INTRODUCTION: To prevent and manage the societal and economic burden of occupational diseases (ODs), countries should develop strong prevention policies, health surveillance and registry systems. This study aims to contribute to the improvement of OD surveillance at national level as well as to identify priority actions in Turkey.METHODS: The history and current status of occupational health studies were considered from the perspective of OD surveillance. Interpretative research was done through literature review on occupational health at national, regional and international level. Analyses were focused on countries’ experiences in policy development and practice, roles and responsibilities of institutions, multidisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration. OD surveillance models of Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands were examined through exchange visits. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to explore the peculiarities of legislative and institutional structures, the best and worst practices, and approach principles.RESULTS: Some countries are more focused on exploring OD trends through effective and cost-efficient researches, with particular attention to new and emerging ODs. Other countries try to reach every single case of OD for compensation and rehabilitation. Each practice has advantages and shortcomings, but they are not mutually exclusive, and thus an effective combination is possible.CONCLUSION: Effective surveillance and registry approaches play a key role in the prevention of ODs. A well-designed system enables monitoring and assessment of OD prevalence and trends, and adoption of preventive measures while improving the effectiveness of redressing and compensation. A robust surveillance does not only provide protection of workers’ health but also advances prevention of economic losses.
Belgium ; Compensation and Redress ; Cooperative Behavior ; Health Policy ; Netherlands ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Health ; Policy Making ; Prevalence ; Rehabilitation ; Turkey

This paper aims to demonstrate current health expenditure (CHE) and National Health Accounts of the years 2018 constructed according to the SHA2011, which is a manual for System of Health Accounts (SHA) that was published jointly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Eurostat, and World Health Organization in 2011. Comparison is made with international trends by collecting and analyzing health accounts of OECD member countries. Particularly, scale and trends of the total CHE financing as well as public-private mix are parsed in depth. In the case of private financing, estimation of total expenditures for (revenues by) provider groups (HP) is made from both survey on the benefit coverage rate of National Health Insurance (by National Health Insurance Service) and Economic Census and Service Industry Census (by National Statistical Office); and other pieces of information from Korean Health Panel Study, etc. are supplementarily used to allocate those totals into functional classifications. CHE was 144.4 trillion won in 2018, which accounts for 8.1% of Korea's gross domestic product (GDP). It was a big increase of 12.8 trillion won, or 9.7%, from the previous year. GDP share of Korean CHE has already been close to the average of OECD member countries. Government and compulsory schemes' share (or public share), 59.8% of the CHE in 2018, is much lower than the OECD average of 73.6%. ‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of total revenue of health financing was 16.9% in Korea, lower than the other social insurance countries. When it comes to ‘compulsory contributory health financing schemes,’ ‘transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of 13.5% was again much lower compared to Japan (43.0%) and Belgium (30.1%) with social insurance scheme.
Belgium ; Censuses ; Classification ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Health Expenditures ; Healthcare Financing ; Japan ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; Social Security ; World Health Organization

Tick-induced mammalian meat allergy has become an emergent allergy world-wide after van Nunen et al. first described the association between tick bites and the development of mammalian meat allergy in 2007. Cases of mammalian meat allergy have now been reported on all 6 continents where humans are bitten by ticks, in 17 countries
Africa ; Americas ; Anaphylaxis ; Asia ; Australia ; Belgium ; Central America ; Europe ; Germany ; Great Britain ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Italy ; Ixodes ; Meat ; Public Health ; South America ; Spain ; Sweden ; Switzerland ; Tick Bites ; Ticks ; United States

