National Institute for Public Health and the Environment

The RIVM is a non-profit research organization commissioned and maintained as the official research facility of the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS) and the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Housing and the Environment (VROM). RIVM's core task is to give the central government insight into the current and expected state of health of the Dutch population, and the determinants of public health. This takes place by monitoring and surveillance (diagnosis), mathematically modelling (prognosis) and aetiological research on environmental determinants of health. Major disciplines are epidemiology, microbiology and health services research.

Two departments of the Public Health and Health Services Division partcipate in NIHES:

The Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research (PZO) performs original research and integrates research findings on chronic diseases, chronic disease prevention and the accessibility and quality of health care. PZO research includes monitoring, cross-sectional and prospective studies in the general population and patient populations, evaluation of intervention studies, mathematical modelling of disease burden, economic evaluation and development of performance indicators for health care.

The main product of the Centre for Public Health Forecasting is is the Public Health Status and Forecast Report (PHSF), which provides both a summary and – for some topics - a detailed analyses of all the available information concerning public health in the Netherlands. Until now PHSF’s were released in 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2006. The PHSF draws heavily upon the continuous systematic health information collection work that the Centre undertakes for its Internet products, such as the Nationaal Kompas Volksgezondheid (National Compass on Public Health), Nationale Atlas Volksgezondheid (National Atlas of Public Health) and the European Public Health and Knowledge System (EUPHIX).

www.rivm.nl