The main aim of EHEMU is to provide a central facility for the co-ordinated analysis and synthesis of life and health expectancies to add the quality dimension to the quantity of life lived by the European populations, provide evidence of inequalities between Member States (MS) and highlight potential targets for public health strategies both nationally and at a pan-European level. EHEMU has been funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG SANCO) under the Community Action in Public Health programme through two projects: EHEMU (2004-2007) and EHLEIS (2007-2010). Health expectancy is one of the structural indicators for the EU sustainable development policy.

EHEMU will thus contribute to improving and developing the European health monitoring system through collaboration with initiatives aimed at improving the quality and comparability of EU data. Previous Community actions have aimed at harmonization of data and the Euro-REVES network has been instrumental in developing instruments in key health domains, where appropriate through consensus meetings with other EU groups. EHEMU is the next step in this process, since valid comparisons between MS require not only harmonized data but also harmonized calculations and analyses.

The specific objectives of EHEMU are to:

•  undertake analysis of health expectancies from current harmonized data;

•  co-ordinate the dissemination of these results, through paper and web-based reports;

•  act as repository for current and past data on EU health expectancies;

•  undertake a regular transfer of meta-information to European databases;

•  develop training material (web-based and workshop) for interpreting and calculating health expectancies for a wide audience;

•  promote harmonization of practice for future calculations in Europe.

EHEMU provides scientific support to DG Health and Consumer Protection for the Healthy Life Years (HLY) through successive projects of the Community action programmes for public health:

• EHEMU project

• EHLEIS project

The EHEMU team consists of 12 members based in 7 institutions in 6 European countries. Please click on the project team member's name to read about their background.

Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), Montpellier, France
• Jean-Marie Robine (co-investigator)
• Isabelle Romieu
• Isabelle Beluche

Institut National Etudes Démographiques (INED) , Paris, France
• Emmanuelle Cambois (co-investigator)
• Renaud Counienc

University of Leicester , Leicester, England
•  Carol Jagger (co-investigator)
•  Clare Gillies

Scientific Institute of Public Health (IPH), Brussels, Belgium
•  Herman van Oyen (co-investigator)
•  Bianca Cox

Rostock Center for the Study of Demographic Change in Rostock, Germany
•  Gabriele Doblhammer (co-investigator)
•  Anne Kruse

Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
•  Wilma J. Nusselder (co-investigator)

Department of Demography and Geodemography, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague
•  Jitka Rychtarikova (co-investigator)

Development of the EHEMU information system
• 2005-2008 : Sophie Le Roy
• 2008 - : Renaud Counienc