Human rights are at the very core of EU democracy. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU became legally binding and the EU acceded to the European Convention on Human Rights.
In the wake of the 2009-2010 H1N1-pandemic, also known as the swine flu, a web of mistrust between the public and health authorities was spun. National pandemic plans were usually based on a single scenario that was more severe than the actual 2009 pandemic, and that was extrapolated from the severity of previous outbreaks like SARS and Avian flu. In effect the 2009 pandemic was nicknamed the false-pandemic or ‘the pandemic there never was’. However, national health authorities had declared a pandemic and bought vaccines for billions.
Since its creation in 2000, the National Human Rights Romeurope alerted the authorities to the need to take better account of difficulties of access to care of foreign Roma people living in France. Following extensive discussions and in order to verify the relevance of these recommendations for access to rights and health, the Directorate General of Health supported in 2008-2009 an action of project engineering intended to present plans of development of mediation pilot projects.
In USA, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) surveyed the population on their attitude towards vaccination, in order to adapt their communication messages and clearly and accurately promote the benefits of vaccination in ways that resonate with family decision makers. A total of 1,278 parents and guardians were interviewed using an online established survey panel.
Some countries are slowly moving toward the implementation of a two-way PH communication strategy. For example, in May 2010, shortly after the H1N1 pandemic, the public health authorities of New Zealand designed a rapid response initiative to have feedback from population on the communication campaign and on their risk perception. The project consisted in a study, which aimed to retrieve evidence-based information which health authorities could use to design tailored health communication campaigns during/after periods of pandemics.
In 1991, a first mediation program was initially conceived by the Romani Criss NGO mainly focused as a conflict mitigation project. Mediators were being trained to improve communication between Roma communities, non-Roma population and local authorities. In 1996, supported by the Catholic Centre against Famine and for Development (CCFD), the NGO reoriented the program to a health-focused mediation, principally aimed at improving social conditions for Roma and facilitating communication between Roma communities and medical providers.
An example of population consultation project was started recently by the French Ministry of Health, Marisol Touraine, who intends to consult the population on the matter of mandatory vaccination, as a part of a wide-ranging review of immunisation policies. This initiative comes after a report confirmed that vaccination is a sensitive society issue, which needs a large consultation of all stakeholders, including the civil society, with the aim of engaging them in a discussion about immunisation and its importance to public health.
The Bulgarian health mediator model was developed based on the experience of the Dutch Institute of Public Health and on the Romanian model of health mediators, which was presented by the Romani CRISS Foundation and the Romanian Ministry of Health.
A very recent and innovative example of good practice concerning awareness campaigns is the “Italian Chart for the Promotion of Vaccinations”, a recent call for action whose website is: http://www.teamvaxitalia.it/. Namely, the Chart is the result of the efforts of the “TeamVaxItaly” movement that had been founded in a civil society meeting in Fano (Italy) in October 2015.
The exploration and adoption of best practices in health by public institutions and non-governmental organizations as well has been growing in recent years. ASSET experts recognize the importance of these activities. Thus, they will gather examples from all around Europe and present them on a dedicated page.
But what exactly are “best practices”, and what are the differences between best and good practices?