Governance for public health and health equity: The Tröndelag model for public health work.

Background: Multi-sectoral governance of population health is linked to the realization that health is the property of many societal systems. This study aims to contribute knowledge and methods that can strengthen the capacities of municipalities regarding how to work more systematically, knowledge-based and multi-sectoral in promoting health and health equity in the population.

Methods: Process evaluation was conducted, applying a mixed-methods research design, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.

The Search Conference as a Method in Planning Community Health Promotion Actions.

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project.

Cultural activity participation and associations with self-perceived health, life-satisfaction and mental health: the Young HUNT Study, Norway.

Background: Leisure time activities and culture participation may have health effects and be important in pulic health promotion. More knowledge on how cultural activity participation may influence self-perceived health, life-satisfaction, self-esteem and mental health is needed.

Methods: This article use data from the general population-based Norwegian HUNT Study, using the cross-sectional Young-HUNT3 (2006-08) Survey including 8200 adolescents.

Leisure time activities in adolescence in the presence of susceptibility genes for obesity: risk or resilience against overweight in adulthood? The HUNT study.

Background: Environment, health behavior, and genetic background are important in the development of obesity. Adolescents spend substantial part of daily leisure time on cultural and social activities, but knowledge about the effects of participation in such activities on weight is limited.

Methods: A number of 1450 adolescents from the Norwegian HUNT study (1995-97) were followed-up in 2006-08 as young adults.

Patterns of receptive and creative cultural activities and their association with perceived health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life among adults: the HUNT study, Norway.

Background: Cultural participation has been used both in governmental health policies and as medical therapy, based on the assumption that cultural activities will improve health. Previous population studies and a human intervention study have shown that religious, social and cultural activities predict increased survival rate. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between cultural activity and perceived health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life in both genders.

[Cultural approaches to treatment and public health work].

Background: Improvement of health status due to physical activity is well documented. Research on health effects of other cultural measures is more scarce. During recent years, considerable work in these fields has been presented in the Nordic countries and there is a good basis for further research.

[What do we know about participation in cultural activities and health?].

Background: Knowledge of the association between health status and lifestyle factors, such as food habits, smoking and physical activity, is abundant. Other lifestyle factors, such as participation in cultural activities, have attained less attention.

Material And Methods: The article is based on studies of the literature.