Health 2020: Education And Health Through The Life-course - En

Sector brief onEducation healthJuly 2015Health 2020:Education andhealth throughthe life-courseSynergy between sectors:fostering better educationand health outcomesSummaryThe Health 2020 policy framework hasbeen adopted by all Member States of theWHO European Region in order to addressEurope’s great social and health challenges,calling upon the health sector to reach outto, and work with, all the various sectorsand parties in the continuous work ofimproving people’s health and well-being.Investing in education also means investingin health throughout the life-course. Education is crucial to opportunities for participation in society, keeping people in the labourmarket and supporting their return if theylose employment, improving health literacyand strengthening community resilience.By working together, health and educationcan contribute significantly to individuals,communities and societies, reduce inequalities and support human development, notonly improving good health and well-beingbut also enhancing learning and personalgrowth as well as fostering healthy andresilient communities and economies.The education sector can help createhealthier people and communities by: ensuring availability and access to meaningful lifelong learning opportunities; creating learning environments that areboth safe and supportive and focus on thedevelopment of the whole person –cognitively, socially, emotionally, mentallyand physically; improving health literacy and strengthening essential life skills, including parenting,cooking and critical thinking as well assexual and reproductive health and rights; encouraging civic engagement and socialinclusion through focusing on social andemotional learning, building people’sself-esteem and confidence; supporting individuals in accessing thelabour market and reducing their likelihood of exclusion through long-termunemployment; and working with the health sector to reducegender-based inequalities, including intheir roles as key employers of women.

Key messagesThe goal of Health 2020 is to significantly improvethe health and well-being of populations, reduce healthinequalities, strengthen public health and ensurepeople-centred health systems that are universal,equitable, sustainable and of high quality.1Health and wellbeing arepublic goods and assets forhuman development thatcontribute to strong, dynamicand creative societies.52Social progress is best measured by objective indicatorsof health, health equity andwell-being, and this includesthe conditions in which peopleare born, live and work.Health and well-being arebest achieved if the whole ofgovernment works together,and Health 2020 promotes wholeof-government and whole-ofsociety approaches.4Different countries, citiesand communities are at differentstarting-points; each is unique andcan pursue common goals throughdifferent pathways.2Health 2020: Education health3Health and well-beingcan be improved and healthinequalities reduced, throughthe right policies and workingwith other sectors.

Strengthening health andeducational over the lifecourseIn 2012, all 53 Member States in theEuropean Region adopted Health 2020,the new common European health policyframework, and committed themselves todeveloping integrative policies that engagewith all sectors in addressing the socialand economic determinants of health andwell-being. A life-course approach in thepursuit of better health and health equitygoals includes action at every stage of life –preconception, pregnancy, early childhood,adolescence and transition to adulthood,the transition to working life, employmentand navigating the modern labour marketand as people age. Family, peer groups andcommunity settings are therefore crucial toimplementing the life-course approach, andthe education sector plays a key role in this.opportunities and income, better livingconditions, confidence levels and literacy,including health literacy. In addition, adultlearning can have positive effects on lifesatisfaction, mental health and changesin health-supporting behaviour such assmoking cessation, active lifestyles, healthyeating and duration of breastfeeding.Offering opportunities for continual education as well as a second chance for education in adulthood is crucial in promotingequity. Getting the courage to go back tolearning is a particular challenge for peoplewho have poor experience with educationin their youth. Investing in accessible education throughout the life-course is thereforea priority in breaking the cycle of poverty,exclusion and the effects on people’s healthand well-being.Education has positive lifelong effects onhealth through increased employmentWorld Health Organization3

Health 2020:a framework for actionThe goal of Health 2020 is to significantly improvethe health and well-being of populations, reducehealth inequalities, strengthen public health andensure people-centred health systems that are universal, equitable, sustainable and of high quality.All Member States of the WHO European Region haveagreed to monitor progress against six common targets:1. Reduce premature mortality inthe European Region by 20202. Increase life expectancy inthe European Region3. Reduce health inequalities inthe European Region4. Enhance the wellbeing of theEuropean Region population5. Ensure universal health coverageand the right to the highestattainable level of health6. Set national goals and targetsrelated to health in Member States.4Health 2020: Education healthWhat makes societies prosper and flourish can alsomake people healthy, and policies that recognize thishave more impact.Building awareness and capacity to make health objectives part of society’s overall socioeconomic and humandevelopment is essential. All policy fields, includinghealth, need to reform their ways of working and usenew forms and approaches to policy at the global,national and local levels.

