What is infodemia? How does population health affect the economy? Which cities are leading the Healthy Cities Index?
The Second International Congress on Economy and Health, organized by the Warsaw School of Economics, the Open Eyes Economy Summit and the City of Warsaw, was held at the Warsaw School of Economics on March 5 and 6. The motto of this year's edition was a holistic view of preventive health care. The event was attended by public health specialists, politicians, local government officials and representatives of all circles who care about improving the state of health in our country.
In the photo: Prof. Piotr Wachowiak (Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics), Renata Kaznowska (Deputy Mayor of the City of Warsaw) and Prof. Jerzy Hausner (Chairman of the OEES Program Council).
© organizers archive
does disinformation affect our health?
One of the consequences of the COVID-10 pandemic was a sharp decline in medical services and cancer diagnosis. At the same time, infodemia, or empidemia of information that was often untrue, prevailed around the world. Filip Raciborski of the Medical University of Warsaw mentioned that as a result of infodemia, vaccine evasion was listed by the WHO as one of the top ten threats to global health. A long-term strategy for building health-seeking attitudes in society is needed to change this situation. As Marcin Napiórkowski of the University of Warsaw noted - presenting research showing the attitudes of various social groups toward the pandemic situation and comparing them with the matrix of climate narratives - people who have fallen into anti-vaccine skepticism easily preach conspiracy theories against climate change and undermine their realism.
healthy population, efficient economy
A healthy working population means an efficient economy, and therefore better results when it comes to GDP. According to Artur Białkowski, a member of the Medicover Board and the Council of Employers of Poland, all measures that will foster a
healthier society will translate into a healthy economy and thus better economic results.
It is therefore worth betting on prevention, Professor Jerzy Hausner stressed:
Preventive health care, being a pillar of public health, is the most economically efficient direction of public spending on health.
Renata Kaznowska (Deputy Mayor of the City of Warsaw)
© organizers archive
healthiest city in Poland
The congress also discussed the results of experts' work on the second installment of the Healthy Cities Index, in which 66 cities with county rights were evaluated in terms of conditions conducive to the health and well-being of their residents. In the Health category, covering the activities of various entities operating in the cities to increase access to health services and public health activities, Warsaw took first place. Just behind the capital were Bielsko-Biala and Poznan.
sports in the city
As Magdalena Milert recently wrote, as much as 42% of the population does not practice sports. If we do decide to exercise, we are most likely to do it in nature, and for this we need the right infrastructure. The issue of multifaceted action in sectors such as sports, education, urban design and health was raised during the congress by Paweł Zębura from the Warsaw University of Physical Education.
The need to create spaces that encourage physical activity is also noted by local authorities.
What I notice in Opole is that a lot of positive changes have taken place in the city. We have a bicycle rally, many activity programs that have been going on for many years. We teach swimming in schools, we have skating lessons [...]. In such education we see healthy citizens in the future," said Przemysław Zych, Deputy Mayor of the City of Opole.
