European Public Health Conference: NASKO emphasized universal health promotion services

With the heading “Sailing the waves of European public health: exploring a sea of innovation”, the key message from the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) was that all public health actors must strive to contribute to innovation – in a sustainable, responsible, and fair manner. Innovation is crucial to address the public health challenges we experience today, and to create a sustainable and health-promoting future for all.

Packed with content from the participating countries, the program included plenary lectures, speed presentations, debates, workshops, and poster presentations, for three whole days. NASKO also had the opportunity to attend a network session organized by the Norwegian Public Health Association, where approximately 80 Norwegian participants met for lunch.

As part of the subtheme “Caring for Our Next Generation: Equitable Health from Childhood to Adulthood”, NASKO had the great honor of hosting a workshop of our own, titled “Equity in Child Health: Leveraging Universal Health Promotion Services for Families Amid Uncertainty”, chaired by NASKO researcher Marit Müller de Bortoli. The main goal was to highlight the importance of universal health promotion services, such as child health clinics and school health services, in combating social inequality in health. We also wanted to take the opportunity to showcase some successful initiatives from this field in Norway.

The workshop consisted of three presentations, followed by a moderated discussion among the participants. Hanne Nissen Bjørnsen, department director at NASKO, opened by describing how Norway actively combats social inequality in health by offering child health clinics and school health services in all municipalities. Further on, Kristin Haraldstad and Eva-Grethe Befus from the University of Agder, shared their experiences from “Starting Right: An evidence-based assessment of children in municipalities’ healthcare centers.” Finally, NASKO researcher Kirsti Riiser and project manager Anna Kloster-Jensen Macintyre (Oslo Metropolitan University) presented their findings from the OPAL project, as an example of how a Norwegian municipality has worked to increase health literacy among parents with minority backgrounds.

The workshop consisted of three presentations, followed by a moderated discussion among the participants. Hanne Nissen Bjørnsen, department director at NASKO, opened by describing how Norway actively combats social inequality in health by offering child health clinics and school health services in all municipalities. Further on, Kristin Haraldstad and Eva-Grethe Befus from the University of Agder, shared their experiences from “Starting Right: An evidence-based assessment of children in municipalities’ healthcare centers.” Finally, NASKO researcher Kirsti Riiser and project manager Anna Kloster-Jensen Macintyre (Oslo Metropolitan University) presented their findings from the OPAL project, as an example of how a Norwegian municipality has worked to increase health literacy among parents with minority backgrounds.

Here at NASKO, we are committed to facilitating dialogue and knowledge exchange, and it was therefore gratifying that the workshop had participants from many countries – including Finland, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, and Germany. Several participants shared their experiences with underreporting when using self-reporting tools in data collection. The presentation on parents with minority backgrounds sparked a debate about participant recruitment, ethical issues, and expectation clarifications. Among other things, it was pointed out that it is crucial for minority participants to understand how the research will impact them. It was exciting to hear the European perspectives, with both differences and similarities to our work in Norway.

Effective use of universal health promotion services strengthens children and families, while also helping to reduce social inequalities in a world characterized by much uncertainty. NASKO continues to work on strengthening the knowledge base for the future of child health clinics and school health services – and to promote equal opportunities for all children, regardless of background or circumstances.