The European Health Report 2012: Charting the Way to Well-being

Like its predecessors, the 2012 European health report describes both the overall improvements in health in the WHO European Region and their uneven distribution within and between countries. It breaks new ground, however, by helping both to define well-being, a goal of Europe’s new health policy, Health 2020, and to map the way towards achieving it. By describing health in Europe, this report provides policy-makers and public health professionals with the epidemiological evidence base that underpins Health 2020 and its six overarching targets. In addition, it sets out the agreed approach to monitoring progress towards Health 2020, outlines the collaborative agenda to address the challenges ahead and makes the case for measuring well-being as a marker of progress in health.