While Norway has many outstanding health registries that are used as a foundation for surveillance, quality control and epidemiologic research, it was recognized that a knowledge gap existed regarding the prevalence, incidence, and quality of health care delivery for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) which remains the primary cause of death in the country. Given broad agreement for the need for a registry by patient organizations, research environments and health authorities, the Norwegian Parliament decided to establish the Norwegian Cardiovascular Disease Registry (NCVDR) in March 2010 and then adopted new regulations in December 2011 which established the NCVDR. The registry consists of a core registry housed and maintained by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) that is supplemented with information from the medical quality registries housed and maintained by the hospital trusts. Given the burden of CVD among patients with diabetes and the unique challenges of medical care for CVD patients with diabetes, the registries also provides a new opportunity to advance diabetes research in Norway.
Background: Health Examination Surveys (HESs) can provide essential information on the health and health determinants of a population, which is not available from other data sources. Nevertheless, only some European countries have systems of national HESs. A study conducted in 2006–2008 concluded that it is feasible to organize national HESs using standardized measurement procedures in nearly all EU countries. The feasibility study also outlined a structure for a European Health Examination Survey (EHES), which is a collaboration to organize standardized HESs in countries across Europe. To facilitate setting up national surveys and to gain experience in applying the EHES methods in different cultures, EHES Joint Action (2010–2011) planned and piloted standardized HESs in the working age population in 12 countries. This included countries with earlier national HESs and countries which were planning their first national HES. The core measurements included in all surveys were weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure, and blood samples were taken to measure lipid profiles and glucose or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). These are modifiable determinants of major chronic diseases not identified in health interview surveys. There was a questionnaire to complement the data on the examination measurements. Methods: Evaluation of the pilot surveys was based on review of national manuals and evaluation reports of survey organizers; observations and discussions of survey procedures during site visits and training seminars; and other communication with the survey organizers. Results: Despite unavoidable differences in the ways HESs are organized in the various countries, high quality and comparability of the data seems achievable. The biggest challenge in each country was obtaining high participation rate. Most of the pilot countries are now ready to start their full-size national HES, and six of them have already started. Conclusions: The EHES Pilot Project has set up the structure for obtaining comparable high quality health indicators on health and important modifiable risk factors of major non-communicable diseases from the European countries. The European Union is now in a key position to make this structure sustainable. The EHES core survey can be expanded to cover other measurements. ; peer-reviewed
