East-West Life Expectancy Gap in Europe [antikvár]

PREFACEThis volume presents the procedings of an "Advanced Research Workshop," held underthe auspices of the NATO International Scientific Exchange Programme, on theEnvironmental and Non-environmental Determinants of the East-West Life ExpectancyGap in Europe. The workshop brought together individuals from Eastern and WesternEurope and North America who had a common interest in understanding the evolutionof the relative declines in life expectancy in Central and Eastern Europe, compared tothe West, over the past 30 years.Between 1989 and 1993, I carried out a series of investigations into the effects ofenvironmental pollution on human health in Central and Eastern Europe, at first, underthe auspices of the World Bank, and later, under a broader multilateral, multi-agencyarrangement known as the "Environment for Europe" Process. These investigationsprovided unparalleled access to environmental health data from the region, and offered aglimpse of what the contribution of pollution to health status was, and what it wasnot. At the same time, the Program in Population Health of the Canadian Institute forAdvanced Research (CIAR) and the International Centre for Health and Society (ICHS)at University College, London, were embarking upon multi-disciplinary inquiries intothe broad determinants of health in modern societies. The work of the CIAR provided aframework for conceptualizing the East-West life expectancy gap and its potentialdeterminants; the work of the ICHS provided specific insights into the relativecontributions of these determinants. In particular, the ICHS was sponsoring"CHEWE," which is a network of researchers from Eastern and Western Europeworking together to understand the determinants of differences in heart disease mortalityand morbidity between East and West.The Workshop, which took place south of London, England in March, 1995, tookadvantage of each of these developments. It was organized according to a determinantsof health model, which is also used to structure this volume. It built upon theCHEWE network and its history of international research collaboration, supplemented,in particular, by individuals with knowledge of the physical environmental determinantsof health, biological factors, and the role of health care services.Special thanks are due to the NATO International Scientific Exchange Programme,which funded the workshop and Dr. Steve Hrudey, who helped facilitate it. TheCanadian Institute for Advanced Research, International Centre for Health and Society,and CHEWE network co-sponsored the workshop. The support and inspiration of Dr.Fraser Mustard, president of the CIAR, was invaluable in seeing this project through.Mandy Feeney of the ICHS, who provided organizational and logistical support, andmade herself indispensible. Finally, we would like to thank all the participants in theworkshop, especially those for whom English is not a first language, for coming from12 countries to make the workshop, and this volume, possible.C. Hertzman