Health equity under austerity? Healthcare effectiveness during crisis events

Next Friday, October 20th, at 2:00 pm (PT Time), we will have a seminar at ISPUP Auditorium, entitled “Health equity under austerity? Healthcare effectiveness during crisis events”. This event will be open to the entire community and does not require registration.

This seminar addresses a timely topic that provides insight into understanding the impact of crisis events on health system effectiveness. We explore whether health equity can be maintained under austerity constraints and discuss specific solutions that may be the next steps forward in the midst of the current crisis.

Although critical crisis events can be of different natures and require different governmental responses, their multifactorial effects on the effectiveness of European healthcare systems, as measured by perinatal indicators, exhibit several symmetries.

Unanticipated long-term effects and adverse consequences have occurred on health system effectiveness, as measured by perinatal indicators, even when austerity measures have achieved short-term goals. This has resulted in a hypotheca for maternal and perinatal care. To reduce health inequities across the life course and break the cycle, it is critical to improve the resilience of health systems by giving every child the best start in life.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are not only among the hardest hit but will also be among the hardest hit in future crisis events, which is a real epidemiological problem. For this reason, WHO promotes person-centred care as it incorporates human rights into nursing practice, closing the infinite cycle of inequalities. In doing so, specific recommendations and key actions are most important to address socioeconomic indicators from the outset.

Seminar structure

Thomas Krafft – Opening: austerity and political consequences; health policy (15-20 min)
Julia Doetsch – Perinatal health during crisis (15-20 min)
Henrique Barros – Preparing for a crisis: is it possible? (15-20 min)
David Townend – What does this mean for health equity? (15-20 min)
Interactive discussion – (15-20 min)

Speakers’ bio

Thomas Krafft is Associate Professor of Public Health and Health Systems Research at the Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences of Maastricht University and Honorary Professor for Health Geography and Environmental Health at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research in Beijing, China.

David Townend is Professor of Health and Life Science Jurisprudence (0.1FTE) at Maastricht University. He is also Professor of Health Law and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at The City Law School at City, University of London. Townend’s early career was spent at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sheffield where he was also a member of the Sheffield Institute for Biotechnological Law and Ethics (SIBLE).

Julia Nadine Doetsch completed her doctoral degree (PhD) at Maastricht University (FHML) in the School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI) in September 2023. The PhD was jointly supervised by the aforementioned institution UM and the Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP).