Folkhälsa - "Inte bara en morot i handen" - en kvalitativ studie av det kommunala folkhälsoarbetet i Västra Götalandsregionen
Lokalt folkhälsoarbeteFolkhälsosamordnareSektorsövergripandeIntegreringLocal public health workPublic health coordinatorMultisectoralIntegration
ABSTRACT. Introduction: In the Swedish government?s public health policy the municipalities are emphasized as one of the most important actors. Based on their broad range of operations the municipalities have good opportunities to influence the health situation of its citizens. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the local public health coordinators in Region Västra Götaland are working and what barriers they experience in their work. This is done based on questions about governance, policy documents and implementation. Method: Data collection has been made through interviews with eight local public health coordinators in eight municipalities in Region Västra Götaland. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and then analyzed using manifest content analysis. Result: Based on the interviews two central themes were found: Strategies for integration of the public health perspective and Strategies for implementation of the public health work. Strategies for integration focused on how the public health coordinator used the governing documents related to public health and how the public health work in the municipality was organized, for example if the municipality used a public health council and where in the organization the public health coordinator was located and how this affected the work. The second theme focused on implementation of public health work and here the coordinators? work was discussed as well as what factors affected the implementation work. Discussion: As the public health worker alone cannot implement the operational work their task is mainly to get other people to work from a public health perspective. This requires a multidisciplinary work involving all city councils and boards, that they see their part in the public health work and collaborate and participate. Important factors that help to achieve this is that the public health council consists of politicians and civil servants with high seats and also that there is an agreement with the health- and medical board which serves as a support of the work. Conclusion: A major part of the public health coordinators? work was to make the public health question community-wide. This work was influenced by organizational factors and individuals' attitudes, commitment and knowledge. Respondents emphasized the importance of organizing public health efforts by the local context.