About the Counties Public Health Surveys
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The Public Health Surveys are online questionnaires carried out by several counties in order to obtain a clear picture of how people are doing – in terms of health, wellbeing and living conditions. A random sample of residents in the county receive a message with an invitation to take part in the survey.
The surveys are conducted in collaboration between the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) and the individual counties. FHI has developed a core module with questions that are the same in all counties, allowing results to be compared across counties and over time. Individual counties may also include additional questions in the questionnaire on topics they wish to prioritise.
Since 2018, the county public health survey has been conducted at leastonce in nearly all counties in Norway. The survey has become an important component of local overviews of health and living conditions in municipalities and counties, and a key element of local public health efforts.
Why are the surveys conducted?
The purpose of these surveys is to develop a deeper understanding of:
- how individuals perceive their own health
- the factors that influence wellbeing and quality of life
differences in living conditions and local environments across population groups and geographic areas. The results are used by county authorities and municipalities to inform the planning and prioritisation of public health initiatives. The surveys also contribute to the statutory overview required under the Public Health Act.
In addition, the data are used in research, for example to examine the relationships between living conditions, quality of life, and health.
How are the surveys conducted?
Who is invited?
Participants are randomly selected from the National Population Register, and all invites are aged 18 or over. Contact details are obtained from the national Contact and Reservation Register. Selected individuals receive a message containing information about the survey, along with a link to log in and complete the questionnaire.
What do the questions cover?
The questionnaire addresses topics that are important for public health, including:
- health and health status (physical health, dental health, long‑term health conditions and mental health)
- health-related behaviours (physical activity, diet, tobacco use and alcohol consumption)
- social support, loneliness and wellbeing
- selected aspects of the local environment and living conditions
Dedicated quality‑of‑life section
The Public Health Surveys in the counties include a dedicated module on quality of life. This module has been developed in line with national recommendations from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) and the Directorate of Health and provides insight into how individuals evaluate their own lives, wellbeing and life circumstances.
These measures now constitute the most important source of knowledge on quality of life at the local level in Norway.
Privacy and participant rights
How is the information processed?
All information is handled in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. Data are stored without names, personal identity numbers, or other direct identifiers. Results are published only at group level, with no possibility of identifying individual participants.
Use of other data sources
By taking part in the survey, participants consent to their responses being linked with information from other public registers, such as health registers and registers at Statistics Norway.
When data are linked, personal identity numbers are replaced with participant IDs, ensuring that individuals cannot be directly identified by those analysing the data.
Your rights as a participant
Participants have the right to:
- receive information about the survey
- access their own data
- understand how their data are processed
- have inaccurate or incomplete information corrected
- request the deletion of their data and withdraw consent at any time
- lodge a complaint if they believe their data are being processed unlawfully
The information and consent statement is presented at the beginning of the questionnaire and is also available separately.
Access to data
Data from the Public Health Surveys are made available in several ways:
- Public reports and summaries are published to ensure that the results are accessible to all.
- Access to detailed datasets may be granted for research and analysis through the Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s established data access systems. All data are processed so that individuals cannot be identified.
Access is carefully regulated to ensure privacy and prevent identification of individuals.
Results and reporting
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health analyses and presents results from the surveys for each county. The reports provide an overview of health, wellbeing and living conditions in the population, and include findings at both county and municipal levels.
Statistics are made publicly available through reports, and all published data is processed to prevent the identification of individuals.
The results are used by municipalities, county authorities and other professional bodies as a basis for planning, public health initiatives and further research.