Health at a Glance: Europe 2018
State of Health in the EU Cycle
Health at a Glance: Europe 2018 presents comparative analyses of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems of the 28 EU Member States, 5 candidate countries and 3 EFTA countries. It is the first step in the State of Health in the EU cycle of knowledge brokering. This publication has two parts. Part I comprises two thematic chapters, the first focusing on the need for concerted efforts to promote better mental health, the second outlining possible strategies for reducing wasteful spending in health. In Part II, the most recent trends in key indicators of health status, risk factors and health spending are presented, together with a discussion of progress in improving the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of European health systems.
Healthcare-associated infections
The European Centre for Disease Control estimates that 3.7 million people acquire a healthcare-associated infection each year in acute care hospitals in EU countries and Norway and Iceland (Suetens et al., 2018), and an estimated 90 000 people in the EU die each year due to the six most common infections in health care settings (Cassini, 2016). At least 20% of healthcare-associated infections are considered to be avoidable through better infection prevention and control (Harbath, 2003).