Nordic responses to covid-19 from a health promotion perspective.

On 30 January 2020, the disease covid-19 was declared by the World Health Organization to be an international threat to human health and on 11 March 2020, the outbreak was declared a pandemic. The aim of this study was to analyse policy strategies developed by the five Nordic countries during the first 3 months of the pandemic from a health promotion perspective in order to identify Nordic responses to the crisis. Although the Nordic countries have a long tradition of co-operation as well as similar social welfare policies and legislation, each country developed their own strategies towards the crisis.

The politicians' perspectives on participation in mammographic screening: an interview-based study from a region in Sweden.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among women globally. To facilitate early detection, all 40-74-year-old female residents of Sweden are invited to participate in a population-based mammographic screening programme. Approximately 20% of all invited women decline the offer, and if this is due to systematic differences that can be adjusted, it can indicate inequity in healthcare.

Non-participation in mammographic screening - experiences of women from a region in Sweden.

Background: Understanding women's life conditions regarding their non-participation in different health-promoting and disease-preventing activities is important as it may draw attention to potential areas for improvement in the healthcare sector. Mammographic screening, a disease-preventing service, facilitates early detection of any potential malignancies and consequently prompts initiation of treatment. The reasons for non-participation in mammographic screening can be understood from different perspectives, such as socioeconomic and lifestyle-related determinants of health.

Incidence of seriously injured road users in a Swedish region, 2003-2014, from the perspective of a national road safety policy.

Background: Since 1997 Sweden has a policy for road safety called Vision Zero. Given that Vision Zero is mainly used to reduce fatalities among car occupants, the question has been raised by the research community whether a Vision Zero approach promotes health for all road traffic users. The objective is to measure target fulfilment of the national road safety policy for a Swedish region by examining incidence of serious injury during 2003-2014 in rural and urban road spaces with or without implemented measures.

Factors related to the increasing number of seriously injured cyclists and pedestrians in a Swedish urban region 2003-17.

Background: The number of seriously injured unprotected road users has increased during implementation of a road safety policy Vision Zero. The aim of the study is to identify factors associated with the increase in serious injuries among cyclists and pedestrians (even single pedestrian accidents) that occurred in an urban road space in a Swedish region 2003-17. The urban road space includes roads, pavements and tracks for walking and cycling.

Experiences and perceptions about undergoing mammographic screening: a qualitative study involving women from a county in Sweden.

Purpose:  An organized population-based mammographic screening programme aims for an early detection of potential breast abnormalities so that treatment can commence. Continuous participation and a high attendance rate are vital for an effective programme. It is important to understand the underlying reasons for participation in mammographic screening, should there be factors that are amendable within reason and could be adjusted.

Milestones in Nordic Health Promotion research.

Based on the storytelling tradition and analyses of conference material, this article provides an overview of the evolving Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) and its conferences over the last 20 years. The story goes from the planning of the first conference in Bergen, Norway, back in 1996 to the eighth conference in Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2016. There have been three phases of development.

Thai people living with tuberculosis and how they adhere to treatment: A grounded theory study.

To develop a conceptual framework of adherence to treatment among Thai people living with tuberculosis, a grounded theory approach was used. A purposive sample of 20 Thai people living with tuberculosis, aged from 23 to 85 years, was interviewed. From the participants' perspective, a core category of social belonging was highlighted, with three categories of conditions connected: personal barriers, personal resilience, and social facilitation.

Health impact assessment (HIA) of political proposals at the local level: successful introduction, but what has happened 15 years later?

Health impact assessments (HIAs) were first introduced in Sweden in the mid-to-late 1990s, with the aim of placing health issues on the political agenda and helping to reduce health inequalities. In the early 2000s, HIAs entered a second phase and the Swedish Parliament adopted a national public health policy. A national survey conducted in 2001 showed that 10/289 municipalities had begun to use HIA and 55/289 had decided to use HIA or had initiated an adoption process.

Thai district Leaders' perceptions of managing the direct observation treatment program in Trang Province, Thailand.

Background: Thailand is 18th out of the 22 countries with the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden. It will be a challenge for Thailand to achieve the UN Millennium Development target for TB, as well as the new WHO targets for eliminating TB by 2035. More knowledge and a new approach are needed to tackle the complex challenges of managing the DOT program in Thailand.

Non-attendance of mammographic screening: the roles of age and municipality in a population-based Swedish sample.

Background: Inequality in health and health care is increasing in Sweden. Contributing to widening gaps are various factors that can be assessed by determinants, such as age, educational level, occupation, living area and country of birth. A health care service that can be used as an indicator of health inequality in Sweden is mammographic screening.

Client/patient perceptions of achieving equity in primary health care: a mixed methods study.

Introduction: To provide health care on equal terms has become a challenge for the health system. As the front line in health services, primary care has a key role to play in developing equitable health care, responsive to the needs of different population groups. Reducing inequalities in care has been a central and recurring theme in Swedish health reforms.

