Oncological Diseases and Social Costs Considerations on Undertaken Health Policy Interventions

Abstract

The growing incidence and prevalence of civilization diseases is prompting national and transnational entities to seek instruments that would reverse epidemiological trends. Not without significance is the need to design such solutions that are going to provide an improved relation between the costs incurred to maintain health or recovery and the profit for citizens of continuing to function in good health. In its strategic documents, the European Union indicates the most important development goals in each financial perspective and the tools necessary to achieve them. In the Europe 2020 strategy, a cohesion policy was indicated as an important tool for the implementation of development goals, focusing on supporting activities leading to the equalisation of economic and social conditions in all regions of EU countries. The implementation of one of the three basic priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy, which is inclusive growth—supporting an economy with a high level of employment and ensuring social and territorial cohesion—assumes, among others, that in 2020, the population at risk of poverty and social exclusion will decrease by 20 million and that the employment rate in the EU will increase to 75%. Meeting the objectives will not be possible without a holistic coordinated approach to healthcare at the national and regional level in accordance with the principle of “health in all policies”. It also requires the involvement of various sources of financing, including structural funds. The EU’s prioritisation of the problems related to ensuring decent conditions for achieving health resulted in the mobilisation of structural funds for actions taken in the healthcare sector. Of particular importance are those actions which are taken to prevent, alleviate, and prevent oncological diseases. An additional contribution to undertaking actions aimed at preventing oncological diseases are the high and often neglected social costs incurred by societies. The goal of the article was to identify and evaluate actions taken in this area in Poland. It was achieved by analysing the literature on the subject and statistical data, and conducting induction based on the above-mentioned sources.