A Comparative Analysis of the WHO European Region Countries' Health 2020 Performance Using MCDM Methods

Abstract

This study aims to assess the performance of World Health Organization European Region nations in achieving their Health 2020 targets using multi-criteria decision-making approaches and the core indicators defined in Health 2020. These assessments were conducted in two periods based on 2010 and 2019 data, and the relative success of the countries in meeting the targets was compared. The CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC), COmbinative Distance-based ASsessment (CODAS), Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS), and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), which are part of the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) family, as well as the Borda count approach, are used to show the country's performance based on a set of core indicators. Norway and Iceland were the best-performing countries in both years, according to the Borda ranking, which incorporates the results of three independent approaches. Armenia, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, did not make any improvement throughout any year and ended up as the poorest countries. Belarus, Estonia and Ireland were among the countries that made the most progress. Cross-country comparisons can be used as a basis for proper policy creation by decision-makers and policymakers in the countries studied.