Development of joint European public health research priorities

Abstract

Background A north-east to south-west European gradient in disease morbidity and mortality has been identified. Adjustments of public health policies and cooperative interventions of multi-disciplinary multi-national European teams, based on identified underlying reasons responsible for differences in regional disease incidence, reduce the populations health gradient in Europe. Methods Participants were invited by e-mail to attend a workshop to initiate a Pan-European public health network between researchers and public administration to identify and develop future public health research projects using de Bonos “six thinking hats” method. The workshop was hosted by the Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics in Berlin and financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Results Following 170 invitations sent to 72 researchers, 78 public administrators, 18 civil society and 3 private sector representatives in 17 European countries, 27 participants from 12 European countries attended a 2.5 days workshop to discuss public health priorities of future public health importance under four major topics (non-infectious diseases, infectious diseases, substance abuse and disease prevention) and eight subtopics (coronary-heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, alcohol, tobacco, generic prevention and obesity prevention). Fourteen hours of workshop discussion were digitally recorded for further qualitative analysis. Conclusion De Bono's lateral thinking method allowed effective generation of new ideas, better communication and effective analysis of issues. A modern participatory approach in a workshop with partners from multiple European countries enabled structured discussion on major public health threats to populations in the EU for the preparation of future joint research projects.