at the EU level for safeguarding the health of travellers and crew of passenger and cargo ships, and preventing the cross-border spread of diseases to improve citizens' health security.

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