Shaping Policy on Chronic Diseases through National Policy Dialogs in CHRODIS PLUS.

Dorota Sienkiewicz,Rita Horgan,Andrew Barnfield,Alison Maassen,Miguel Telo De Arriaga,Elisa Poses-Ferrer,Iñaki Imaz-Iglesia,Helen Mcavoy

doi:10.3390/ijerph17197113

Abstract

Policy dialogs are deliberative dialogue that gather policy makers and relevant stakeholders from across disciplines to discuss a topic of mutual interest. They typically serve as a single element in a broader policymaking cycle, either informing the content of new policy or forming a component of policy evaluation and review. In the joint action CHRODIS PLUS, national policy dialogs were conducted in fourteen EU Member States. The aim of the dialogs was to identify new policies or changes to existing policies and legislation that are capable of tackling major risk factors for chronic disease, to strengthen health promotion and prevention programs and to ensure health systems are equipped to respond to priority issues within the chronic diseases field. In this paper, we present the CHRODIS PLUS policy dialog methodology, as well as results and lessons learnt from three national policy dialogs held in Ireland, Portugal and Spain. After discussion of the results, we conclude that the CHRODIS PLUS methodology is an effective mechanism to provoke deliberative discussion around chronic disease prevention and management in different countries. However, it is essential to ensure adequate human and financial resources—as well as political commitment—to accomplish objectives set out during the policy dialogs. We argue that priority-setting across sectors can improve the resilience of health systems and opportunities for investment in Health in All Policies (HiAP), both at European Union and Member State levels.

Highlights

The aim of this paper is to explore the ways in which the CHRODIS PLUS policy dialogs were perceived and evaluated, planned and managed in the unique context of a European joint action and in three national settings
This paper aims to contribute to the evolving literature on the utility of policy dialogs and their potential for enhancing country-level responses to chronic diseases
This paper explores the practicalities of the CHRODIS PLUS national policy dialog planning and implementation processes and reviews the results of three dialogs in more detail

Summary

Introduction

The Challenge of Chronic Diseases in Europe and the Joint Action CHRODIS PLUS. National health systems require further resources and capacity if they are to meet the growing challenge of chronic diseases. Eighty-five percent of all-cause deaths in the European Union (EU) are due to chronic diseases [1]. In the EU in 2016, two-thirds of premature deaths of people under 75 were avoidable, meaning that 1.2 million of 1.7 million deaths could have been averted by reasonable means [2]. 741,000 deaths could have been prevented through effective public health and primary prevention interventions and 422,000 deaths could have been avoided through timely and. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7113; doi:10.3390/ijerph17197113 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion