EPHA worked with Triangulate Health to develop a scoping review that would help understanding what is known about health as a driver for a well-being economy and identifying opportunities for engaging European policy makers in well-being economy processes.
The objectives of the scoping review were to:
- Analyse all relevant studies and available literature retrieved from a pragmatic literature search.
- Identify key documents and associated recommendations related to health system strengthening and health investment towards a well-being economy.
- Identify how influential actors invest in health in the European Union to improve well-being economy.
- Identify opportunities to employ well-being economy approaches in European policies and areas for future research.
The following recommendations were formulated as priority areas:
- Expanding well-being economy research to Eastern and Southern Europe, improving generalisability of current approaches which are largely clustered in Northern Europe.
- Evaluating the use of digital technology, employed informal caregivers and family focussed models of care for improving access to care.
- Continued advocacy for the rights of informal carers. More needs to be done to support informal carers who leave work completely to care for a loved one.
- Redefining measures of healthcare performance making equity goals the health systems responsibility and not a measure of individuals socioeconomic status.
- Viewing Universal Health Care (UHC) as an investment rather than an expenditure and exploring how UHC can be expanded to primary healthcare and digital technologies as a priority.
- Designing inclusive mental health assessments and interventions suitable for a diverse society. Moving away from statutory approaches and individual symptoms to understanding the structural causes of inequalities and designing psychiatry modules to reflect this.
- Expanding entry points for healthcare information and advice beyond traditional services such as the GP. More research is needed on which entry points other than the workplace would be most effective.
- Improve healthcare workforce retention through well-being support programmes, regular training and appropriate pay.