Statistics on public health / health and safety at work

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It sets out rules on how statistics on public health and health and safety at work should be collected and presented to provide comparable data across all European Union (EU) Member States.
This will help the EU formulate effective public health policy and support national strategies in this field.

KEY POINTS

The statistics collected by Member States, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway are sent to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat.

Statistics are collected on the following subjects.

Health and factors affecting it:
- health perceptions;
- physical and mental functioning and disability;
- morbidity* rates, broken down by diagnosis;
- accidents and injuries;
- lifestyle (exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol, drug use, etc.) and environmental, social and occupational factors;
- access to, and use of, healthcare facilities;
- demographic and socioeconomic information on individuals.
Healthcare:
- facilities;
- staff;
- cost and financing.
Causes of death:
- characteristics of the deceased;
- region;
- underlying causes of death.
Accidents at work, occupational diseases and other work-related health problems:
- the person affected;
- the injury or illness and its severity;
- the organisation and workplace;
- causes and factors involved.

Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 was followed by several implementing regulations, laying down more detailed rules and procedures on other aspects of the collection of health statistics.

Regulation (EU) No 328/2011. Underlying causes of deaths and stillbirths in each Member State.
Regulation (EU) No 349/2011. Collection of statistics on accidents at work.
Regulation (EU) No 141/2013. Statistics based on the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS).
Regulation (EU) 2015/359. Production of statistics on healthcare expenditure and financing (for the reference period 2014–2020).
Regulation (EU) 2018/255. Statistics based on EHIS.
Regulation (EU) 2021/1901. Production of statistics on healthcare expenditure and financing (with 2021 as the first reference year).
Regulation (EU) 2022/2294. Production of statistics on healthcare facilities, healthcare human resources and healthcare utilisation.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 20 January 2009.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

Health – overview (Eurostat)
European Health Interview Survey – methodology (Eurostat)
Accidents at work statistics (Eurostat).

KEY TERMS

Morbidity. The prevalence of sickness or of a specific disease in a geographical area.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work (OJ L 354, 31.12.2008, pp. 70–81).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.