Synergy between sectors:Education and lifelong learning tosupport population healthStrengthening the link betweeneducation and health over thelifecourseIt is well understood that the quality andnumber years of education are a crucialdeterminant of health and health literacythroughout the life-course. The amountof education and its quality reinforce theeffects of early-years development and influence the subsequent social and economicwell-being, health and other outcomes ofindividuals. A growing body of empiricalresearch suggests that, when countriesadopt policies to improve education, theinvestment also pays off in healthier behaviour and longer and healthier lives. Forexample, studies of compulsory schoolingreforms adopted in several countries in theEuropean Region conclude not only that thereforms lead to additional years of completed schooling but also that the additionalschooling reduces the population ratesof smoking and obesity. More than threedecades of experience with a whole-schoolapproach to health demonstrates effects onimproving health behaviour, better learningoutcomes, reducing school absenteeism andbetter school completion.Numerous studies have found a positiveassociation between a mother’s educationlevel and her child’s chances of fulfillinghis or her potential. The pathways throughwhich this operates are varied but includea decrease in teenage pregnancy amongwomen with more schooling, increasedbirth intervals, increased awareness of goodfeeding practices, greater willingness toseek health care and lower financial barriersto access to health care.Today’s globalized economy, with knowledge societies and job markets thatincreasingly require high cognitive and academic skills, inherently relies on high-qualityeducation and frequent knowledge update.Exclusion from high-quality educationmeans people become more vulnerableto subsequent adversity and ill health.Education and lifelong learning can equipthe population better with skills to adapt toa changing working environment,which could thereby influence health.compensatory services, to ensure thatlearners receive adequate support toovercome disadvantages.The health and education sectors sharecommon goals to address the needs ofvulnerable groups and ensure a healthierfuture for everyone, especially when political priorities change and during periods ofeconomic decline and austerity. Investingin education also means investing in healthand well-being. The numerous forms of synergy and overlapping objectives and targetsbetween the health and education sectorsmeans that working together enables betterhealth and social outcomes for individuals,communities and societies.Research studies in education and adultliteracy indicate that literacy influences theability to access information and navigate inliterate environments, affects cognitive andlinguistic abilities and affects self-efficacy.Further lifelong learning (both formal andinformal) improves health literacy, whichinfluences health outcomes. Addressinginequity in educational outcomes meanstackling inequity in educational opportunities and in outcomes. This means ensuringthat the same quality of opportunity isopen to everyone and, by providingWorld Health Organization5

Synergy between sectors:collaboration to support resilienceand promote equityHow can the sectorswork together?Health 2020 provides a platform for suchjoint working between the education andhealth sectors. Working together, we havethe power to intervene to address some oftoday’s greatest health challenges, includinghealth inequalities, social exclusion andsupport sustainable development, whileensuring that individuals and communitiesare able to fulfil their highest potential. Inturn, intersectoral collaboration promotesand supports educational attainment byfostering healthy students, healthy adultsand healthy learning environments.How can educationand lifelong learningmake a differenceto health?6Health 2020: Education healthKEY AREAS TO EXPLORE TOGETHER INCLUDE: how health and education can align policies that benefit both sectors and serve thewhole person; how to pursue the shared goal of tacklinghealth and educational inequities throughthe integrated long-term efforts of thehealth and education sectors; how the health and education sectors canwork together in times of economic orexternal pressure; and how to optimize outcomes in health andeducation equity by strengthening thepartnerships between the health, social,education and employment sectors. Build the foundations for health literacy (including media literacy) in earlychildhood and adolescence Develop and support health-promoting schools approaches Address the barriers to adult learning, including older ages, gender equity andwork–life balance Include in education and lifelong learning the population groups at the highestrisk of experiencing multiple exclusionary processes, especially people in ruralareas, people with disabilities, migrants and minority ethnic groups such as Roma Ensure that all adults have basic skills, especially reading and writing skills, andcomplete secondary education also with a focus on practical learning Provide options for secondary education with adequate work–life balance