The new National Action Plan for the years 2008–2011 outlines proposals for strategic policy definitions and the most important measures to reduce socioeconomic health inequalities in Finland.
A separate action plan was deemed necessary since inequalities persist despite the efforts undertaken through health and social policy. Narrowing health gaps has been the objective of Finnish health policy since the 1980s.This objective has not been achieved, however, and the inequalities have partly even grown.
The National Action Plan to Reduce Health Inequalities is closely linked with the Government’s Health Promotion Policy Programme. The Action Plan will also for its part implement the aim of the national “Health 2015” programme to reduce mortality differences by a fifth by 2015. The objective of the Action Plan is to reduce social inequalities in work ability and functional capacity, self-rated health, morbidity and mortality by levelling up. Narrowing of the inequalities will have a positive effect on public health and help to secure the services as the population ages, raise the employment rate and restrain the costs.
Changes in the health of entire population groups often take a long period of time to materialise. Persistent, multisectoral work is needed to reduce health inequalities. Social determinants of health and the processes behind the inequalities must be addressed.
To pursue the objective of reduction in health inequalities, the Action Plan mainly operates in the following three priority areas:
* Social policy measures: improving income security and education, and decreasing unemployment and poor housing
* Strengthening the prerequisites for healthy lifestyles: measures to promote healthy behaviour of the whole population with special attention to disadvantaged groups where unhealthy behaviour is common
* Improving the availability and good quality of social and health care services for everyone
To pursue these goals and monitor the attainment of them, reliable knowledge base and effective communication are needed. For this purpose,
* a follow-up system for health inequalities is developed
* knowledge about the scope of and trends in health inequalities is strengthened
* education and communication concerning health inequalities and their reduction is advanced.
A detailed implementation plan including result and process indicators to be used in monitoring and assessment of the Action Plan will be prepared. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the implementation and its monitoring and assessment.
A project for reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health, known as TEROKA, has since 2004 been working on this area. The project is being carried out together by the National Public Health Institute (KTL), the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (Stakes) and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL). KTL and Stakes will be merged at the beginning of 2009. The TEROKA project has had an important role in planning and preparing the Action Plan. The project and the research institutes will participate in the implementation, monitoring and assessment of the Action Plan.
For more information, please contact:
Eila Linnanmäki, Chief Development Specialist
National Public Health Institute e-mail: Firstname.lastname@ktl.fi
Taru Koivisto, Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
e-mail: firstname.lastname@stm.fi
Coming soon: An full text version of the National Action Plan to Reduce Health Inequalities in English