As part of an ongoing programme of work at the Department of Health Economics on the health economic aspects of older age in association with other demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle and environmental factors, a multi-disciplinary team at the Center for Public Health researched the development of the quality of life of older people in Austria over a period of more than ten years in a large, representative sample of adults aged 65 and over. Results of the study have now been published in the Journal of Aging and Social Policy.
Publication: Felsinger R, Mayer S, Haidinger G, Simon J. Aging well? Exploring self-reported quality of life in the older Austrian population based on repeated cross-sectional data. J Aging Soc Policy. 2024 Nov 6; DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2024.2423102
Michael Berger and Judit Simon from the Department of Health Economics (DHE) have published a new original research article in the top journal Health Policy. This joint research, in collaboration with the Austrian National Public Health Institute (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, GÖG), analyses differences in hospital admissions for depression across municipalities in Austria using spatial regression models. The findings reveal that two key factors influence local admission rates: urbanicity and the proximity to hospital services. This suggests a mismatch between patient needs and mental healthcare service availability with the potential for oversupply in (sub)urban and undersupply for rural populations. To learn more about the policy insights from this research, you can find the full open-access article here:
Berger M, Zuba M, Simon J. Urban-rural disparities in hospital admissions for depression in Austria: A spatial panel data analysis. Health Policy. 2024 (105209) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105209
The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) released a new Core Curriculum for public health education and training. The ASPHER Core Curriculum Programme (CCP) has been “striving to address the 'New Normal' which has impacted the public health landscape through the global pandemic of COVID-19 and other current crises”.
The Core Curriculum was launched at the 17th European Public Health Conference on the 15 November 2024. Judit Simon from the Centre for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna has been member of the Expert Consultative Group, co-chaired the launch workshop, and presented ‘Chapter 13 Economics in Public Health’ which she co-authored.
To learn more about the CCP and access the new Core Curriculum,
please go to https://ccp.aspher.org/.
For further details see:
Simon J. Health economics and services research in symbiosis: STREAMLINEing mental health services in Austria. 17th European Public Health Conference 2024. Sailing the waves of European public health: exploring a sea of innovation; 2024 Nov 15-17; Lisbon (poster)
For further details see:
Gamillscheg P, Laszewska A, Kirchner S, Hoffmann K, Simon J & Mayer S. Barriers and facilitators of healthcare access for long COVID-19 patients in a universal healthcare system: qualitative evidence from Austria. Int J Equity Health. 2024 Oct 23;23(1):220. DOI: 10.1186/s12939-024-02302-4