The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is a governmental institution placed directly under the Ministry of Health and Care Services. The NIPH acts as a national competence institution for governmental authorities, the health service, the judiciary, prosecuting authorities, politicians, the media and the general public.
The Institute has an administrative division and five other divisions; Infectious disease control, Environmental medicine, Epidemiology, Mental health and Forensic toxicology and drug abuse research (for more information about each division see “Divisions and departments” in the left menu).
Our vision: a healthier population
The objective of the NIPH’s activities is to contribute to better health, quality of life and legal protection. With the vision “A healthier population,” the NIPH has defined the following main activities and attendant goals:
- Health surveillance: A good overview over the health of the population
- Research: The best possible knowledge about what affects the health of the population
- Prevention: Good preparedness, advice and high quality services
The work of the Institute is based on its core values: professionally sound, reliable, innovative, open and respectful.
Current and new initiatives
The need for preventive health work is enormous. Therefore the NIPH wants to develop and strengthen efforts for all its national core activities:
- Preparedness
- Mental health
- Drug abuse research
- Health statistics
- Epidemiological studies
- Laboratory-based research and monitoring
The NIPH will at all times adapt its effort to the disease burden in society and the challenges facing the health services and society. The NIPH will give the following areas special attention:
- Diseases related to ageing
- Lifestyle and health
- Inequalities in social health
- Health surveillance and registries
- International health challenges
More detailed information about the Norwegian Institute of Public Health's current and new initiatives can be found in the Strategy 2008 - 2010.
Our audiences
Professional users
- The public authorities (national, regional and local)
- Health service (public and private) in the municipalities
- Researchers / research institutions nationally and internationally
- National and international organizations
- Private businesses related to the institute's academic areas
General public
- The NIPH primarily communicates with the public on a group level (national, regional and local)
- Groups of people with a particular interest in a relevant topic
- Individuals in specific situations. In an emergency, this service will be escalated
Media
- Media is both a target group in itself, and a channel to reach other target groups