Assessing health promotion practice in Finland with a benchmarking tool

Abstract

Abstract The Finnish Benchmarking System for Health Promotion Capacity Building (BSHPCB) is a nationwide system developed to assess structures, capacities and actions taken to develop health promotion practices at local level. BSHPCB data is collected biannually from all Finnish municipalities in the following sectors of administration: primary healthcare, basic education, upper secondary education, vocational education, physical activity and sport, municipal management and culture. The data collection form and reporting format are based on the theoretical health promotion capacity-building framework, which has seven dimensions that the organization should consider: (1) commitment of the organization to the promotion of population health; (2) management of health promotion; (3) population health monitoring, needs assessment, and evaluation; (4) resources for health promotion; (5) common working practices; (6) public participation/partnership in the planning and evaluation of activities and services; and (7) other core health-promotion functions. Data has been collected since 2010 and results are published on-line (www.teaviisari.fi) within two months of data collection. The online benchmarking tool serves multiple purposes: first, it provides national actors evidence base for assessing law enforcement and drafting new legislation and developing national strategies and action plans; second it gives regional actors good understanding of municipalities’ work and capacities in their region in order to support them and, third municipalities get feedback of their work, are able to benchmark their situation to similar municipalities and develop their health promotion practices. The development and use of BSHPCB has been encouraging. The coverage of the data serves a sound base for further development of the tool. The next steps involve strengthening the quality of the data and auditing practices.