European Health for All Database (HFA-DB)

July 2010 update

In an effort to improve data quality and comparability, international organizations constantly review their data sources and methodologies for producing health indicators. This provides more recent estimates, replacing earlier time series. The latest European Health for All Database (HFA-DB) update contains major differences in some indicators due to changes in either data sources or estimation methods, or both. The following major changes should be noted:

1. The alcohol consumption indicators time series has been replaced by new estimates for populations aged 15 or more instead of estimates for total populations. The source is the European Information System on Alcohol and Health.
2. The air quality indicators time series has been updated with improved estimates. Data were compiled by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health from the AirBase database of the European Environment Agency.
3. The water and sanitation indicators time series has been updated with improvements in methods and primary data sources. The data source is the WHO/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.
4. The availability of nutrients indicators time series has also been updated with newer estimates. The data source is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
5. For health care resources indicators, definitions on employment and physical resources have been harmonized with those used by WHO headquarters, the European Commission Statistical Office (Eurostat) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The time series has been replaced for the European Union (EU)/OECD countries. The data are the result of a recent joint data collection effort between Eurostat, OECD and WHO. An update with other WHO Member States is under development, so earlier series are not entirely comparable in this edition.
6. The health financing estimated indicators time series has been updated with newer country data. The estimates are derived from the joint data collection effort between Eurostat, OECD and WHO for the System of Health Accounts (SHA).

For older data and time series, contact us at euhiudata@who.int