Table 1 Criteria for the selection of ECHI shortlist indicators [20]

i. The list should cover the entire public health field, following the commonly applied structure of the well-known Lalonde model: health status, determinants of health, health interventions/ health services, and socio-economic and demographic factors.

ii. The indicators should serve the user’s needs, meaning that they should support potential policy action, both at the EU and MS level.

iii. Existing indicator systems, such as the indicators used in the WHO Health for All database and OECD Health Data, should be used as much as possible, but there is room for innovation.

iv. Use the viewpoint of the general public health official (‘cockpit’) as frame of reference.

v. Focus on the large public health problems, including health inequalities.

vi. Focus on the best possibilities for effective policy action.