The series Health Policy for Children and Adolescents (‏HEPCA)‏ is a WHO document series mainly based on results of the international survey "Health Behaviour in School-aged Children" (‏HBSC)‏ and on other relevant international studies. It focuses on the implications of scientific results for health policy in developed countries. The target groups are politicians and experts, especially those concerned with the health of young people. The HEPCA series consists of reports on particular topics of high political relevance, including survey data on child ...

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is aiming to integrate local Agenda 21 processes and sustainability goals into existing policy and practice, and to change the public's attitudes and lifestyles through public participation processes. The County has published an interim Local Agenda 21 Plan, set up an environmental Forum and launched a number of publicity campaigns. Initial reactions from the public have been disappointing. However, valuable lessons have been learned, in particular that the County's initial efforts have focused too much on ...

This publication provides guidance for good practice in performance of Occupational Health Services and for quality performance in contribution of occupational health professionals to occupational health objectives in client enterprises and organizations. It is written with the aim to address primarily the perspective of safety and health professionals and experts carrying responsibilities and tasks in enterprises and in organizations providing services to enterprises in European countries. This broad category includes occupational health physicians, ...

Improving the effectiveness of nurses and midwives as key players in current health care reforms is a potential solution to the major health problems facing the newly independent states (‏NIS)‏ of the former USSR. WHO has worked to highlight the importance of nursing leadership and to strengthen links between nurse leaders to increase their effectiveness. At their Third Meeting, government chief nurses of the NIS discussed the current state of nursing and midwifery in their countries, their common problems and possible solutions, relevant WHO ...

The WHO Air quality guidelines for Europe were updated and revised in 1996. They will form a basis for the derivation of national or international air quality standards. Nevertheless, simply adopting the WHO guidelines might lead to standards that could not be achieved in practice at acceptable cost. To provide guidance to countries on how to move from health-based guidelines to legally binding standards, a working group met to discuss the technical issues that need to be considered in setting air quality standards, such as: analytical methodology, ...

In support of local action, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has set up a Multi-City Action Plan (‏MCAP)‏ on Alcohol, as part of the WHO Healthy Cities project. The cities involved in the MCAP on Alcohol agree to share experience, develop expertise and provide examples of good practice to other cities within and outside of the project. They work to an agreed joint plan of action and time-frame. Essentially they form a network of cities across Europe, committed to taking positive action on the prevention of alcohol-related problems. This document ...

A WHO working group, comprising experts in environmental health education, met to review a guidance document on the development of educational and training curricula for environmental health professionals. The document is the culmination of extensive consultation with WHO Member States on the appropriate curricula for training such professionals in the European Region. The working group considered the scope and purpose of the document, and reviewed drafts of the chapters dealing with the basic concepts of environmental health, learning objectives, ...

Low physical activity is a major public health issue despite the considerable health benefits that can be gained from regular activity. This document describes the rationale for keeping active and the major steps which may be undertaken at the workplace to facilitate wider involvement of staff and their families in physical activity. It presents the benefits for employers and gives examples of successful programmes in various enterprises. Ten steps covering all aspects of a workplace health programme devoted to physical activity are described in ...