Assessing delivery of selected public health operations via essential public health operation framework

Background: To assess the conduct of delivery of public health services at the municipal level in Denmark by applying services enlisted in the Essential Public Health Operation framework (EPHO) of WHO. Methods: We conducted individual qualitative interviews with key informants working with public health using a self-assessment survey tool in order to obtain an in-depth understanding of the interrelation or multidisciplinary work in Kolding Municipality. The developed self-assessment survey tool entailed questions about essential public health activities performed in a municipality. Results: The Municipality organizes and contributes to core service delivery EPHOs, namely health protection, health promotion, and disease prevention. It collaborates with the general practitioners and the Region of Southern Denmark, responsible for hospital care, to fulfill the selected EPHOs. Conclusions: To obtain a comprehensive picture of the organizations that deliver public health services within a municipality, it is necessary to conduct interviews with representatives from those organizations as well. Additionally, the results from this study can be used to improve the survey tool further and hereafter conduct a nationwide survey in Denmark, as well as other European countries.