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Children’s health affects the future of Europe – children are citizens, future workers, parents and carers. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child gives all children a right to optimum health and effective health services. Models of child primary health care, including school health and adolescent direct access services, vary widely across Europe but there is little research to show which are most effective. MOCHA aims to use local agents, professional networks, and earlier child health projects to model and evaluate this in all 30 EU/EEA countries. Germany is represented by the research section Child Public Health of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. Twenty scientific partners, encompassing disciplines such as medicine, nursing, economics, informatics, sociology and policy management will identify and assess the many facets of primary care for children, also taking into account cultural, sociological and political factors. MOCHA is supported by an External Advisory Board, made up of experts from health services research, medicine, nursing, health care management, advocacy for children, the European Patients’ Forum’s youth patients’ forum and academia. In addition, partners from Australia and the USA provide important external and global context.

The results will demonstrate the optimal model(s) or crucial elements of a composite model of children’s primary care with a prevention and wellness focus. The project has a strong outreach and dissemination programme to ensure dialogue with public, professionals, policy makers and politicians, and to deliver awareness and potential benefit for European children’s health and a healthy European society.

Contact: Ann-Katrin Meyrose ( a.meyrose@uke.de )

Further information www.childhealthservicemodels.eu