The role of burden of disease estimates in European Union Health policymaking: A systematic analysis of EU legislation

IF 3.6 3区医学 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

Health Policy Pub Date : 2025-06-27 DOI:10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105387

José Chen-Xu , Diana Grad , Nour Mahrouseh , João Vasco Santos , Silvia Riva , Federica Gazzelloni , Brigid Unim , Periklis Charalampous , Enkeleint A. Mechili , Sarah Cuschieri , Vanessa Gorasso , Henk Hilderink , Orsolya Varga , Susana Viegas

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The use of burden of disease (BoD) metrics in policymaking is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. However, there is currently no information available regarding their utilisation in policies at the European level.

Objective

This study aimed to analyse the use of BoD metrics within the European legislation.

Methods

Systematic searches on EUR-Lex were conducted for documents published between 2004 and 2023, to account for European Union-25 (EU-25). Network and qualitative analyses of documents were conducted to assess the legislation content.

Results

In total, 2615 documents were found, of which 191 included BoD metrics. Among the selected documents, 131 (69 %) were published after 2018. Ten were legally binding documents. The most prevalent EuroVoc (EU’s multilingual and multidisciplinary thesaurus) domains were social questions and environment. The most frequent EuroVoc terms were climate change policy (n = 45), EU environmental policy (n = 32) and pollution control measures (n = 32). The most common EU institution responsible for the retrieved documents was the European Commission (n = 152). As for the purposes of usage, argument (n = 93) and impact assessment (n = 50) were most common. Most BoD metrics were localized in the main text (n = 122).

Conclusion

Despite growing recognition of BoD metrics in supporting policymaking, their use remains focused on environmental health topics. Further efforts in training policymakers, knowledge dissemination and policy-oriented research could enhance the uptake of BoD studies in EU policies.

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疾病负担估算在欧盟卫生政策制定中的作用：对欧盟立法的系统分析

在政策制定中使用疾病负担（BoD）指标对于基于证据的决策至关重要。然而，目前没有关于它们在欧洲一级的政策使用情况的信息。目的本研究旨在分析欧洲立法中BoD指标的使用情况。方法在EUR-Lex上系统检索2004年至2023年间发表的文件，以解释欧盟25国（EU-25）。对立法内容进行了网络分析和文献定性分析。结果共检索到2615份文献，其中包含按需出版指标191份。在入选文献中，有131篇（69%）发表于2018年以后。其中10份是具有法律约束力的文件。最普遍的EuroVoc（欧盟的多语言和多学科辞典）领域是社会问题和环境。最常见的EuroVoc术语是气候变化政策（n = 45）、欧盟环境政策（n = 32）和污染控制措施（n = 32）。负责检索文件的最常见的欧盟机构是欧盟委员会（n = 152）。至于使用目的，论证（n = 93）和影响评估（n = 50）是最常见的。大多数BoD指标被定位在正文中（n = 122）。结论：尽管人们越来越认识到生物需氧量指标在支持政策制定方面的作用，但它们的使用仍然集中在环境卫生方面。在培训决策者、知识传播和面向政策的研究方面的进一步努力可以加强欧盟政策对生物多样性和生物多样性研究的吸收。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Health Policy 医学-卫生保健

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

6.10%

发文量

157

审稿时长

3-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Health Policy is intended to be a vehicle for the exploration and discussion of health policy and health system issues and is aimed in particular at enhancing communication between health policy and system researchers, legislators, decision-makers and professionals concerned with developing, implementing, and analysing health policy, health systems and health care reforms, primarily in high-income countries outside the U.S.A.