When Life Got in the Way: How Danish and Norwegian Immigrant Women in Sweden Reason about Cervical Screening and Why They Postpone Attendance.

Introduction: Danish and Norwegian immigrant women in Sweden have an increased risk of cervical cancer compared to Swedish-born women. In addition, Danish and Norwegian immigrant women follow the national recommendations for attendance at cervical screening to much lesser extent than Swedish-born women. The aim of this study was to explore how Danish and Norwegian immigrant women in Sweden reason about attending cervical screening, focusing on women's perceptions as to why they and their compatriots do not attend.

Long-term follow-up of a high- and a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention in a dental setting--a randomized trial.

Background: Achieving lifelong tobacco abstinence is an important public health goal. Most studies use 1-year follow-ups, but little is known about how good these are as proxies for long-term and life-long abstinence. Also, intervention intensity is an important issue for development of efficient and cost-effective cessation treatment protocols.

Comparison of the cost-effectiveness of a high- and a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention in Sweden: a randomized trial.

Objective: To assess the relative cost-effectiveness of a high-intensity treatment (HIT) and a low-intensity treatment (LIT) for smoking cessation.

Methods: The societal and health care perspective economic evaluation was based on the reported number of quitters at 12-month follow-up (point prevalence) from a randomized controlled trial of 2 smoking cessation programs in Sweden. Future disease-related costs (in Swedish kronor [SEK] 2004; SEK7.

The health-promotion perspective in public-health plans in a Swedish region over three decades.

The trend away from a health and medical care-based policy to a healthy public policy has taken place in Sweden rather later than in other West European countries. One of the first county councils to establish health-promotion plans was Västernorrland. The aims of this study are to describe the contents of and analyze the changes over time in the five public-health plans in the county.

Vision Zero--a road safety policy innovation.

The aim of this paper is to examine Sweden's Vision Zero road safety policy. In particular, the paper focuses on how safety issues were framed, which decisions were made, and what are the distinctive features of Vision Zero. The analysis reveals that the decision by the Swedish Parliament to adopt Vision Zero as Sweden's road safety policy was a radical innovation.

Drivers' and conductors' views on the causes and ways of preventing workplace violence in the road passenger transport sector in Maputo City, Mozambique.

Background: Workplace violence (WPV) is an occupational health hazard in both low and high income countries. To design WPV prevention programs, prior knowledge and understanding of conditions in the targeted population are essential. This study explores and describes the views of drivers and conductors on the causes of WPV and ways of preventing it in the road passenger transport sector in Maputo City, Mozambique.

The relevance of WHO injury surveillance guidelines for evaluation: learning from the aboriginal community-centered injury surveillance system (ACCISS) and two institution-based systems.

Background: Over the past three decades, the capacity to develop and implement injury surveillance systems (ISS) has grown worldwide and is reflected by the diversity of data gathering environments in which ISS operate. The capacity to evaluate ISS, however, is less advanced and existing evaluation guidelines are ambiguous. Furthermore, the applied relevance of these guidelines to evaluate ISS operating in various settings is unclear.

National public health policy in a local context--implementation in two Swedish municipalities.

Objectives: In 2003 the wide-ranging Swedish National Public Health Policy (SNPHP), with a focus on health determinants, was adopted by the Swedish parliament. In the context of multilevel governance, SNPHP implementation is dependent on self-governed municipalities and counties. The aim of the study is, from a municipal perspective, to investigate public-health policies in two municipalities.

Cervical screening participation and risk among Swedish-born and immigrant women in Sweden.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide, although cervical screening has reduced the incidence in many high-income countries. Low screening uptake among immigrant women may reflect differences in risk of cervical cancer. We investigated the degree of participation in cervical screening among immigrant and Swedish-born women and their concurrent risk of cervical cancer based on individual information on Pap smears taken both from organized and opportunistic screening.

Financing intersectoral health promotion programmes: some reasons why collaborators are collaborating as indicated by cost-effectiveness analyses.

Aims: Intersectoral collaboration is an important part of many health promotion programmes. The reasons for the local organisations to collaborate, i.e.

Speed cameras in Sweden and Victoria, Australia--a case study.

In this article, the ideas behind two different speed camera systems in Australia, Victoria, and Sweden are explored and compared. The study shows that even if the both systems technically have the same aim--to reduce speeding--the ideas of how that should be achieved differ substantially. The approach adopted in Victoria is based on the concept that speeding is a deliberate offence in which a rational individual wants to drive as fast as possible and is prepared to calculate the costs and benefits of his behaviour.

Health promotion at local level: a case study of content, organization and development in four Swedish municipalities.

Background: Several health determinants are related to local conditions and prerequisites at community level. For this reason, strengthening community action has been one of five strategies implemented in health promotion since the end of the 1980s. Such action includes setting priorities, making decisions, planning strategies, and implementing them to achieve better health.