Geographical Locations - Spain

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 257
• CIA World Factbook : Spain

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile - Spain
  - WHO - Tobacco control: Country Profile
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Spain
  - WHO – Progress in the Prevention of Injuries in the WHO European Region: Spain
• Regional Office for Europe (EURO) in Copenhagen (Denmark)

Government

• Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo
  - Instituto Nacional del Consumo
  - Instituto de Salud Carlos III
• Instituto Nacional de Estadística

Non-Government

• Fundación Salud y Comunidad
  "Grupo ABS (Acción por el Bienestar i la Salud) es un conjunto de organizaciones no gubernamentales sin ánimo de lucro, que integran la gestión profesionalizada con la participación de numerosos voluntarios. El grupo A.B.S. tiene una experiencia de veinte años de intervención en el campo de las drogodependencias, el sida y otros temas relacionados con la salud, y actualmente cuenta con los servicios de 175 profesionales y más de 130 voluntarios"
• Girasol Fundacion
  Active in drug prevention in Spain
• Instituto de Sexología, Malaga
  Provides prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, family planning and sex education
• Mujeres en Red
  A Spanish Women's Internet Network

Academic Institutions

• Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP)
• Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
• Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
  - Departamento de Salud Pública
• Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
• University of Barcelona
  - Institut Universitari de Salut Pública de Catalunya
• Universidad de Granada
  - Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Publica
• University of Santiago de Compostela
  - Área de Medicina Preventiva e Saúde Pública
• University of Sevilla

