BACKGROUND: According to a recent Danish study, public health policies in Sweden and Denmark have become more oriented towards the individual over the last few years. We wanted to explore the development in Norway over the last decade. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Changes in policy have been identified by comparing arguments about motives, definitions and strategies in two government white papers on public health from 1993 and 2003. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: Both white papers discuss public health policy in a broad sense, not only the state of the health and social services. We find that the 2003 paper focused on the individual's responsibility for his or her own health; the 1993 paper was more about institutions and structures. We conclude that Norwegian policy in this field has an increasing focus on the individual. At the same time we observe a greater concern over social inequality in relation to health.
BACKGROUND: According to a recent Danish study, public health policies in Sweden and Denmark have become more oriented towards the individual over the last few years. We wanted to explore the development in Norway over the last decade. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Changes in policy have been identified by comparing arguments about motives, definitions and strategies in two government white papers on public health from 1993 and 2003. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: Both white papers discuss public health policy in a broad sense, not only the state of the health and social services. We find that the 2003 paper focused on the individual's responsibility for his or her own health; the 1993 paper was more about institutions and structures. We conclude that Norwegian policy in this field has an increasing focus on the individual. At the same time we observe a greater concern over social inequality in relation to health.