PHM-Exch> Geneva Health Forum 2012: Your input counts!

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: SLAMA Slim <Slim.Slama at hcuge.ch>

General info: www.genevahealthforum.org



Your Opinion Counts<http://questio.hcuge.ch/ghf/ghfthemes2012/questionnaire.htm>!
Geneva Health Forum, 18-20 April 2012

Dear Colleague,

Geneva Health Forum is in full preparation for its 2012 edition. As part of
the Geneva Health Forum community, we depend on your vital input to ensure
that we are - more than ever - staying in touch with the most pressing
issues at the frontlines of health. In addition, we have a new conference
format that will help us spotlight the issues and collectively work to
ensure that the frontlines are heard. More on that soon…

In the meantime, we have identified four potential thematic axes for the
next Geneva Health Forum, which you will find in brief here below. We ask
that you read the text below, and go to a very brief questionnaire to rank
the importance of these four themes and to give your suggestions on what
must be addressed at the GHF 2012.


The questionnaire should take *just one minute* of your time! Click
here<http://questio.hcuge.ch/ghf/ghfthemes2012/questionnaire.htm>when
you are ready or access the questionnaire below.

*Urbanization and access to health
*Today, over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas and the
numbers are rapidly rising. As the process of urbanization is often rapid
and uncontrolled, the fulfilment of the health needs of the people living in
cities is a major challenge. The risk of spread of infectious diseases in
areas with high population density and the dissemination of unhealthy
lifestyles associated with non-communicable diseases are important
dimensions of urbanization. At the same time, urban health inequities are
the most prominent threats to access to health, particularly for vulnerable
populations including women and children, migrant workers, and refugees.
Urban Health means therefore putting the needs of people and communities at
the heart of the urban planning process to ensure better access to health.

*Gender and Global Access to Health*

This thematic axis will challenge assumptions related to gender and sex
differences in access to health at socio-economic, political, health
systems, clinical, and human resources levels. Gender clearly has an effect
on health status, how services are provided and used, health-seeking
behaviours and risk factors, to name but a few. In addition, addressing
gender health inequities are essential to achieving all the Millennium
Development Goals, and are not limited to the sole issues of maternal
mortality and HIV. In short, taking on the ‘gender lens’ can bring insight
into how global access to health can be improved in a more sustainable
manner. Women, men, and children are at the heart of this thematic axis and
the social determinants that affect whether they will enjoy their right to
health, keeping in sight the consequences for societies if they do not.
Finally, women will be spotlighted in their role as innovators and agents of
change.

*Chronicity and Access*

Chronic conditions pose major challenges to health systems in both high and
low-income countries as they require long-term, ongoing, and often expensive
management. Chronicity affects not only the individual who lives with a
disease, but also the individual’s social networks and ability to enjoy a
productive live. With ageing populations, chronicity has become a major
challenge for healthcare systems in both high and low income countries, with
a clear role played by the social and economic inequities and determinants
in the genesis of many chronic ailments. Exploring the concept of chronicity
provides an opportunity to critique current models of healthcare delivery,
the division of power between patients and healthcare providers and the
overall functions future health systems should adopt to improve access for
people with chronic conditions.

*Empowerment and self-reliance*

Empowerment and self-reliance principles are key elements of health and
human development. In many parts of the world, individuals and communities
are increasingly willing and able to take a more active role in their
health-seeking behaviours and challenge how health providers and health
systems respond to their needs and expectations – and this in a context of
health disparities, increasing burden of chronic conditions, and flourishing
access to information. This thematic axis aims to bring to the fore how
empowerment and self-reliance can be harnessed, defining what is important,
appropriate, and affordable to local users, mobilizing the appropriate
skills and resources.



We thank you for your input (you can access the questionnaire
<http://questio.hcuge.ch/ghf/ghfthemes2012/questionnaire.htm>also from here)
and look forward to working with you on this next edition of the Geneva
Health Forum.
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