Preventive Healthcare

Measures to tackle socio-economic health disparities have made little progress. Programmes to discourage smoking and encourage exercise, moreover, pay little attention to groups with a low socio-economic status, which on average smoke more and exercise less than other groups. These are the conclusions of a report entitled Preventieve gezondheidszorg ('Preventive Healthcare') published by the Court of Audit on 20 November 2003.

On average, people with a higher socio-economic status in the Netherlands enjoy a healthy life up to their 65th birthdays, whereas those with a low socio-economic status (secondary school education at most) are healthy up to their 53rd birthdays. Apart from such factors as work, housing and income, the disparity is due to unhealthy behaviour. The World Health Organisation launched its 'Health for all by the year 2000' initiative in 1984 in order to reduce such disparities. In November 2001 the government set itself the goal of increasing the healthy life expectancy of groups with a low socio-economic status from 53 years in 2001 to 56 in 2020. To improve the health of lower socio-economic groups, initiatives have been taken at various places in the Netherlands but they represent no more than a modest start . There is therefore a risk that policy goals will not be achieved.