Abstract
Abstract Legislation is a powerful tool to enhance health promotion practices. The aim of this presentation is to describe legislation related to health promotion in Finland. The Finnish Constitution (1999) and the Local Government Act (2015) stipulate every citizen’s right to health and wellbeing. Concrete duties and tasks as well roles of different actors are stipulated in detail in the Health Care Act (2010) and many specific acts. General strategic management obligations and tasks of the municipalities have been defined as follows: (1) Municipalities shall assess and take into consideration any effects that their decisions may have on the health and wellbeing of residents. (2) In their strategic plans, municipalities shall identify the objectives and define the measures for health and wellbeing promotion on the basis of local needs. (3) They shall monitor the determinants of health and wellbeing, measures taken and follow-up the health and wellbeing of their residents by population groups. (4) Reports on these shall be drawn up for the municipal council once a year and a more comprehensive review on health and wellbeing shall be produced for the municipal council once during each term of office. (5) They shall assign bodies responsible for health and wellbeing promotion. (6) All departments of the municipality shall work together for health and wellbeing promotion. (7) They shall cooperate with other public local authorities, with private enterprises and non-governmental organisations. The Health Care Act as well other acts further defines the preventive services that municipalities need to offer. In Finland we have ensured effective implementation of the legislation by number of actions. First, different stakeholders were closely involved to the law-making process from the beginning of the process. Secondly, implementation was, and is still, supported by the National Institute for Health and Wellbeing. Finally, the implementation is systematically monitored.
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