At a European level it is difficult to define common concerns because of the variability of health care systems, she said. The European legislative system is extremely complicated, even to Brussels insiders, and ECPC will have to learn how to navigate and influence it.
But one of the largest obstacles to patient collaboration at European level is language. "Relatively few Europeans have the same mother tongue, with just over 25% speaking German, and 16% speaking English. Just over 50% of Europeans claim to speak a second language with around 40% speaking English, 10% German, 7% Spanish, and 3% Italian." Additionally, fluency in English as a second language declines with age, Ms Redmond said.
Linguistic difficulties also contribute to the digital divide in Europe. "Given that 70% of the content of the internet is in English, it is not surprising that there is a huge variation in the number of houses with internet access across Europe. In countries with high levels of English fluency such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, around 65% of households have internet access. But in Greece, Spain and Portugal internet access at home is as low as 9%. According to the latest Eurobarometer study, an average of only 25% of Europeans get health information from the internet," she said.
Funding is another problem for patient organisations, and one of the biggest challenges facing ECPC will be to ensure adequate funding to overcome th
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Contact: Mary Rice
mary.rice@blueprintpartners.be
45-3252-4163
Federation of European Cancer Societies
23-Sep-2003