İsrafil Boyaci (p)

Lakshmi Sivaramakrishnan

Purpose: This article aims to clarify the progress towards universal health care coverage as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3.8.) in the health system of Türkiye, which was targeted to be achieved with the completion of health reforms under the Health Transformation Program (2003-2013).

Method: In the article, the course of progress in universal health coverage in Türkiye compared to global trends over the years is addressed with comparative descriptive analyses and evaluations that can be input into policy design processes. Data covering 2000-2021 published by the WHO on SDG 3.8.1 Service coverage index (UHC SCI) regarding the provision of health services and SDG 3.8.2.

Findings: It is observed that rapid progress was made in universal health coverage during the Health Transformation Program (2003-2013), which redesigned the Turkish health system in all its dimensions, but this development stalled in the years following this reform program.

Originality: The most current transformation of the Turkish health system has been examined in terms of ‘universal health coverage’ within the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and thus the current status and development of the country's health system's health service coverage and financial protection dimensions over the years have been illuminated.

Lakshmi Sivaramakrishnan (p)

Lisa Sella

Good health is a fundamental component of human happiness and contributes significantly to overall prosperity and economic progress. A healthy population lives longer and is more productive. Urban health refers to the branch of public health that specifically focuses on the health challenges and outcomes within urban or metropolitan areas. Rapid urbanisation and the fast pace of life have a tremendous effect on the health and lifestyle of people living in urban areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and necessity of efficient and effective healthcare systems and public health measures. It underscored the need for early detection, efficient healthcare delivery, and global cooperation in tackling health crises. Health issues do not recognise political borders. In the 21st century, global health security is essential for preventing the spread of infectious diseases, addressing emerging health threats, and promoting global stability.
The field of urban health encompasses the intricate causal connections between urban structures such as access to green space, noise quality, and places for social connections and their impact on health outcomes, as well as the underlying mechanisms and political factors that shape decisions regarding the structure and characteristics of cities. As such, the study and practice of urban health are ever-evolving and connect many disciplines, trades, and traditions (Kim, J., el. 2022). As diverse stakeholders are involved, the approach to it may be different, but its importance is universal to all urban areas.
This study will focus on the health care system in Kolkata, with special emphasis on the public health care system and the challenges and loopholes.
Key words: Urban health; Urbanization; Healthy lifestyle; Health crisis; Public health; Health determinants; Health infrastructure; Well-being; Health care programmes, Kolkata

Lisa Sella (p), Valentina Lamonica, Nicola Pollo

Eduarda Marques Da Costa

A sedentary lifestyle is very common especially in the elderly population of industrialized countries. Medical studies highlight the relationship between increased sedentary lifestyle and diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Furthermore, they detect the importance of physical activity to prevent vascular and metabolic diseases. Knowledge on the effects of sedentary lifestyle have pushed European healthcare systems to experiment with specific physical activity interventions for elderly people, in order to support active ageing, and to reduce the pressure of this specific population on the national healthcare system. In fact, active healthy ageing becomes a fundamental goal in order both to improve the quality of life and to save health care costs through the promotion of positive experiences, awareness, and empowerment in population.
The study presented here is an experiment conducted in collaboration with the local health authority (LHA) of a specific area of the Piedmont region (Italy), in order to test the effectiveness of a physical activity program to support active ageing. The study evaluates the impact of a protocol of anaerobic exercises to be carried out in groups, specifically designed for elderly subjects suffering from chronic diseases and aimed at modifying their lifestyle for the prevention of disability. The research project has a twofold objective: to analyse the socio-psychological and physical benefits of the protocol, and to develop a cost-benefit analysis. The research focuses on three main indicators connected to states of sedentary lifestyle: the use of pharmacological prescriptions (e.g. anti-inflammatory drugs, gastroprotectors, etc); the use of medical-health services (e.g. physiatric visits, physiotherapy services, etc.); and psycho-physical wellbeing. The final aim of the study is to provide strategic information for planning activities to promote active ageing in the LHA and to extend the recommendation of the protocol to the regional authority.
Methodologically, the experiment is conducted on 120 sedentary people, aged 64 or more, and with chronic conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system in a non-acute phase. They were randomly divided into a treated and a control group: the treated attend free physical activity for 9 months (a full sports year), the control group is involved in a training on healthy lifestyles. Since the project is still ongoing, the contribution will focus on the research design, the qualitative-quantitative strategy for data collection, and the preliminary results. In the end, we expect to find a significant impact on both the physical and the social well-being of the treated units.

Eduarda Marques Da Costa (p), Ana Louro , Pedro Franco, Nuno Costa

Yuval Arbel

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a key component of the Sustainable Development processes. Climate change impacts on health, expressed through environmental health, animal health, and human health, highlighting the emergence of the Planetary Health perspective. Covid-19 Pandemic highlighted the importance to develop an integrative approach and choosing indicators to accompany it. The Project “Multi-site application of Open Science in the creation of healthy environments Involving local Communities (MOSAIC - HORIZON-HLTH-2023-ENVHLTH-02-01 Planetary health) initiated in 2024, develops a conceptual and analytical framework for One Health. Given the importance of this issue, several international organizations have presented an analytical framework and a comprehensive list of indicators, of which we highlight UN Climate Change: Working together for climate action and the SDG indicators. The main objectives of this presentation are: made a comparison between the different databases and propose a methodology to select and classify the indicators according to their role as drivers or impacts of climate change on health; identify if this indicators are present in the political instruments and how can be used as key indicators in the international and national systems. The analysis is based in south America and African case studies of MOSAIC project.

Yuval Arbel (p), Chaim Fialkoff, Amichai Kerner

İsrafil Boyaci

Background Numerous studies have compared self evaluation and market values of apartments by employing hedonic regressions. Most of these studies demonstrated that self evaluation of apartments are typically overly optimistic. Yet, none of these studies explored the
relationship between self-evaluation of apartments and obesity as a proxy for self esteem,
particularly among women. Previous empirical evidence suggests weight discrimination
against women in employment and income, education and romantic relationships. Following the infuence of western values and norms regarding a slim body image of women and
the implications of these social obesity penalties, one would anticipate a lower self evaluation of apartment value among obese women. Another strand of the literature shows that
compared to men, women are more conservative fnancial investors. Objectives To explore
gender diferences in self-evaluation of apartments with respect to BMI (= WEIGHT
HEIGHT2 = kg
meter2
where BMI ≥ 30 is defned as obese person) as a proxy for self esteem. In an economic
rational domain, housing price evaluations are not expected to be infuenced by personal
characteristics (such as gender, wealth, employment marital and immigration status, number of children) and psychological features of the evaluator. Consequently, the current study
is closely related to the literature that deals with real estate and behavioral fnance and economics. Methods We analyze a representative sample of the Israeli population, obtained
from the 2015–2016 longitudinal survey carried out by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS), where the responses of each individual were recorded twice (during 2015 and
2016). The survey includes information on weight and height of each family member, from
which the BMI measure is calculated (weight÷ height2
), as-well-as apartment value, gender and a long list of economics and socio-demographic control variables, and apartment
characteristics. To investigate this research question, we use a 2SLS methodology, and run
the empirical model separately based on ethnic origin and gender. Results Findings suggest that for both genders, BMI is negatively correlated with self-evaluation of apartments.
Yet, compared to men, female self-evaluation of housing prices are more conservative and
less infuenced by BMI changes. This outcome is obtained despite the fact that as part of
the modern western societies, Jewish Israeli women are more susceptible to weight gain.
Research findings thus support the conclusion that compared to males, the cognitive error in price evaluation is smaller among females.