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Core Indicators of Children’s Health and Well-Being at the Municipal Level in Greenland

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to expose the background for proposing core indicators for children’s health and well-being at the municipal level in Greenland; to define criteria for relevant and scientifically sound indicators; to propose a set of such indicators; to give data on their distribution, and compare the outcomes between different types of municipalities. The indicators were drawn from actual knowledge of children’s health and experiences reported in international studies. They were based on goals from the National Public Health strategy and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A set of 24 indicators were identified in 4 domains (demographic and socio-economic conditions; health status and well-being; determinants of health, risk, and protective factors; and health systems and health policy). Additional indicators were proposed for later implementation, most of these lack available data. Data revealed large differences between municipalities. In general, remote communities have the most unfavourable socio-demographic and health conditions. At the same time, larger communities’ access to health care services is more favourable. A consequence is that the health care system unintentionally contributes to the increasing health gap between privileged and less privileged children. A comprehensive strategy is need to guarantee equitable health standards for all Greenlandic children and that reaches far beyond the aims stated in the present national public health programme.

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Acknowledgements

A part of this study was based on data from the HBSC Greenland school surveys, started by MD, MPH Johan Michael Pedersen in 1994. HBSC Greenland is contributing to the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study that is a cross-national research survey conducted in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe by international coordinator Candace Currie, Health Education Board, University of Edinburgh, and databank manager Oddrun Samdal, University of Bergen, Norway. A special thanks to Dr. Poul Erik Petersen, School of Dentistry, University of Copenhagen, for supplying data on caries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Birgit Niclasen

  2. Greenland Institute of Health Research, PAARISA, P.O. Box 1160, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland

    Birgit Niclasen

  3. Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Birgit Niclasen & Lennart Köhler

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  1. Birgit Niclasen
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  2. Lennart Köhler
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Correspondence to Birgit Niclasen.

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Niclasen, B., Köhler, L. Core Indicators of Children’s Health and Well-Being at the Municipal Level in Greenland. Child Ind Res 2, 221–244 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-009-9035-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-009-9035-9

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