BACKGROUND: This paper aims to demonstrate current health expenditure (CHE) and National Health Accounts of the years 2015 constructed according to the SHA2011, which is a new manual of System of Health Accounts (SHA) that was published jointly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Eurostat, and World Health Organization in 2011. Comparison is made with international trends by collecting and analysing health accounts of OECD member countries. Particularly, financing public- private mix is parsed in depth using SHA data of both HF as financing schemes as well as FS (financing source) as their revenue types. METHODS: Data sources such as Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's publications of both motor insurance and drugs are newly used to construct the 2015 National Health Accounts. In the case of private financing, an estimation of total expenditures for revenues by provider groups is made from the Economic Census data; and the household income and expenditure survey, Korean healthcare panel study, etc. are used to allocate those totals into functional classifications. RESULTS: CHE was 115.2 trillion won in 2015, which accounts for 7.4 percent of Korea's gross domestic product. It was a big increase of 9.3 trillion won, 8.8 percent, from the previous year. Government and compulsory schemes's share (or public share) of 56.4% of the CHE in 2015 was much lower than the OECD average of 72.6%. ‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of total revenue of HF was 17.8% in Korea, lower than the other contribution-based countries. When it comes to ‘compulsory contributory health financing schemes,’‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of 14.9% was again much lower compared to Japan (44.7%) and Belgium (34.8%) as contribution-based countries. CONCLUSION: Considering relatively lower public financing share in the inpatient care as well as overall low public financing share of total CHE, priorities in health insurance coverage need to be repositioned among inpatient care, outpatient care and drugs.
Ambulatory Care ; Belgium ; Censuses ; Classification ; Delivery of Health Care ; Family Characteristics ; Financing, Government ; Gross Domestic Product ; Health Expenditures* ; Healthcare Financing ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Inpatients ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health ; Japan ; Korea* ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND: This paper aims to demonstrate current health expenditure (CHE) and National Health Accounts of the years 2015 constructed according to the SHA2011, which is a new manual of System of Health Accounts (SHA) that was published jointly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Eurostat, and World Health Organization in 2011. Comparison is made with international trends by collecting and analysing health accounts of OECD member countries. Particularly, financing public- private mix is parsed in depth using SHA data of both HF as financing schemes as well as FS (financing source) as their revenue types. METHODS: Data sources such as Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's publications of both motor insurance and drugs are newly used to construct the 2015 National Health Accounts. In the case of private financing, an estimation of total expenditures for revenues by provider groups is made from the Economic Census data; and the household income and expenditure survey, Korean healthcare panel study, etc. are used to allocate those totals into functional classifications. RESULTS: CHE was 115.2 trillion won in 2015, which accounts for 7.4 percent of Korea's gross domestic product. It was a big increase of 9.3 trillion won, 8.8 percent, from the previous year. Government and compulsory schemes's share (or public share) of 56.4% of the CHE in 2015 was much lower than the OECD average of 72.6%. ‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of total revenue of HF was 17.8% in Korea, lower than the other contribution-based countries. When it comes to ‘compulsory contributory health financing schemes,’‘Transfers from government domestic revenue’ share of 14.9% was again much lower compared to Japan (44.7%) and Belgium (34.8%) as contribution-based countries. CONCLUSION: Considering relatively lower public financing share in the inpatient care as well as overall low public financing share of total CHE, priorities in health insurance coverage need to be repositioned among inpatient care, outpatient care and drugs.
Ambulatory Care ; Belgium ; Censuses ; Classification ; Delivery of Health Care ; Family Characteristics ; Financing, Government ; Gross Domestic Product ; Health Expenditures* ; Healthcare Financing ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Inpatients ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health ; Japan ; Korea* ; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ; World Health Organization

PURPOSE: This study used cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to characterize mandibular molar root and canal morphology and its variability in Belgian and Chilean population samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the CBCT images of 515 mandibular molars (257 from Belgium and 258 from Chile). Molars meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed to determine (1) the number of roots; (2) the root canal configuration; (3) the presence of a curved canal in the cross-sectional image of the distal root in the mandibular first molar and (4) the presence of a C-shaped canal in the second mandibular molar. A descriptive analysis was performed. The association between national origin and the presence of a curved or C-shaped canal was evaluated using the chi-squared test. RESULTS: The most common configurations in the mesial root of both molars were type V and type III. In the distal root, type I canal configuration was the most common. Curvature in the cross-sectional image was found in 25% of the distal canals of the mandibular first molars in the Belgian population, compared to 11% in the Chilean population. The prevalence of C-shaped canals was 10% or less in both populations. CONCLUSION: In cases of unclear or complex root and canal morphology in the mandibular molars, CBCT imaging might assist endodontic specialists in making an accurate diagnosis and in treatment planning.
Belgium ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography* ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Diagnosis ; Molar* ; Prevalence ; Specialization

