Michael Rigby

Child health indicators of life and development and the challenge of nutrition

This paper reports on the Child Health Indicators of Life and Development (CHILD) European project, which was reported in 2002. It outlines the scientific principles and operational approach adopted by that project, with a particular focus on the problem of reporting on nutrition. The paper then discusses the conceptual approaches and related challenges of measuring nutrition at the population level in children from infancy to adolescence and the linked determinant factors of lifestyle and behaviour. The paper concludes with a summary of the challenge that has needs to be addressed, echoing an unmet need reported in the CHILD project report.

The RICHE taxonomy - an innovative means of classification of child health research

BACKGROUND Research outputs increase inexorably. Health is now a required element in all policies of the European Union. There is a need for a system that helps to navigate the vast body of childrens health research, identify pertinent research institutions, discover ongoing and recently funded research projects and identify gaps where there is little knowledge. METHODS The European Commission funded the Research Inventory of Child Health in Europe (RICHE) project through the Framework 7 Programme, to identify gaps in child health research in Europe. A necessary first step was to identify and index current research, for which a website repository was created. As a basis for this task, an innovative taxonomy was necessary to encompass the many arenas of childrens health and development, including subjects outside the traditional areas of childrens health. Drawing inspiration from existing taxonomies, library systems and other forms of classification, a multi-axial approach was selected as the best way to encompass the many influences on childrens health. Six axes were identified and their contents defined. All of the axes can be viewed and searched independently, as well as in relation to each other. The axes encompass factors and service areas that impact on children, including health, education, justice, the environment and others. This has created a system that is consistent and impartial, but adaptable to an enormous variety of uses. RESULTS The taxonomy has been tested and validated by a number of well-respected academics, researchers and practitioners across Europe. It forms the basis of an intuitive and accessible database. This allows research knowledge to be easily identified and for networking to take place. CONCLUSIONS The RICHE taxonomy facilitates retrieval of knowledge - ongoing research as well as findings - in order to inform researchers and policy makers who wish to include childrens health as an element of new policy.

Physical activity and nutrition-health information activities of the EU, WHO, European networks and national examples

ObjectiveMany Health Information Activities related to nutrition and physical activity have been initiated during the past years by several institutions on the national and international level as well as by several European networks. A multitude of projects with different scopes and methodologies has arisen. This variety makes it necessary to bring the results of these activities into a coordinated framework. The report aims to give a structured overview on the availability of routine repeated or repeatable data on the health determinants nutrition and physical activity in European countries. An Inventory of Health Information Activities on physical activity and nutrition was built up, which summarises activities carried out by the European Commission, the WHO, various European Networks, as well as national examples. The Health Information Activities collected as national examples assess data for all countries belonging to the European Union up to 2006, the European Economic Area (EEA) and all Candidate countries. The Inventory considers activities which started in 1990 or later, which were still running or have been approved but not yet started.MethodThe report analyses institutional structures (WHO, European Commission, European Networks) as well as examples of health information activities at the national level. A network of European public health professionals identified available national health information activities and survey data, which were summarised in a structured online database.ResultsThe results section presents activities in the field of health information on physical activity and nutrition of the European Commission (DG Sanco), the World Health Organisation (Europe) and various European networks. Furthermore, this section presents the analysis of the database which summarises health information activities in European countries. The database is freely accessible at the website of the Working Party. Additionally, the supplement provides a summary of Health Information Activities for each country in Country Profile Sheets.ConclusionThe report provides a general overview on Health Information Activities related to physical activity and nutrition as well as a state-of-the-art investigation about available data in European countries. The concluding section of the report aims to recommend future Health Information actions which outline open issues.