Public health policy with people at the centre
People are at the centre in the new public health communication that the Government presented to the Riksdag. In it, the Government sets out the direction of public health policy. One starting point of the communication is to use the individuals own power and capacity to define their health and formulate any problems they may have. Other actors are to help find solutions.
The Government wants public health policy to be forward-looking, stimulating and inspirational. Taking responsibility for, and exerting influence over, ones own health should be enjoyable, interesting and important. Therefore, both tools for individuals and social conditions are needed to support progress in this direction.
Five fundamental building blocks
The policy consists of fundamental building blocks to communicate public health policy in a clear manner. In addition, a number of priority areas have been selected by the Government for targeted initiatives. The five building blocks are:
- Start - the environment in which children and young people grow up;
- Support - making healthy choices easier;
- Protection - effective and safe protection against health threats;
- Cooperation - common responsibility for good health; and
- Enhanced knowledge management - for more effective public health efforts.
The first three components are based on creating, in various ways, favourable conditions for each individuals health. Measures for children and young people that promote health and prevent illness should be introduced early in life regardless of whether this involves favourable conditions to grow up in, healthy lifestyles or supportive environments.
Support for healthy choices includes creating tools for supporting internal motivation.
Protection includes protection against infectious diseases and serious health threats, and makes clear that the state is responsible for establishing effective systems.
The fourth building block deals with the wider responsibility for advancements in public health, while the fifth concerns strengthening knowledge by means of evidence.
National forum for health promotion
In the communication, the Government announces its intention to establish a forum for national cooperation for health promotion, comprising representatives of government agencies, organisations, industries, professions and the research community.
Their task will be to examine the possibility of establishing agreements between the state, municipalities and county councils, the business sector and organisations, which include joint commitments in the area of health promotion. The aim is to create dialogue, exchange of experience and cooperation between the actors.
Measure the effect of and compare public health efforts
Enhanced knowledge management involves the further development of open comparisons in the area to increase the quality and effectiveness of public health efforts. Statskontoret (the Swedish Agency for Public Management) is to conduct a review of the follow-up system and the eighty-plus indicators currently in use. The Swedish National Institute of Public Health has been tasked with carrying out a feasibility study of how the methodology for socio-economic assessments of initiatives in the area of public health can be developed.
