Everybody's business: economic surveillance of public health services in Alberta, Canada.

Background: To address public health risk factors, governments conduct interventions in many different ministries, including non-health ministries. In order to understand the scope and cost of public health in Alberta, we developed a survey of government public health interventions. We included any government ministry or public organization, which includes health as a stated objective.

Methods: A grey literature search was initially conducted, followed by 69 consultations with federal, provincial and municipal organizations. We captured information related to (i) the type of public health service provided; (ii) the associated costs (if available); and (iii) any additional ministry that may collaborate on the initiative. This information was then presented to lead ministry personnel for validation and verification.

Results: We covered 15 areas of public health and identified 23 federal and 21 provincial agencies and departments that were providing these services. Public health spending on current operations amounted to $327 per capita, of which 60.5% came from provincial non-health ministries. Capital expenditures were $256 per capita, of which 32.5% were from the federal government.

Conclusions: Public health expenses by non-health ministries were greater than those for health ministries. Capital expenses were much greater than non-capital expenses. In order to measure the full impact of government public health, it is necessary to take a cross-ministerial approach.