Hinder i folkhälsoarbetet - Statens folkhälsoinstitut
Hinder i folkhälsoarbetet - Statens folkhälsoinstitut
Hinder i folkhälsoarbetet - Statens folkhälsoinstitut
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Summary<br />
Obstacles in public health work and ways around them<br />
knowledge base for the public Health policy report 2010<br />
tHiS report iS one of 21 sub-reports related to the Public Health Policy Report<br />
2010 and considers obstacles in public health work. In this report, the Swedish<br />
National Institute of Public Health has identified obstacles to health-promotion and<br />
illness prevention work that can lead to no intervention being applied (or being neglected).<br />
In this report, the Institute will present these obstacles through four concrete<br />
examples. In the analysis of the examples, the following obstacles emerge:<br />
• The budget systems in the public sector are often short term and limited to small<br />
organisational units, making it impossible for decision-makers to see what actionable<br />
alternatives are best for health and for the economy. This can result in priorities<br />
being set so that they lead to illness and large, unnecessary costs to society.<br />
• When municipalities invest in early prevention measures, other actors in society,<br />
such as authorities, often cut their costs. The municipalities are important in<br />
terms of these measures, but the economic driving forces are often missing.<br />
• Today’s organisational structures do not promote cooperation between various<br />
actors in society.<br />
There are ways around the obstacles and new methods have been tested in some places<br />
in Sweden. These methods should be supported and evaluated. In order to reach<br />
the overriding objective of public health (of creating the social conditions for good<br />
health on equal terms for the entire population), the experiences of overcoming<br />
obstacles needs to be distributed. The Swedish National Institute of Public Health<br />
proposes a Government investigation in order to carry out and evaluate a number<br />
of pilot projects that promote health and the economy. There are a few conceivable<br />
emphases:<br />
• The actors concerned, such as municipalities and authorities, may apply for stimulus<br />
funding and try new models for budget systems and cooperation that<br />
promote early intervention and prevention work.<br />
• The Government establishes funds in order to promote health and prevent illness<br />
from which, for instance, county councils, regions and municipalities can borrow<br />
money for measures that create the conditions for long-term good health<br />
and promote the economy.<br />
H I N D E R I F O L K H Ä L S O A R B E T E T O C H VÄ G A R F Ö R B I 7