The majority of Danish children thrive and live a healthy life. But there is a minority – and often quite a large minority – who do not thrive and who have health challenges and poor health behaviour.
The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) monitors children’s health, well-being and health behaviour. We research the causes of children’s health problems, failure to thrive and unhealthy habits, as well as their consequences. We focus on both the population of Danish children as a whole and on particularly vulnerable groups of children. The vulnerable groups include children with chronic disease and disabilities, children with chronically ill parents or siblings and children who have lost a parent or sibling.
We conduct research pertaining to toddlers’ health (The Children’s Health Database) and are responsible for the School Children’s Survey/HBSC, which includes schoolchildren in the 5th, 7th and 9th grade.
Child monitoring and research at the NIPH covers the entire childhood period from the first year of life and until adolescent life begins. This knowledge is used both at the national health policy level and locally in Danish municipalities.
The NIPH’s child research is supplemented by ever-growing intervention research targeted at children. This includes development, implementation and scientific evaluation of specific measures that can subsequently directly contribute to preventive work in Danish municipalities, schools and organisations.