Health promotion for older people in Hungary: The need for more action

Marzena  Tambor; Alicja  Domagała; Michał  Zabdyr-Jamróz; Iwona Kowalska-Bobko; Agnieszka  Sowa; Christoph  Sowada; Stanisława  Golinowska; Petra  Baji

Titles

Abstract

The health status of the Hungarian population is relatively poor, compared to other countries of similar socio-economic development. Unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and low physical activity are important risk factors leading to cardiovascular system diseases – the main cause of death in the general population and among people 65+ in Hungary. Yet, the OECD health statistics indicate that Hungary belongs to a group of countries with the lowest per capita expenditure on prevention and public health and that the level of this expenditure is decreasing.

In Hungary, there is no legislation specifically dedicated to public health (Public Health Act) and the matters of public health and health promotion are regulated by various legal documents. The directions for public health policy are set in National Public Health Programmes. To address the problem of the ageing population, in 2009 a National Ageing Strategy (2009–2034) was adopted. The Strategy stresses the need to develop programmes for prevention, rehabilitation and health promotion for older people.

The main actor in public health policy is the central government, namely its agency the National Public Health and Medical Officer Service. Also, territorial governments play an important role, though they have limited financial capacity to spend on health promotion and they need to rely on external unstable sources of funds when implementing health programmes for older people. NGOs might be important partners for health promotion along with public authorities. However, they require more financial and infrastructural support to be able to perform more activities in the field of health promotion for older people.

The health status of the Hungarian population is relatively poor, compared to other countries of similar socio-economic development. Unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and low physical activity are important risk factors leading to cardiovascular system diseases – the main cause of death in the general population and among people 65+ in Hungary. Yet, the OECD health statistics indicate that Hungary belongs to a group of countries with the lowest per capita expenditure on prevention and public health and that the level of this expenditure is decreasing.

In Hungary, there is no legislation specifically dedicated to public health (Public Health Act) and the matters of public health and health promotion are regulated by various legal documents. The directions for public health policy are set in National Public Health Programmes. To address the problem of the ageing population, in 2009 a National Ageing Strategy (2009–2034) was adopted. The Strategy stresses the need to develop programmes for prevention, rehabilitation and health promotion for older people.

The main actor in public health policy is the central government, namely its agency the National Public Health and Medical Officer Service. Also, territorial governments play an important role, though they have limited financial capacity to spend on health promotion and they need to rely on external unstable sources of funds when implementing health programmes for older people. NGOs might be important partners for health promotion along with public authorities. However, they require more financial and infrastructural support to be able to perform more activities in the field of health promotion for older people.

Keywords

public health, health promotion, older people, healthy ageing, Hungary

References

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Information

Information: Public Health and Governance, 2017, Volume 15, Issue 1, pp. 96 - 107

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/20842627OZ.17.010.6236

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

Health promotion for older people in Hungary: The need for more action

English:

Health promotion for older people in Hungary: The need for more action

Authors

Marzena Tambor

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-6919

Institute of Public Health Faculty of Health Sciences Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków

Alicja Domagała

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6162-1810

Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Kraków

Michał Zabdyr-Jamróz

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3203-7954

Institute of Public Health Faculty of Health Sciences Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków

Iwona Kowalska-Bobko

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3728-2323

Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland

Agnieszka Sowa

Department of Social Policy, Institute of Labour and Social Studies, Warsaw, Poland

Christoph Sowada

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8900-1119

Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland

Stanisława Golinowska

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1382-4741

Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow / Institute of Labour and Social Studies, Warsaw, Poland

Petra Baji

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2899-8557

Department of Health Economics, Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

Department of Health Services Research; CAPHRI, Maastricht University Medical Center; Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Published at: 30.01.2017

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Percentage share of authors:

Marzena Tambor (Author) - 12%

Alicja Domagała (Author) - 12%

Michał Zabdyr-Jamróz (Author) - 12%

Iwona Kowalska-Bobko (Author) - 12%

Agnieszka Sowa (Author) - 12%

Christoph Sowada (Author) - 12%

Stanisława Golinowska (Author) - 12%

Petra Baji (Author) - 16%

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Publication languages:

English

View count: 2709

Number of downloads: 2649

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