Publications

The European Observatory's policy briefs and summaries are concise reports tailored to the needs of health policy-makers and designed to inform them about available evidence on specific questions and issues. They follow a systematic way of marshalling the evidence and tend to focus more on the policy relevance and implementation of any policy options.

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies has in particular developed its policy brief series to meet the needs of policy-makers and health system managers. The aim is to set out key messages to support evidence-informed policy-making and the editors will continue to strengthen the series by working with authors to improve the consideration given to policy options and implementation. Each brief is formatted to have a one-page key message section; a two-page executive summary giving a succinct overview of the findings; and a 20-page review setting out the evidence. The idea is to provide instant access to key information and additional detail for those involved in drafting, informing or advising on the policy issue.

Policy briefs provide evidence for policy-makers not policy advice. They do not seek to explain or advocate a policy position but to set out clearly what is known about it. They may outline the evidence on different prospective policy options and on implementation issues, but they do not promote a particular option or act as a manual for implementation.