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This English translation of the second edition of the general report on Health in France, published in French by Documentation Française, gives a sort of snapshot of the state of health of the French population.
Using several broad indicators, the document places France in its international context and outlines developments over the past decade.
What has happened since 1994? To find out, the HCSP engages in an unprecedent comparative analysis in health situation in demographic, economic, social, political and institutional terms and uses indicators to gauge the distance that still has to be covered in the health status objectives set in 1994 are to be attained by the year 2000. This allows it to examine the influence of determinants related to risk behaviours and the physical and professional environment, and to describe their variation.
The overall picture for 1994-1998 is generally positive: high-quality medical research, well-equipped hospitals, enough doctors, and a social security system that is still performing well.
But some grey areas remain, mainly concerning behavior patterns: smoking, alcoholism, teenage suicide, and road accidents. These scourges are being fought by preventive action, the keystone of an effective care system that aims to keep people healthy rather than wait for diseases to develop. Prevention, information, and detection campaigns (particularly for hepatitis C and cancer of the breast, colon and uterus) are key to the "health care democracy" that the French health care authorities are now aiming to establish.