Programme book

t h e 6 th n o r d i c h e a lt h pr o m o t i o n r e s e a r c h c o n f e r e n c e 

The Role of Health Promotion in the 

Transition of the Nordic Welfare States 

Organiser: 

Nordic School 

of Public Health 

Conference Venue: 

Faculty of Education, 

Gothenburg University 

20-22 August 2009 

Gothenburg, Sweden 

www.nhv.se/hpconference2009

The 6 th Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference 2009 

c o n t e n t s 

Welcome to the Conference 3 

Opening speakers 4 

Göteborg and Västra Götalandsregionen 4 

Conference programme 6 

Keynote speakers 22 

Practical information 24 

Social programme 26 

Transportation 26 

Göteborg city map 28 

scientific c o m m i t t e e 

Professor Karin C Ringsberg - Congress President, NHV 

Associate Professor Ina Borup - Congress President, NHV 

Associate Professor Elisabeth Fosse, Bergen University, NO 

Professor Bo J. A. Haglund, Karolinska Institutet, SE 

Associate Professor Ulrika Hallberg, NHV 

Àlfgeir Logi Kristjánsson, Reykjavik University, IS 

Professor Bengt Lindström, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI 

Senior Lecturer Lene Povlsen, NHV 

Associate Professor Christiane Stock, University of 

Southern Denmark, DK 

Professor Per Tillgren, Mälardalen University, SE 

Associate Professor Stefan Thorpenberg, NHV 

o r g a n i s i n g c o m m i t t e e 

Page 2 | The Role of Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States 

From NHV: Karin Ringsberg, Ina Borup, Stefan Thorpenberg, 

Lene Povlsen, Evastina Björk, Ulrika Hallberg, 

Susann Regber, Anne Trollvik, Tanja Johansson, Emma 

Ricknell and Jenny Haagman Edwards. 

The 6 th Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference 

is organised by the Nordic School of Public 

Health (NHV) in Göteborg. 

The Nordic School of Public Health was established in 

1953 and is one of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ 

institutions. We have a long experience and genuine 

knowledge within the field and offer an inspiring Nordic 

and international educational environment. Our 

students have relevant connections to working life and 

represent a broad spectrum of occupations. They take 

courses at the Nordic School of Public Health to gain 

further knowledge in order to better meet the needs 

they encounter in their professions. 

Please visit www.nhv.se for more information about the 

Nordic School of Public Health.

w e l c o m e t o t h e 6 th n o r d i c h e a l t h p r o m o t i o n re s e a rc h c o n f e r e n c e 

Dear colleagues, 


We wish you a warm welcome to the 6th Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference: “The Role of 

Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States”. 

This conference gives us the opportunity to meet partners from other countries 

with the same interest in research and also to establish friendship and co-operation 

with new colleagues across disciplines and countries. From an interdisciplinary 

and multi-professional perspective it is important to expand our knowledge and 

understanding of the public health area with a special focus on health promotion. 

It is therefore important to share research findings and methodological knowledge 

with each other across disciplines and countries. The development of a broad 

multi-disciplinary approach towards health promotion should be encouraged. 

The abstracts in the conference programme give rise to expectations of interesting 

presentations from colleagues representing all the Nordic countries, some European 

states and even countries outside Europe. In addition to this, the invited 

International and Nordic keynote speakers will highlight the important topics 

within health promotion such as health policy, vulnerable populations, equity 

in health and cultural capital. We hope that this conference will illuminate the 

broad aspects of health promotion and show the needs for and benefits of this 

research. 

We are taking the opportunity to thank the Scientific and Organising Committees 

for the tremendous work without which there would have been no conference! 

We would also like to thank the sponsors that have supported the conference. 

Ina Borup 

Karin Ringsberg 

On behalf of the Organising Committee we once again wish you welcome to Göteborg. We hope that 

the conference will be an asset to your knowledge and inspire you to continue your work and research 

within health promotion. 