• Universidad de Zaragoza
  - Escuela Profesional de Medicina del Trabajo

National Policy and Related Documents

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Estudio de Salud de la Ciudad de Madrid
  "El presente Estudio de Salud de la Ciudad de Madrid pretende conocer cuál es el nivel de salud de los ciudadanos globalmente considerado y en cada uno de los veintiún distritos, qué factores lo condicionan, cómo se interrelacionan entre sí, cuáles de ellos se pueden modificar con intervenciones sanitarias y cómo y en qué grado determinan desigualdades en salud. Con esta información se aspira a que Madrid Salud en el uso de sus atribuciones y competencias ponga en marcha actuaciones conducentes a mejorar la salud de los madrileños y, en especial, la de aquellos grupos de ciudadanos con mayor vulnerabilidad y con necesidades sanitarias y sociales más importantes."
• Exploring the Pathways of Inequality in Health, Access and Financing in Decentralised Spain
  "The extent to which equality in accessing and financing health care reduces inequalities in health is a key policy question for health-care reform. Cross-country studies, when they exist, suffer from marked comparability limitations due to data heterogeneity and differences between organisational and financing systems. The Spanish devolved national health system offers a “unique field” for exploring these issues, and also for testing the effects of institutional reform, in the context of political decentralisation. This study uses data from 2001, the last year before decentralisation was extended to all regional governments or Autonomous Communities (ACs) in Spain. This Working Paper contributes to the literature by examining two questions: First, we evaluate the heterogeneity within regional inequalities in health, health-care access and health financing and examine whether these are associated with the political decentralisation of health care responsibilities. Second, we explore whether inequalities in health care between regional health services can be explained by inequalities in health-care use and health-care financing, using cross-correlation analysis along with other relevant variables. The results of the study suggest that inequalities in health are not associated with the regional uptake of health-care responsibilities. Instead they appear to be driven by income inequalities and regional health care capacity whilst the influence of inequalities in health-care use depends on quality of life adjustments."
• Fish consumption and its motives in households with versus without self-reported medical history of CVD: A consumer survey from five European countries
  Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the cross-cultural differences in the frequency of fish intake and in motivations for fish consumption between people from households with (CVD+) or without (CVD-) medical history of cardiovascular disease, using data obtained in five European countries. Methods: A cross-sectional consumer survey was carried out in November-December 2004 with representative household samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Spain. The sample consisted of 4,786 respondents, aged 18–84 and who were responsible for food purchasing and cooking in the household. Results: Individuals from households in the CVD+ group consumed fish more frequently in Belgium and in Denmark as compared to those in the CVD- group. The consumption of fatty fish, which is the main sources of omega-3 PUFA associated with prevention of cardiovascular diseases, was on the same level for the two CVD groups in the majority of the countries, except in Belgium where CVD+ subjects reported to eat fatty fish significantly more frequently than CVD- subjects. All respondents perceived fish as a very healthy and nutritious food product. Only Danish consumers reported a higher subjective and objective knowledge related to nutrition issues about fish. In the other countries, objective knowledge about fish was on a low level, similar for CVD+ as for CVD- subjects, despite a higher claimed use of medical information sources about fish among CVD+ subjects. Conclusion: Although a number of differences between CVD- and CVD+ subjects with respect to their frequency of fish intake are uncovered, the findings suggest that fish consumption traditions and habits – rather than a medical history of CVD – account for large differences between the countries, particularly in fatty fish consumption. This study exemplifies the need for nutrition education and more effective communication about fish, not only to the people facing chronic diseases, but also to the broader public. European consumers are convinced that eating fish is healthy, but particular emphasis should be made on communicating benefits especially from fatty fish consumption. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2008, 8: 306]
• Health and the Roma Community
  The goal of this working group was to come with an initial diagnosis of the social and health status of the Spanish Roma population in order to pinpoint their principal needs and thus contribute to the elimination of existing health inequalities faced by this group. This proposal is structured around the different agents involved in the health-Roma community relationship: - Action by social work and health-care professionals; - Training for social work and health-care professionals; - Organisation of the health-care system; - Intercultural mediation; - Roma community capacity-building in the area of health; - Health intervention programmes for the Roma community; - Studies and research focusing on health and the Roma community.
• Health and the Roma Community: analysis of the situation in Europe – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain
  "The Roma community is the largest ethnic minority in Europe and is characterised primarily by the situation of social exclusion and wide-ranging poverty experienced by a significant proportion of its members. Inadequate access to housing, education, employment and other needs, along with the existence of barriers to Roma access to health services and an ineffective use of these services due to their lack of adaptation and even to discrimination, all contribute to a range of avoidable injustices suffered by this community with regard to their health situation. These health inequalities are not reflected in reliable and up-to-date statistics or data, a fact which further hinders the planning of targeted interventions designed to reduce and ultimately eliminate inequality. The European project “Health and the Roma Community, Analysis of the Situation in Europe”, promoted by the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano, was implemented in 2007 to analyse the health situation of Europe’s Roma community, to address social inequalities in the area of health and to suggest policies and actions based on reliable knowledge designed to improve the health status of Europe’s Roma community and to reduce inequality. This project, funded by the European Union within the framework of the Public Health Programme, was implemented in seven European Union countries (Greece, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria) with the participation of public and private entities from the different participating countries and under the coordination of the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano." [EFXINI POLI – Local Authorities for Social, Cultural, Tourist, Environmental and Agricultural Development. Greece; FSG – Fundacion Secretariado Gitano. Spain; Office of the Council for Roma Community Affairs – Czech Republic; PDCS – Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia; REAPN – Rede Europeia Anti-Pobreza/Portugal; ROMANI CRISS – Roma Center for Social Interventions and Studies. Romania; and THRPF – The Health of Romany People Foundation. Bulgaria, Madrid 2009]
• Health Systems in Transition - Spain Health System Review
  The Health Systems in Transition profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of reform and policy initiatives in progress or under development in a specific country. Each profile is produced by country experts in collaboration with the Observatory's research directors and staff.
• Prevention of overweight and obesity from a public health perspective
  International organizations have raised awareness of the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide and the impact on morbidity, mortality, quality of life, and cost of healthcare. The development and implementation of obesity prevention strategies requires the identification and understanding of determinant factors that can be influenced by effective large-scale action plans over time. Strategies aimed at the primary prevention of obesity in a population should be multifaceted and designed to actively involve stakeholders and other major parties concerned; in addition, multiple settings for implementation should be considered. In this paper, an overview is presented of the strategies currently in place for obesity prevention, particularly in Spain. [author abstract] [Nutrition Reviews, Vol. 67 (Suppl. 1):S83–S88 (2009)]

Educational Resources

• Revista Española de Salud Pública
• CDC - Travel Information : Western Europe
• Library of Congress, Country Study: Spain
• Mortality Atlas of Cancer and Other Causes. Spain 1975-1986