Public Health in Greece: challenges for capacity building and system organisation

On March 13th, at 11:00 am, Elpida Pavi will present a seminar entitled: “Public Health in Greece: challenges for capacity building and system organisation”.

It will take place at ISPUP auditorium and via Zoom (click here).

Abstract:

Greece, like other developed countries, has an ageing population, high life expectancy and low fertility rate, Main causes of death are diseases of the circulatory system and cancers. Major health risk factors are smoking and dietary habits. Of the total health expenditure, 38% is private expenditure. The health system of Greece is a mixed system comprising of the National Health System- ESY, social insurance system and an extensive private sector. Public Health system is organized at central and regional level covering all 10 EPHOs as determined by WHO. The 5year National Public Health Strategy with the 5year National Prevention Action Plan have enhanced the public health initiatives for the population. The Public Health challenges for Greece are the demographic problem, the need for new financing methods in order to lower the share of private health expenditure, the need to invest more in Primary Health Care and Public Health, as well as to establish a national policy for health inequalities, to improve the career opportunities in the Public Health system so that to improve the number of public health professionals, in parallel with the improvement in the higher and continuous education in Public Health. Furthermore, wider issues of vaccine hesitancy in relation to the level of trust to state institutions will contribute significantly in reinforcing a Public Health culture.

More about Elpida Pavi:

Elpida Pavi, born in Athens, Greece, studied Dentistry at the University of Athens. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics, University of York, England, a Master of Public Health and a PhD both pursued at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Her PhD concerned social inequalities in health and health care within the wider fields of Epidemiology and Health Services Research. She has worked at the University of Glasgow and the University of Dundee in Scotland, and, in Greece, at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, the Hellenic Ministry of Health, and, from 2003, at the National School of Public Health until 2019 when the School was merged with the University of West Attica as the Department of Public Health Policy. She has been teaching, carrying out research and has published in the fields of social inequalities and health economics. Currently, she holds the post of Professor in health economics with emphasis on social inequalities in public health, is the Head of the Laboratory for Health Technology Assessmnet – LabHTA, and is the Dean of the School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Greece.