Ina Borup Karin Ringsberg 

Associate professor Professor 

President of the Conference President of the Conference 

The Role of Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States | Page 3


o p e n i n g s p e a k e r s 

Göran Bondjers 

Dean and Director, 

Nordic School of 

Public Health 

c i t y o f g ö t e b o r g a n d 

v ä s t r a g ö t a l a n d s r e g i o n e n 

Maria Larsson 

Minister of Elderly 

Care and Public 

Health, Sweden 

Johan Jonsson 

Director of Public Health, 

Västra Götalands Region 

Halldór Ásgrímsson 

Secretary General, 

Nordic Council of 

Ministers 

Göteborg is Sweden’s second largest city and is situated in the heart of Scandinavia, between the Swedish, Danish 

and Norwegian capitals. It was founded in 1621 and has the population of approximately 500 000 inhabitants. 

Göteborg has a long and successful tradition of trade and industry, and some of Scandinavia’s best known corporations 

such as Volvo, SKF, ESAB, Hasselblad have their origins and head offices here. A significant proportion 

of Sweden’s exports and imports pass through Göteborg’s port, the largest in the Nordic region. Göteborg is also 

known for its two universities, Opera House, Book Fair, Gothia Cup, Liseberg Amusement Park, 25 theatres, 

International Film Festival, Volvo Ocean race and a lot of other culture and sports events. Please visit the web site 

www.goteborg.com for more information. 

Region Västra Götaland was formed in 1999 and unites 49 municipalities. Göteborg is its administrative capital. 

Västra Götalandsregionen is one of the country’s biggest employers and is responsible for health care and medical 

treatment as well as for the region’s growth and development. 

The highest decision-making body is the Regional Council. Its 149 members are directly elected by the region’s 

inhabitants every four years. 

The Region’s political activities are coordinated and lead by the Regional Executive Board that consists of 15 fulltime 

politicians from both the majority parties and the opposition. The Boards operates via its committees such as 

healthcare committee, hospital and primary healthcare boards, regional development committee, environmental 

and cultural affairs committees. More information is available on www.vgregion.se. 

Page 4 | The Role of Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States

The Role of Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States | Page 5 

Photo: James Holm. The statue Poseidon at the top of Avenyn.















k e y n o t e s p e a k e r s 

Thomas Abel is Professor for Health Research at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine 

of the University of Bern, Switzerland. He is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal 

of Public Health. Prior to his appointment in Bern he was Professor for Public Health and Epidemiology, 

Postgraduate Program Public Health, Dep. of Medicine at the Ludwig-Maximillians-University, 

Munich, FRG (1993 - 95), Research Assistant and Lecturer in Medical Sociology, Dep. of Medicine at 

the Philipps-University, Marburg, FRG (1986 - 93), as well as Teaching and Research Assistant, Dep. of 

Sociology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA (1984 – 86). He has served as a reviewer 

and consultant for major national and international research institutions and funding agencies. 

Academic training: Prior to his Habilitation at the Philipps-University (Dep. of Medicine, 1993), Thomas 

Abel received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (Dep. of Sociology) in 1989, a Dr. phil. 

degree from the Justus Liebig-University (Dep. of Sports Science) in 1984, and, also there, his M.A. 

degree in 1980. Today, his major focus in research and teaching is on the role of social, cultural and 

economic resources in the reproduction of health inequalities. 

Espen Dahl has a PhD in sociology from 1994. He is Professor and Head of the Interdisciplinary 

Research Programme Care, Health and Welfare at Oslo University College. Part of his research is undertaken 

at Research Group for Inclusive Welfare Policies. Espen Dahl’s research interests are health and 

welfare policies in comparative perspective, active labour market policies, research on social assistance 

dynamics and social exclusion, and health inequality research. He has published extensively on these 

topics. 

Pernille Due is Research Programme Director, Senior Researcher, MD Research Programme on Child Health at the Institute 

of Public Health Southern University of Denmark. She is the Principal Investigator for the Health Behaviour in Schoolaged 

Children (HBSC) survey in Denmark. She has been a member of the International HBSC Scientific Committee in several 

periods and is now Deputy International Coordinator for HBSC. Since 2006, Pernille has been Coordinator of the Social 

Inequality Focus Group. She has also been coordinating the bullying writing group, since it started in 2006. She established 

the Support Centre for Publications (SCP) for the HBSC publications. Furthermore, she was the Danish PI in the EU-funded 

European project: PRO Children and has been involved in many more projects, mostly on children’s health behaviour, but also 

women’s and elderly people’s health. She has a vast scientific production on children’s health and health behavior with focus on 

risk factors, inequality, bullying, nutrition and overweight. 

