Brain health and national neurological societies: Results of the European Academy of Neurology survey on brain health awareness and areas of implementation for European countries

Matilde Leonardi; Isabella Colonna; David Garcia-Azorin; Daniel Bereczki; Benedetta Bodini; Noa Bregman; Reetta K Kälviäinen; Aida Kondybayeva; Viktoria Papp; David B Vodušek; Tim von Oertzen; Robertina Danova; Michael Crean; Raphael Wurm; Claudio Bassetti; Thomas Berger; Paul Boon; Ulf Kallweit; Anthony Marson; Elena Moro; Irena Rektorova; Antonio Toscano; Letizia Leocani

doi:10.1111/ene.16516

Brain health and national neurological societies: Results of the European Academy of Neurology survey on brain health awareness and areas of implementation for European countries

Eur J Neurol. 2024 Dec;31(12):e16516. doi: 10.1111/ene.16516. Epub 2024 Oct 21.

Authors

Matilde Leonardi¹, Isabella Colonna², David Garcia-Azorin³, Daniel Bereczki⁴, Benedetta Bodini^{5

6}, Noa Bregman⁷, Reetta K Kälviäinen⁸, Aida Kondybayeva⁹, Viktoria Papp¹⁰, David B Vodušek¹¹, Tim von Oertzen¹², Robertina Danova¹³, Michael Crean¹³, Raphael Wurm^{14

15}, Claudio Bassetti¹⁶, Thomas Berger^{14

15}, Paul Boon¹⁷, Ulf Kallweit^{18

19}, Anthony Marson²⁰, Elena Moro²¹, Irena Rektorova^{22

23}, Antonio Toscano²⁴, Letizia Leocani^{25

26}

Affiliations

¹ Neurology, Public Health, Disability Unit and Coma Research Centre, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milan, Italy.
² Complex Operative Unit of Neurology, "F. Ferrari" Hospital, ASL, Lecce, Italy.
³ Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitario Rio Hortega, Valladolid, Spain.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ Neurology Department, St. Antoine Hospital, APHP, Paris, France.
⁶ Paris Brain Institute, ICM, CNRS, INSERM, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
⁷ Cognitive Neurology Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
⁸ Epilepsy Center, Neurocenter, School of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
⁹ Scientific and Educational Center for Neurology and Applied Neuroscience, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
¹⁰ Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
¹¹ Division of Neurology, University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹² Medical Directorate, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
¹³ European Academy of Neurology, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁵ Comprehensive Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁶ Neurology Department, Inselspital, University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁷ Department of Neurology, 4Brain, Institute for Neuroscience, Reference Center for Refractory Epilepsy, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
¹⁸ Centre for Narcolepsy and Hypersomnolence Disorders, Professorship for Narcolepsy and Hypersomnolence Research, Department of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
¹⁹ Centre for Biomedical Education and Research, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
²¹ Department of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurological Rehabilitation, Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, Grenoble, France.
²² Brain and Mind Research, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
²³ First Department of Neurology, St. Anne's University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
²⁴ ERN-NMD Centre for Neuromuscular Disorders of Messina, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
²⁵ University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
²⁶ Experimental Neurophysiology Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology-INSPE, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.

Abstract

Background and purpose: The European Academy of Neurology (EAN) has adhered to the global plan for reducing the burden of neurological disorders and promoting brain health launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the WHO Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders. This study reports the results of an EAN survey among national neurological societies (NNSs) on their awareness of brain health policies.

Methods: The EAN survey on the current state of national brain health policies was conducted among the 47 presidents of the NNSs affiliated with the EAN, with the aim of developing the best strategy for close collaboration among stakeholders.

Results: From June 2023 to February 2024, 36/47 responses (77%) were collected. Among respondents, 67% were in contact with their Ministry of Health and 78% were aware of and in contact with one or more national neurological patient organisation, while 17% had no contacts with any association. Ninety-two percent declared a high to medium degree of awareness of the need to support brain health and of brain health plans and strategies in their country.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest good awareness of the importance of brain health and of the strategies implemented at the national level among the EAN-affiliated NNSs and representatives. Efforts towards improvement may be directed towards cooperation between NNSs and political institutions, as well as patient organisations, to optimise brain and global public health and neurological care in each country.

Keywords: brain health; health policies; neurological societies; patients' organization; prevention and care.

MeSH terms

Awareness
Brain
Europe
Health Policy
Humans
Nervous System Diseases / therapy
Neurology*
Societies, Medical*
Surveys and Questionnaires