Europe has taken many political actions since 1999 to better control antimicrobial resistance and use, including two European Council Recommendations and actions taken by numerous European Union (EU) presidencies. These presidencies triggered many public health and research actions in the EU. Europe developed several very successful surveillance programmes on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use, both currently coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). These surveillance programmes were able to identify emerging problems of antibiotic resistance and targets for quality improvement of antimicrobial use; they also conducted impact assessments of campaigns to reduce antibiotic use and increase hand hygiene. The public antibiotic awareness campaigns were very successful in reducing antibiotic use and resistance in countries like Belgium and France. The successes of these campaigns inspired ECDC to launch an annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day on November 18, 2008. The hand hygiene campaigns resulted in a dramatic decrease of MRSA infections in many EU Member States. However, ESBL-producing Gram-negative bacteria and Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenters are increasing in most EU countries. Finally, the EU is investing hundreds of millions of EUROs in a Public Private Partnership (PPP), called the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). An important initiative of IMI is the launch of the Combating Antibiotic Resistance NewDrugs4BadBugs programme. The goal of this new research programme is to create an innovative and collaborative PPP-based approach that will positively impact all aspects of the antimicrobial resistance issue, from the discovery of novel products to Phase 1-3 clinical trials.
Belgium ; Drug Resistance ; Drug Resistance, Microbial* ; Enterobacteriaceae ; Europe ; European Union ; France ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Hand Hygiene ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Public Health ; Quality Improvement

Allergy and Immunology ; history ; Belgium ; Biomedical Research ; history ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Immunity ; immunology

In sheep, susceptibility to scrapie is mainly determined by codons 136, 154, and 171 of the PRNP gene. Five haplotypes are usually present (ARR, ARQ, ARH, AHQ, and VRQ). The ARR haplotype confers the greatest resistance to classical scrapie while VRQ renders animals most susceptible. In 2004, the European Union implemented a breeding program that promotes selection of the ARR haplotype while reducing the incidence of VRQ. From 2006 to 2011 in Belgium, frequency for the ARR/ARR genotypes increased from 38.3% to 63.8% (n = 6,437), the ARQ haplotype diminished from 21.1% to 12.9%, and the VRQ haplotype decreased from 2.0% to 1.7%. The status of codon 141, a determinant for atypical scrapie, was also evaluated. Out of 27 different breeds (n = 5,163), nine were abundant. The ARR/ARR frequency increased in eight of these nine major breeds. The selection program has had a major impact on the ARR haplotype frequency in Belgium. However, the occurrence of atypical scrapie represents a critical point for this program that warrants the continuous monitoring of scrapie. Additionally, genotype frequencies among the breeds varied greatly. Texel, a breed that is common in Belgium, can still be selected for due to its average ARR frequency.
Animals ; Belgium ; *Breeding ; Female ; *Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genetic Variation ; *Genotype ; Male ; Scrapie/*genetics ; Sheep

OBJECTIVES: Health informatics programs usually are evaluated by national accreditation committees. Not always are the members of these committees well informed about the international level of (education in) health informatics. Therefore, when a program is accredited by a national accreditation committee, this does not always mean that the program is of an international level. The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) has expertise in the field of education. The IMIA Recommendations on Education in Biomedical and Health Informatics guide curricula development. The goal of this article is to show that IMIA can also play the role of accreditation agency and to present the IMIA accreditation protocol and experiences obtained with it. METHODS: The accreditation procedure used in the Netherlands and Belgium was taken as a template for the design of the IMIA accreditation protocol. In a trial period of one and a half year the protocol is tested out on six health informatics programs. RESULTS: An accreditation protocol was designed. For judging the curriculum of a program the IMIA Recommendations are used. The institution has to write a self-assessment report and a site visit committee visits the program and judges its quality, supported by the self-assessment report and discussions with all stakeholders of the program. CONCLUSIONS: After having visited three programs it appears that the IMIA accreditation procedure works well. Only a few changes had to be introduced. Writing the self-assessment report already appears to be beneficial for the management of the program to obtain a better insight in the quality of their program.
Accreditation ; Belgium ; Curriculum ; Informatics ; Medical Informatics ; Netherlands ; Self-Assessment ; Writing