Improving public health Summary of countrywide supervision in 2014

The work of the municipalities in the field of public health must be based on an over­view of the health status of the population and the positive and negative factors that can influence this. This overview shall form the basis for plans and measures in the municipality, so that public health measures are more focussed and knowledge-based.

The first countrywide supervision of the work of the municipalities in the field of public health was carried out in the autumn of 2014. The aim of supervision was to ensure that municipalities that had not begun to develop an overview should get started, and that those that had started should come further. In this report, we summa­rize our findings.

The Offices of the County Governors carried out supervision in 50 municipalities. They found that work had begun in 35 municipalities. However, there was great vari­ation in how far the work had come. In the other 15 municipalities, this work had not begun. The leadership in these municipalities had not taken on responsibility for this, and had not ensured that this work could be done across the different services.

It is positive that this work is underway in two-thirds of the municipalities we investi­gated. Feedback from the Offices of the County Governors can help the municipali­ties to find ways of improving and developing this work further. The municipalities that have not yet made a start with this work will be followed up until they have done so.