02-03 November 2011 | 2nd Child Well-Being Expert consultation, hosted by UNICEF IRC/OECD/The Learning for Well-being Consortium/European Commission

UNICEF IRC, the OECD, the Learning for Well-being Consortium and the European Commission co-organised a second expert consultation to discuss issues related to on-going cross-national research on child indicators and well-being. The purpose of the conference was to share recent developments in the field, and to discuss in greater detail age-related data and research needed to inform policies for improving children’s well-being. The consultation culminated in recommendations for age-related indicators and research.

HBSC International Coordinator, Professor Candace Currie, presented a paper entitled: ‘Child and adolescent well-being in times of social and economic change: Thirty years of Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study: International perspectives and national case study'.

November 2011 | European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Annual Report

EMCDDA has published their annual report, presenting an overview of the drug use across Europe, including the 2009/10 HBSC International data. The latest HBSC surveys point to an overall stable or decreasing trend in drug use among students (15–16 years) in most countries during the period 2006–10. This is an essential reference book for policymakers, specialists and practitioners in the drugs field or indeed anyone seeking the latest findings on drugs in Europe.

02 August 2011 | Child Well-Being in the European Union: Better monitoring instruments for better policies

HBSC researchers based at the Hungarian TÁRKI Social Research Institute have prepared a background paper for the Hungarian EU presidency. The report is part of a suite of publications, which reflect the European Commission's commitment to address child poverty, improve the health and wellbeing of children, and promote social inclusion. This particular report recommends a portfolio of child wellbeing indicators, including those from the HBSC study. These are then are used to present a comparative overview across the European Union. Each member state is evaluated against a "Report Card", providing an instrument to measure the impact of policies on child poverty rates.

For more information about this project, and to download the report, visit the TÁRKI website.

07 June 2011 | Entre Nous: A public health challenge

HBSC researchers have had an article published in the latest edition of WHO's Sexual Health Magazine: Entre Nous. This edition, focuses on sexual health as a public health challenge in Europe. The article, "A profile of young people's Sexual Health, Findings from the Health Behaviour in school-aged Children Study", provides an insight into young people's health across Europe and Canada, including their sexual initiation and how they protect themselves against pregnancy and STIs.

Entre Nous can be accessed from: www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/142570/en72.pdf

24 May 2011 | New opportunities to collaborate with the HBSC Research Network

New opportunities have opened up to collaborate with the HBSC Research Network. HBSC's new membership system welcomes applications from research groups within the WHO European Region, and for the first time, also invites countries outside the WHO European Region to also collaborate either as Linked Projects or Satellite Members. Full details of the new membership and linked project system are listed on the HBSC website at: www.hbsc.org/membershipandlinkedprojects/index.html.

For more information, please email hbscmembership@hbsc.org or linkedprojects@hbsc.org