Health in France 2002

How well are the French ? What are the most important health-related issues for children of under 15 years of age, for young or older adults, for the elderly? What geographically and socially based inequalities affect health status? How can patients and users of the health care system –members of the public- be brought into the making decisions that affect them in this literally vital field? Is our health care system well organised? And is it working in an efficient and democratic way? How are questions of resource allocation settled?
Health in France 2002 is the third in a series of official reports (the previous ones were published in 1994 and 1998) compiled by the High Committee on Public Health to analyse health status in the country, with an in-depth review of the strengths and weaknesses of the system as a whole.
This report combines a critical analysis of the current care system with a review of key current and projeted health-related issues, focusing on public health targets identified from as broad and all-inclusive a perspective as possible.
Contents :
Recommended strategic directions: The French paradox
1. Data about health status
2. Health inequalities and disparities in France
3. Resource allocation in the health system
4. The user, a player in the health care system
5. A critical, prospective analysis of the way the health system is organised