Partnership "Northern Dimension"
The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) is an international networking platform for strengthening professional connections, sharing and co-creating knowledge, and developing joint activities in public health and social well-being.
The NDPHS is a joint policy of four equal partners: the European Union (EU), the Russian Federation, Norway and Iceland. EU member states also participate in cooperation on an individual basis. The Republic of Belarus, which is part of the Baltic Sea region, participates in practical aspects of cooperation. The USA and Canada have the status of the NDPHS observers.
The main goal of the NDPHS is to promote sustainable development in the Northern Dimension area through improving human health and social wellbeing. In doing so, reducing the spread of major communicable diseases and preventing life-style related noncommunicable diseases as well as enhancing peoples’ levels of social well-being and promoting socially rewarding lifestyles are further tasks of the NDPHS.
In 2016, a retrospective study was carried out within the framework of the project «International Comparison of Differences in Premature Deaths and their Causes in NDPHS Partner Countries Measured by Potential Years of Life Lost Indicator (PYLL) / Europe AID/132633/C/SER/multi», which was attended by representatives of Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and Russia. The RSPC MT was appointed as the implementing organization in the Republic of Belarus.
In order to monitor the effectiveness of measures aimed at improving the demographic situation, in particular, reducing premature mortality, a calculation and scientific analysis of the age-standardized PYLL rate in relation to preventable causes of death for 2003, 2009 and 2013 was carried out.
The results of the study can be found in the following publications:
1. М.М.Сачек, И.И. Новик, С.В. Гончаров, В.М.Писарик, Veli Koistinen, Ilkka Vohlonen. Потерянные годы жизни в результате преждевременной смерти в Республике Беларусь и странах партнерства Северного Измерения в 2003, 2009 и 2013 годах. Тезисы докладов Международного Форума медицины в городе Даугавпилс, Латвия, 2 – 3 декабря 2016 года.
2. Сачек М.М. [и др.] Потерянные годы потенциальной жизни – один из инструментов оценки потерь здоровья населения / М.М.Сачек, В.М.Писарик, И.И.Новик, И.В.Малахова // Вопросы организации и информатизации здравоохранения. – 2018. – №1 (94). – С.44–52.
3. Mikko Vienonen, Pekka Jousilahti, Karolina Mackiewicz, Rafael Oganov, Vital Pisaryk, Gleb Denissov, Ülla-Karin Nurm, Iveta Pudule, Romualdas Gurevicius, Bartoz Zabłocki, Marita Friberg, Igor Krasilnikov, Veli Koistinen, Ilkka Vohlonen. / Potential years of life lost (PYLL) caused by preventable premature deaths in Northern Dimension partnership countries 2003 – 2013. // Europen Journal of Public Health (published 07 February 2019). https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/eurpub/cky278/5310001?redirectedFrom=fulltext
In 2021, an additional study was conducted, the purpose of which was to analyze the PYLL for 2017 within the framework of a project implemented by the Finnish National Institute of Health and Social Welfare for the NDPHS. RSPC MT was also appointed as the implementing organization of the study on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
The main results are following:
1. The PYLL among the entire Belarus population from all causes of mortality has a steady downward trend over the period from 2003 to 2017, but remains one of the highest among the countries participating in the study.
2. The PYLL by men are significantly (three times) higher than similar indicators by women.
3. The greatest number of lost years by men is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), external causes and malignancies.
4. By women, malignant tumors are in the first place, CVD are in the second place, and external causes are in the third.
5. The PYLL from suicide in Belarus is one of the highest among the countries of the NDPHS.
Full results can be obtained on request at the RSPC MT (contact person – Vital Pisaryk pisarik@rnpcmt.by).