Olle Lundberg is Professor of Health Equity Studies and Director of CHESS, Centre for Health 

Equity Studies, Stockholm University. His main research interests have included welfare research, 

health inequalities and social determinants of health. His publications cover topics such as the size and 

trends of health inequalities in Sweden and internationally; welfare trends in Sweden during the crisis 

in the 1990s; income, relative deprivation and health; the importance of childhood conditions for adult 

health; Sense of Coherence and its connection to health; and health among older adults. 



Eeva Ollila, MD, adjunct professor (health policy), specialist in public health medicine, is currently working as Ministerial 

Advisor in the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, having responsibilities, among others, on health in all policies 

(HiAP) on national level, as well as with the EU and the WHO. Before joining the Ministry she worked at the National Research 

and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (Stakes), the World Health Organization, the European Commission, 

as a clinician and as a consultant on global health. She has published on national, EU and global health policy, including health 

care policies, pharmaceutical policies and HiAP. For the Finnish EU Presidency health theme on HiAP in 2006, she was one 

of the editors of the Presidency book and one of the authors of the accompanying policy brief. 

Louise Potvin completed her doctorate in Public Health from Université de Montréal and post 

doctoral training in program evaluation. She is currently professor at the Department of Social and 

Preventive Medicine, Université de Montreal and Scientific director of the Centre Léa-Roback sur 

les inégalités sociales de santé de Montréal. She holds the CHSRF/CIHR Chair on Community Approaches 

and Health Inequalities. This Chair aims at documenting how public health interventions in 

support to local social development contribute to the reduction of health inequalities in urban settings. 

Her main research interests are the evaluation of community health promotion program and how local 

social environments are conducive of health. She was a member of the WHO Working Group on the 

evaluation of health promotion. She participated to several Federal-Provincial-Territorial committees 

related to population health. She is a globally elected member of the Board of Trustees of the International 

Union for Health Promotion and Education and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health 

Sciences. She has published more than 120 peer reviewed papers, 30 book chapters and 4 books. 

Thorolfur Thorlindsson earned a B.A. in social science at the University of Iceland in 1972, an 

M.A. in Sociology in 1974 and a Ph.D. in sociology 1977 from the University of Iowa. He has been at 

the University of Iceland since 1976 where he became a full professor in 1980. During that time he has 

chaired the Social Science Faculty for 9 years, served on the University Council and chaired several University 

boards and committees. Thorolfur Thorlindsson has also served as vice chairman of the National 

Science Research Council and as chairman of the National Council on Prevention, as well as the editor 

of Acta Sociologica. He has been a visiting scholar at the Max Plank Institute in Berlin, Columbia 

University, North Carolina State University and The Thomas W. Rivers Distinguished Professor of International 

Studies at East Carolina University. Thorolfur is the author and coauthor of about hundred 

publications including 8 books and monographs and more than 70 research articles in refereed journals. 

His current research focuses on three overlapping areas: 1) relationship of science to policy and practice 

with reference to health promotion; and prevention; 2) the role of community and neighborhoods in 

the welfare of adolescents; 3) the multilevel influence of social factors on risk and health behavior. He 

was the director of the Public Health Institute from August 2007 to Mars 2009. 

Signild Vallgårda is Professor of Health Policy Analysis at the Department of Public Health, 

University of Copenhagen. She is trained as a historian and her research has previously focused on the 

Danish hospital development, maternity care and health care policy in the 20th century. 1997-2003 she 

was a member of The Danish Study on Power and Democracy. Her present research focuses on public 

health policies in a historical and comparative perspective. The issues addressed deal with the exercise of 

power from two angles, the power exercised in setting the political agenda and defining problems to be 

dealt with, their causes and solutions, and the power exercised in the efforts to improve the health of the 

population by changing their behaviour. The studies concern both present policies and the changes occurring 

during the last century and the countries studied are Denmark, Sweden, Norway and England. 

Some recent publications are: Vallgårda S. Social inequality in health: dichotomy or gradient? A comparative 

study of problematisations in national public health programmes. Health policy. 2008;85:71–82. 

