Health systems resilience
Health system’s resilience is the ability to prepare for, manage (absorb, adapt, and transform) and learn from disturbances, such as the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is about the ability to withstand complex, and sometimes overlapping crises, both acute and chronic.
The European Observatory's work contributes to defining and operationalizing health system resilience. Our work ranges from collecting evidence on traits that enable health system resilience during a shock, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis, to summarizing the latest research and insights in our policy briefs.
Our resilience testing approach, developed in collaboration with the OECD, is a policy making tool to build resilience. It is an exercise that brings together available data and a broad range of expert opinion to assess a health system's resilience and find levers for remedial action. We have implemented resilience tests across different European health system contexts, at both national and regional level, and across different types of shock (thematic areas) including migration, economic, climate change and pandemic shocks.
Related topics
Resilience resources
Related publications
Key messages:Health system resilience is about the ability to withstand complex crises.Resilience involves responding to shocks but also preparing for...
Strengthening health system resilience: Romanian lessons from the Ukrainian refugee influx
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes how the Republic of Moldova...
Strengthening health system resilience: Moldovan lessons from the Ukrainian refugee influx
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes how the Republic of Moldova...
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes how the Republic of Moldova...
Strengthening health system resilience: Polish lessons from the Ukrainian refugee influx
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes how the Republic of Moldova...
Strengthening health system resilience: Latvian lessons from the Ukrainian refugee influx
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes how the Republic of Moldova...
Strengthening health system resilience: A cross-cutting report on lessons from the Ukrainian refugee...
As millions fled the war in Ukraine, Europe’s health systems faced a test of resilience. This publication summarizes the lessons from the ways...
Flipbook: Read interactively (External link)In an era marked by pandemics, natural disasters and geopolitical tensions, the resilience of health systems...
COVID-19 meant non-emergency procedures were postponed which led to backlogs of care (and particularly hospital and specialist care) in virtually all countries....
Health system resilience post-COVID: Moving towards more European cooperation (Eurohealth)
View online The resilience of health systems and cooperation between Member States have become particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. On...
La résilience des systèmes de santé post-COVID : Vers une plus grande coopération européenne
View online La résilience des systèmes de santé et la coopération entre les États membres ont pris une importance particulière...
Rise like a phoenix: Health at the heart of a resilient future for Europe (Eurohealth)
This special issue of Eurohealth provides reflections on the main themes of the 2021 European Health Forum Gastein, one of the leading health policy conferences...
Flipbook: Read interactively (External link)The COVID-19 pandemic represents a health system shock of unprecedented scale. Health systems resilience –...
Health system resilience is key to coping with catastrophic events, such as the economic crisis and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but there is much...
Related events
Strengthening health systems: A practical handbook for resilience testing
Ready or not? Lessons from a global review of health system resilience
Strengthening resilience: Innovating and reforming primary care
Health system resilience and COVID-19: Lessons and strategies for building back better
COVID-19 as an opportunity to strengthen health system governance
Healthcare reform trends across Europe: What have been the key issues
Skill-mix for health system resilience: The role of patient navigators for providing integrated care
Skill-mix for health system resilience: How can innovations foster integrated care?
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