First meeting of the expert group, Copenhagen, Denmark, 8–9 February 2012

An Expert Meeting on Measurement and Target-Setting for Well-being was held in Copenhagen in February 2012 to provide advice for the WHO Regional Director for Europe on how to report on wellbeing, particularly in view of the development of the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Health 2020 policy and the forthcoming European health report 2012. As a central element of this new policy, WHO aims to develop a common concept and approach to well-being allowing for effective measurement as well as potential regional targets. The expert group was asked to develop an action plan with clear goals and recommendations for the next steps. The focus should be on WHO’s central mandate of health, and advances in measurement concentrated on the health and health-related aspects of wellbeing and how this information is useful to policy-makers and health professionals. A definition of well-being needs to be developed, with consequent proposals for domains and indicators as a basis for further recommendations in these areas.