This paper elaborates a typology of regionalized abortion policy based on a comparative case study of Italy and the United States. Italy originally legalized abortion in 1978 and has seen little effort to modify the law since. Contrastingly, the United States' abortion landscape has been in near...

At a time of global crisis and competing priorities, investing in health is among the most impactful and cost-effective decisions governments and stakeholders can make. Beyond being a fundamental right, health is a catalyst for growth, stability and resilience – particularly in uncertain...

Background: Government-imposed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted essential healthcare services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including childbirth delivery care. While a few studies have documented a decline in institutional deliveries, little is known about the...

This paper elaborates a typology of regionalized abortion policy based on a comparative case study of Italy and the United States. Italy originally legalized abortion in 1978 and has seen little effort to modify the law since. Contrastingly, the United States’ abortion landscape has been in...

This paper examines the impact of two major family policies on maternal health, using rich claims data from the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD). We report a significant short-term impact of childcare on diagnosed respiratory diseases and heterogeneous effects on mental...

This report comprises three papers. In the first paper, we present a comprehensive assessment of the Human Resources for Health (HRH) remuneration system in the Philippines. We examine the current stock of HRH, their economic contribution, and the governance and financing mechanisms that support...

The number of people living with cancer in the EU is increasing due to the ageing population and lower cancer mortality. Large differences in cancer incidence and mortality persist across countries, with wide disparities between high- and low-income countries, higher rates among men than women...

The number of people living with cancer in the EU is increasing due to the ageing population and lower cancer mortality. Large differences in cancer incidence and mortality persist across countries, with wide disparities between high- and low-income countries, higher rates among men than women...

In 2024, ECDC conducted a survey on public health workforce capacity in the field of prevention and control of infectious diseases in the EU/EEA. This was in response to requests from several European Member States to help assess existing workforce capacity and identify gaps and additional...

This protocol presents an updated common methodology for estimating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) using established health data registries in participating European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) Member States. This work is performed within the Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden...

This document aims to provide public health authorities in European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries with guidance for improved preparedness planning taking the lessons that have been identified through various activities in the context of recent public health crises (e.g....

As stated in Article 8 of the Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health, ECDC has the responsibility, in coordination with relevant Union agencies and bodies, to conduct Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessments of all European Union and European Economic Area...

The aim of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment, as mandated in Article 8 of the EU Regulation on serious cross-border threat to health, is to improve prevention, preparedness and response planning in EU/EEA countries through the implementation of evidence-based recommendations...

This paper reports socioeconomic and health outcomes for individuals born with sex variations (i.e., intersex individuals) in Mexico based on large nationally representative survey data collected between 2021 and 2022 (N44,189). The sample includes 608 intersex respondents, corresponding to a...

Ireland is one of the few European countries without a universal healthcare system (UHC). Instead, a complex system of means-tested schemes that provide free access to various healthcare services or reduced cost medication exist. The most central component of this complex system is the Medical...

The European Union (EU) is advancing the creation of data spaces to foster innovation, enhance data sharing and ensure data sovereignty. Two key legislative pillars in this effort are the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation and the Open Data Directive (ODD). The EHDS aims to increase...

This report builds on the results of a policy event, "R&I to promote mental health and to prevent and treat mental disorders," held on 18 February 2025 in Brussels by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation, organised by the 'Combatting Diseases' Unit in...

Vlassopoulos et al. (2024) find that after providing two hours of telephone counseling over three months, a sample of Bangladeshi women saw significant reductions in stress and depression after ten months. We find three anomalies. First, estimates are almost entirely driven by reverse-scored...

Siddique et al. (2024a) report massive effects of a mobile phone-based health awareness campaign in a randomized field experiment conducted in rural Bangladesh and India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both awareness and compliance with preventive COVID-19 measures were higher when the information...

The analysis of household health financing vulnerability and its impact on health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic remains inadequately explored in Kenya. This study was designed to examine the impact of health financing vulnerability on health services utilization during the...

We study the effect of care dependence on hospitalizations among older persons in Mexico, analyzing data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) from 2001 to 2021. We use fixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the likelihood of hospitalization during the last year (yes/no) and...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in India. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major health...

European soils and their status is a matter of concern that has entered the policy arena and the objective to restore soil health is part of the Soil strategy to 2030. Aim of this study is to explore the integration of the concept of soil health and the provision of soil ecosystem service by...

Reducing communicable diseases is a key plank of development infrastructure, and little effort is required to build a strong public health system in India, within its existing administrative structures and budgetary outlays. This would go far toward improving people's well-being and productivity...

We use the complete set of administrative public healthcare records in Mexico to provide the first nationwide assessment of diagnosed morbidity attributable to PM2.5 exposure across various health conditions in a developing country. By leveraging quasi-random air pollution shocks from variations...

The Covid pandemic arrived in Ireland on February 29, 2020. In the following weeks various restrictions were introduced to stem the spread of the disease. Anxiety over the spread of the disease and over the restrictions introduced led to concerns regarding mental health. This paper uses the...

This country report provides a description of the emergence of a health care system under public responsibility in Mexico. The inception of the health care system refers to the first legislation stipulating entitlements to medical care. The report also includes a brief description of major...

Effective and scalable strategies for promoting youth mental health are urgently needed. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of school-based, teacher-led coping skills instruction on youth mental health and academic achievement. The trial included 84 classes and 1,879...

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) initiated an elaborate multi-method strategic foresight process in early 2022 to consider and prepare for a broad array of potential future scenarios, in order to improve ECDC's preparedness and resilience to future threats. This was...