Vallgårda S. Problematisations and path dependency: HIV/AIDS policies in Denmark and Sweden 

Medical History, 2007; 51:99-112. Vallgårda S. Widening the scope - targeting the interventions - creating 

risk groups. Maternal and child health in Denmark and Sweden from 1930s and onwards. Journal 

of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2008;62:382-86. Vallgårda S. Folkesundhed som politik. 

Danmark og Sverige 1930 til i dag. Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2003. 



p r a c t i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n 

Conference Venue 

Faculty of Education (”Pedagogen” in Swedish), 

Gothenburg University 

Address: Västra Hamngatan 25 

Homepage: www.ipd.gu.se 

Registration desk 

The registration desk is located at Building C and is open 

09.00 – 12.30 on Thursday, 20th August. 

Name badges will be provided at the registration desk. All 

participants are requested to wear the badge throughout the 

Conference. 

Help desk 

The Help desk is open during the conference hours and is 

located outside the Assembly Hall (Kjell Härnqvist Audito- 

Oral Presentations 

The session rooms are equipped with a PC, a projector and a whiteboard. Please do not use your own laptops for presentations 

during the sessions as it requires time to set up them to work with a projector. All presentations, received by the Conference 

Secretariat before the 13 th August, have been uploaded into the respective computers. Please be in your session room on time 

in order to check if your presentation is uploaded. 

Poster Presentations 

Poster mounting: 09.00-12.30 on Thursday, 20th August. 

Mounting items (pins) will be available on site (Building A, outside the Assembly Hall/ Kjell Härnqvist Auditorium) 

Poster demounting: after 14.00 on Saturday, 22nd August 

Please observe that the left posters will be destroyed. 

Printing and photocopying facilities 

Only single copies can be printed out or copied at the Help desk. 

rium) at Building A. Please contact the Help desk for any 

questions. 

Registration fee includes: 

• Admission to all conference sessions 

• Conference material 

• Coffee/tea and fruit (four times during the 

conference) 

• Lunch (21st and 22nd August) 

• Welcome reception, 20th August (outside the Assembly 

Hall - Kjell Härnqvist Auditorium at Building A) 

• Conference dinner, 21st August - the City Hall ”Börsen” 

Certificate of Attendance 

A Certificate of attendance is available at the Help desk. 

Internet access 

The computers installed in the group rooms have access to Internet. 

Participants bringing their own notebooks can use wireless internet connection available in the conference venue. Please contact 

the Help desk to get the access code. 

Conference meals 

Lunches on 20th and 21st August, four coffee breaks, welcome reception on 20th August and conference dinner on 21st August 

are included in the registration fee. Other meals are at your own expense. Please contact the Help desk for suggestions on 

restaurants. 

Lunch will be served outside the Assembly Hall (Kjell Härnqvist Auditorium) on Friday and Saturday by the catering service 

”Malins Skafferi”. 

Coffee/tea and fruit will be served four times during the Conference outside the Assembly Hall (Kjell Härnqvist Auditorium). 


Smoking policy 


Smoking is not permitted inside the Conference venue. Smoking is also banned in most public places (transport, stores, restaurants, 

etc.). 

Cloakroom 

Please observe that only an unguarded cloakroom is available. Neither Conference Secretariat nor the Faculty of Education are 

responsible for damage and loss of valuables of any kind. 

Photographing / recording 

Please observe that photographs will be taken during the conference, welcome reception and conference dinner. Some of them 

will then be published at www.nhv.se. Should you not wish to be photographed, contact the Help desk. 

If you intend to record any presentation please obtain the speaker’s permission first. 

Conference evaluation 

Please complete the evaluation form found in your delegate bag and hand it in at the Help desk. Should you leave without 

doing it, please fax it to +46 (0)31 69 17 77. 

Currency exchange 

The currency is the Swedish Crown (SEK). The exchange rate is 1€ ≈ 10.5 SEK. 

Forex Bank Kungsportsplatsen. Opening hours 9am - 7pm, Saturdays 9am - 4pm, Sunday closed. 

Restaurants 

Some of the most famous Swedish chefs are to be found in Göteborg, and it is here one finds the highest number of first-class 

restaurants per capita in the whole of Scandinavia. The main culinary attraction in Göteborg is the local seafood; prawns, 

lobster and a wide selection of fish. Please contact the Help desk for more information. 

The tourist offices have details of what’s happening in Göteborg during your visit and offer 

expert advice on various events. 

