

Slovenia’s ‘Upgrade, development and implementation of prevention programmes in primary health care and local communities’ programme is taking a different approach to prevention services – by reducing health inequalities, and thereby improving overall public health, in local community settings. Implemented by the country’s National Institute of Public Health, the primary goals of the project are to improve knowledge and awareness, increase participation of healthcare users in prevention programmes and to make preventive services more accessible, more affordable and more relevant to the needs of service users.
The programme focuses on integrating vulnerable individuals, children and young people at risk and other disadvantaged groups in the Postojna and Pivka municipalities, with the key aim of building integrated health enhancement services as stand-alone units within community health centres. Implemented at the primary health care level, these enhancement services focus on preventative medicine, health promotion and education, health enhancement activities and activities aiming to reduce health inequalities in all population groups.
The centres apply the integrated approach model for community public health, and offer numerous enhancement facilities, including delivering more comprehensive, routine checkups and preventative interventions for children and young people, prevention activities at the primary health care level for persons at risk of chronic disease and integrating vulnerable populations in the preventative healthcare system.
Ana Žužek Barle, Head of the Health Enhancement Centre, speaks highly of the project, highlighting how services provide a real shift towards equality in community public health, particularly for extremely vulnerable groups: ‘Our engagement and activities in the local community take us one step further to our main goal, which is to reduce health inequalities. Family-based obesity treatment programme represents an especially important strand of our work, it helps us provide comprehensive interventions by reaching out to children and their parents and addressing obesity-related issues.’
Project details
- Project name
- Upgrade, development and implementation of prevention programmes in primary health care and local communities
- Countries
- Slovenia
- Organisation
- National Institute of Public Health
- Project start
- 2014
- Project end
- 2020
- Total budget
- EUR 189,636.80
- EU Budget contribution
- EUR 151,709.44