Developing Regional Public Health Status and Forecast Reports in two regions of Brabant. (Academic Collaborative Centre Public Health Tilburg project nr 1)

The Public Health Preventive Measures Act (WCPV) obliges municipal councils to draw up a municipal health policy memorandum every four years. In order to accomplish this, municipal councils need epidemiological information on the local population's health. This task is carried out by municipalities and their Regional Public Health Service (GGD) and is carried out differently by GGD regions. The provision of information to municipalities is thereby split up between several target groups and subjects (data-driven presentation). A conceptual model for the integration, interpretation and policy advice prioritization of these data is missing (model-driven presentation). The municipalities in the GGD regions Hart voor Brabant and West-Brabant have clearly indicated that a great deal data is already available, but that they are not in a condition to be used. What is largely missing are a conceptual framework and concluding policy recommendations. It must be made possible for the municipalities to make a considered prioritization of local health issues based on these recommendations. GGDs also need current, coherent epidemiological data in order to interpret and support policy prioritization advice. The problem is that GGDs do not know how best to accomplish this based on currently available data. This study is designed to solve that problem. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment's (RIVM) Center for Public Health Forecasting has developed a national policy advice model based on available public health data: the Public Health Status and Forecast (VTV). A framework for the analyses and reports has been developed and there are a number of proven tools available. These reports and accompanying websites are internationally recognized as one of the best practice models for health reporting at the national level. Dutch national public health policy is strongly based on these Public Health Status and Forecast reports. An important question is whether the national Public Health Status and Forecast model is a suitable basis upon which to provide health policy advice at the regional and local level, given the currently available epidemiological data. The Academic Collaborative Center for Public Health in Tilburg, of which both GGDs from Brabant and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment are participatory members, offers a superior chance to find the answer to this question. Therefore the goal of this project is to research whether and, if so, how the National Public Health Status and Forecast model is suited to be used as the basis for currently available epidemiological data and data sources in order to provide solid policy advice to regional and municipal health authorities. In this study, a Regional Public Health Status and Forecast Report will be developed in two regions in Brabant based on the National Public Health Status and Forecast model and using available data and data sources. This report integrates local, regional and national health information for various target groups into a form to enable local policy makers to prioritize local public health concerns. This may form the basis of their next local health policy memorandum. Satisfaction with the Regional Public Health Status and Forecast Report concerning policy relevance and the (f)actors which influence this will be researched qualitatively. Based on these first two phases a generic model for a Regional Public Health Status and Forecast will be described for the benefit of other GGD regions, in the form of a manual and/or script for design and execution, leading to improved comparability of GGD regions and municipalities within regions. Concrete and timely questions will be posed regarding whether and how it is possible to scientifically analyze the interdependence between the determinants of health, local and regional policy and the local and regional public health situation using the constructed database. Scientific publications will address the methodological issues of the construction of a Regional Public Health Status and Forecast, the public health situation in both GGDs, the results of the utility evaluation of the database for scientific analysis as well as the results of these analyses.