Phone: +46 (0)31-61 25 00, e-mail: turistinfo@goteborg.com, 

opening hours 9.30am - 6pm. 

Important phone numbers 

SOS 112 

Police 114 14 

Sahlgrenska University 

Hospital 031-342 00 00 

Dental care (urgent) 

TandläkarHuset, 

Kungsportsavenyen 30, 

phone: 031-18 06 05 

Tandakuten, 

Engelbrektsgatan 34 C, 

phone: 031-16 54 49 

Pharmacy 

Apoteket Shop, 

Korsgatan 24 

Time zone 

Sweden is one hour 

ahead of GMT. 

The Conference Venue - Faculty of Education ”Pedagogen”. 



s o c i a l p r o g r a m 

Reception - Thursday 20 th August, 18.00-20.00 

The Conference hosts invite you to enjoy the mix and mingle buffet in the informal atmosphere of communication with your 

colleagues. Sir Bourbon Dixieland Band plays classic jazz. The reception is held in the Conference venue. 

Dinner - Friday 21st August, 19.00 

You are invited to a dinner at the City Hall, called Börsen (the Exchange Stock). It was built between 1844 and 1849 as a commodity 

exchange and meeting place for merchants as well as banqueting rooms for the town authorities. It is situated in the 

city centre, within the walking distance from the Conference venue (see the map on the back of the cover). 

Liliane Håkansson performs some of the Nordic folk songs. 

Please bring with you the entrance ticket. You find it among the conference material. 

Address: Köpmansgatan 20, phone: 031 368 00 00 

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n 

How to get to the Conference venue (“Pedagogen” – Faculty of Education): 

From the airports 

The Airport buses operate between Landvetter Airport and the city centre. Take the Airport bus to ”Korsvägen” and then 

tram 2 (destination Högsbotorp) to ”Grönsakstorget”. The trip takes about 45 minutes. 

If you arrive at Gothenburg City Airport the airport bus leaves the airport for ”Nils Ericson Terminal” 50 min after the scheduled 

flight arrival. The trip takes about 30 minutes. From Nils Ericson Terminal you can walk to the Central railway station 

to take a tram. 

From the Central railway station/Nils Ericsson Terminal 

Take a tram from ”Centralstationen” to stop ”Grönsakstorget”: 

Tram 1 (destination Tynnered), Tram 2 (destination Högsbotorp), Tram 9 (destination Kungssten), Tram 11 (destination 

Saltholmen) or Tram 13 (destination Linnéplatsen). It takes about 6 minutes to get there. 

Ticket information 

It is not possible to buy tickets on board. Tickets must be bought in advance at a news-stand (“Pressbyrån” in Swedish), 

7-Eleven shops or public transport info points (“Västtrafik”). 

There are different types of tickets: a prepaid 100 SEK card (“Maxirabatt”, is enough for about 6 trips within Gothenburg, 

when you stamp on board, press “2”), a short-term ticket/card (valid for one (65 SEK) or three days (130 SEK)). It is also 

possible to buy tickets by sending a text message to 724 50 (if you have a Swedish mobile phone operator). 

Taxi 

VIP taxi: 031-27 16 11 or 031-27 02 70 

Taxi 020 - Göteborg: 020-93 93 00 

Mini taxi: 031-140 140 

Page 26 | The Role of Health Promotion in the Transition of the Nordic Welfare States 

Parking 

There are 200 chargeable parking spaces for private cars in a 

garage under Pedagogen, Building B. 

Entrance/exit Sahlgrensgatan.

t h e s p o n s o r s o f t h e 6 th n o r d i c h e a l t h p r o m o t i o n re s e a rc h c o n f e r e n c e 

The conference is supported by the following organisations and enterprises: 

Nordic council of Ministers 

Swedish National Institute of Public Health 


Region Västra Götaland 

Swedish Research Council 

Flower shop Rosengården Flower shop Blomsterlandet 



g ö t e b o r g c i t y m a p 

Conference Venue: Faculty of Education – ”Pedagogen” 

Conference Venue 

Västra Hamngatan 25, House A 

Registration and Conference Opening 

Läroverksgatan 5, House C 

Börsen - Venue Conference Dinner 

Östra Hamngatan 21 

Central Station and Bus Terminal 

Drottningtorget

Programme book

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?