Key Topics 2010

Translation

Coping with new health challenges and accelerating change

Our environment is constantly changing: non-communicable diseases play a growing role in developing countries; populations are aging; socio-demographic developments also mean more and more people live in “megacities”; the health-related consequences of climate change are increasing; the worldwide financial crisis is affecting healthcare; the need for basic care in low- and middle-income countries is accelerating; and the focus of healthcare treatment is shifting from acute to chronic diseases. These are just a few of the profound changes forcing everyone in the health professions to constantly adapt the ways they develop and deliver health care interventions.

Transition

Delivering innovation beyond bench and bedside

Translating medical knowledge into interventions that benefit patients across global regions remains one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. It also requires innovative methods of accessing and transferring knowledge. What conditions make it possible to effectively translate knowledge into medical and public health interventions, and vice versa? How can we facilitate close links between research and clinical practice, and what innovative options exist? How can we improve exchange between scientists and policymakers, and how can research results have a greater impact on the political agenda? How can research capabilities be built up in poor countries in ways that are adapted to specific regional and cultural needs?

Transformation

Reinventing health management

To adequately respond to the constant changes occurring both within and beyond the healthcare field, health professionals, scientists, and political leaders must actively transform the ways we address health issues and deliver care. Solving the global translation and transition challenges we face, requires us to rethink our approach to health management. What areas of cohesion and conflict exist between political and economic health agendas, and how can we develop models for cross-sector collaboration? How can we support a shift in focus from “sick care” to healthcare – in other words, from a model focused on treating specific diseases to an approach that truly promotes health? How can global organizations foster the healthcare internationalization? And how can we best fulfill our responsibilities to shape and execute the healthcare agenda? In order to make effective decisions on global health issues, we need adequate ways to measure outcomes of healthcare interventions on a global scale.