Major Health and Social Issues Affecting Europe European

governments face a growing number of major health challenges, which are putting unprecedented pressures on public health systems (Chaytor & Staiger, 2012). Health-care systems throughout Europe are endeavoring to rise to the challenges that result from an aging population and the growth in chronic diseases. Chronic disease is the leading cause of mortality in Europe. Over one third of the European population above the age of 15 has a chronic disease, and two of the three people reaching retirement age will have at least two chronic conditions (Eurostat, 2016). The prevalence of chronic diseases highlights the ongoing need for continued public health work. Past efforts have focused on the risk factors: tobacco use, alcohol abuse, sedentary habits, and inadequate diets. Although some positive behavior changes have been observed, the obesity rate has doubled since 1990 in many European countries, and smoking rates remain over 30% in certain countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2012). Countries in Europe also face major social issues. More than 6 million jobs were lost from 2008 to 2013 in the EU, and poverty has increased. Fiscal consolidation has generally attempted to spare social protection from spending cuts, but the distribution of adjustment costs between the young and the old has been uneven, creating a generational divide (Darvas & Wolff, 2014). Many countries are still struggling to recover from the 2008 to 2009 global recession and the resulting Eurozone debt crisis, leading to some European governments imposing unpopular austerity measures. The result has been further political instability and the rise of anti-EU or “Eurosceptic” political parties (these parties are often termed Eurosceptic because many have been fueled by worries that too much national sovereignty has been relinquished to Brussels [the EU headquarters]). The unexpected result from the United Kingdom’s (UK) referendum in June 2016, with the majority of resident voting to leave the EU (dubbed “BREXIT”), highlights the current anti-EU feeling (BBC, 2016). Finally, there is social concern and unrest in relation to the number of refugees and asylum seekers entering Europe. More than 1.8 million people entered the EU illegally between January and October 2015, with some 980,000 applying for asylum. These numbers include refugees from conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan and economic migrants from the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa. The concentration of large-scale immigration through the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans and into a concentrated number of destinations (principally Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Sweden) has caused tensions. Coupled with the November 13, 2015, Paris attacks which killed 130 people and the following attacks in Belgium, these tensions have resulted in major amendments to the free movement agreement (named the Schengen Agreement; BBC, 2016).