Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 57(4), pp. 236–238.
https://doi.org/10.14528/snr.2023.57.4.3261
Health is considered one of the most fundamental 
values in human life. When we are healthy, we strive 
to maintain or strengthen it as much as possible, 
but when we are ill, we strive to regain it as quickly 
and as fully as possible. In this pursuit of health, 
we are influenced by both our natural and social 
environments. The collective efforts to optimise 
health, whether by individuals, the population as a 
whole or specific population groups, are referred to as 
health protection (Zaletel - Kragelj, Eržen, & Premik, 
2011; Gabrovec, 2020).
Public health is the science and mastery of disease 
prevention, health promotion and life extension 
through organised efforts of society. It is a concept 
that focuses not only on the absence of disease, but 
also on mental, physical, emotional and social well-
being. It can be considered simultaneously as a social 
institution, a discipline and a practice. This is only 
one of its several definitions. Among the more recent 
definitions that take into account the evolution of 
public health towards the so-called new public health 
are those proposed by Julio Frenk and the United 
States Institute of Medicine (Zaletel - Kragelj, Eržen, 
& Premik, 2011; Gabrovec, 2020).
According to Julio Frenk, a contemporary public 
health expert, public health (more specifically, new 
public health) is a multidisciplinary field of research 
that introduces research advances in the biomedical 
and social sciences related to population health. 
It encompasses both the epidemiological study of 
population health conditions and the study of the 
social response to these conditions, along with the 
particular ways in which this response manifests itself 
in the health care system (Frenk, 1993).
The 2002 US Institute of Medicine report states that 
public health encompasses the activities undertaken 
collectively by society to create optimal conditions 
for human health. It emphasises that public health 
includes the efforts, science, art and approaches used 
by all sectors of society to ensure, protect, maintain 
and improve the health of the population (Institute of 
Medicine, 2002). 
The 100-year journey of public health in Slovenia 
began in 1923, when Dr. Ivo Pirc became the director 
of the then Institute of Hygiene (Higienski zavod) in 
Ljubljana. Over the course of the following century, 
the house of eight names, today's National Institute of 
Public Health (NIJZ), was to be marked by important 
milestones in development and professional life that 
would profoundly influence public health in Slovenia.
As we celebrate 100 years of organised public health 
efforts, we often look back to the very beginnings. 
The foundations laid by the pioneers of public health 
remain visible and we continue to build upon them. 
Even though the activities were different then, we can 
still draw some parallels to today's practices. Even 
then, professional autonomy was extremely important 
to ensure successful outcomes. This has not changed to 
this day. The only distinction lies in that the activities 
undertaken today utilise modern opportunities to 
address health threats (Eržen, 2023).
For successful implementation and further 
development of our existing tasks, development of 
new work areas and methods, and modernisation 
of our work processes, we have created an efficient 
organisational structure that enables close cooperation 
between individual experts on various projects and 
programmes. Such an open and flexible organisation 
responds to the requirements of each work process and 
supports the efficiency and effectiveness of our efforts. 
A review of our activities shows that we have succeeded 
in pooling our resources and ensuring transparent and 
professional work. Through partnerships, cooperation 
and intensive international engagement, we have 
achieved remarkable development and expansion of 
public health in Slovenia. Every year, public health 
Editorial/Uvodnik
One hundred years of public health in Slovenia
Sto let javnega zdravja v Sloveniji
Branko Gabrovec1, *
1 National Institute of Public Health, Trubarjeva cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
* Corresponding author/Korespondenčni avtor: branko.gabrovec@nijz.si
Received/Prejeto: 14. 10. 2023
Accepted/Sprejeto: 21. 10. 2023
Gabrovec, B. (2023)/Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 57(4), pp. 236–238. 237
activities are further developed and expanded. There 
is a growing awareness that public health is not the 
sole responsibility of health organisations. Rather, 
successful change is only possible if the necessary 
changes are implemented in every sector of society. This 
is also demonstrated by the publication entitled Public 
Health Achievements in Slovenia, which outlines our 
sustainable approach to action as a prerequisite for 
continuing the successful transformation of societal 
conditions for the benefit of public health (Eržen, 2023). 
On 30 May 2023, we held a celebratory event that 
was not only a symbolic commemoration, but also an 
opportunity to reflect on a century of commitment 
to public health. In the not too distant past, we were 
faced with an immense challenge that required 
public health to focus primarily on the monitoring 
of infectious diseases, with prevention and control of 
infectious diseases being one of the most significant 
public health achievements of the 21st century.
In addition to infectious disease management, public 
health has also been enriched by other important 
milestones and achievements. These include laboratory 
diagnostics, identification and management of 
risks posed by non-communicable diseases such 
as addictions, harmful alcohol and tobacco use, 
mental health problems and unhealthy working or 
environmental conditions that pose a risk or even a 
direct threat to people's health. Today, information 
reference tools that allow the analysis of the health 
status of populations are indispensable, while best 
practises, professional development and intersectoral 
collaboration in national and international frameworks 
continue to improve our capabilities. 
The demand for public health is increasing and 
will continue to do so in the future. Demographic 
changes, chronic diseases and multimorbidity are 
only part of the changing circumstances that require 
a comprehensive, holistic and multidisciplinary 
approach. Our future efforts must therefore focus 
on three areas. First, we need to address future 
challenges on the basis of a century's worth of public 
health knowledge and experience. Second, we aim to 
focus on building citizens' trust in public health as 
our fundamental tool for action. Without this trust, 
our recommendations, interventions, guidelines, etc. 
will have limited reach. And of course, it is no secret 
that this trust was compromised during the recent 
pandemic. The third key aspect is collaboration. As 
a tertiary public health institution, the NIJZ has a 
progressive role as a cornerstone and promoter of 
public health in Slovenia.
Slovenian translation/Prevod v slovenščino
Človek običajno dojema zdravje kot eno svojih 
najvišjih vrednot. Če je zdrav, ga želi po svojih 
najboljših močeh ohraniti ali celo okrepiti, če pa zboli, 
si ga želi čim prej in v čim večji meri povrniti. Pri tem 
je odvisen tudi od svojega naravnega in družbenega 
življenjskega okolja. V tem smislu lahko varovanje 
zdravja opredelimo kot skupna prizadevanja za 
optimalno zdravje, ne glede na to, ali gre za zdravje 
posameznika ali celotnega prebivalstva oziroma 
določenih prebivalstvenih skupin (Zaletel - Kragelj, 
Eržen, & Premik, 2011; Gabrovec, 2020).
Javno zdravje je znanost in spretnost preprečevanja 
bolezni, krepitve zdravja in podaljševanja življenja s 
pomočjo organiziranih naporov družbe. Je koncept, ki ni 
usmerjen le v odsotnost bolezni, ampak tudi v duševno, 
telesno, čustveno in socialno ugodje. Je istočasno družbena 
institucija, disciplina in praksa. Poleg te opredelitve 
obstajajo še številne druge. Med novejšimi, ki upoštevajo 
razvoj javnega zdravja v smeri tako imenovanega novega 
javnega zdravja, sta tudi opredelitvi Julija Frenka in 
Medicinskega inštituta Združenih držav Amerike (ZDA) 
[United States Institute of Medicine] (Zaletel - Kragelj, 
Eržen, & Premik, 2011; Gabrovec, 2020).
Julio Frenk, ugledni strokovnjak s področja javnega 
zdravja, pravi, da je javno zdravje (natančneje novo 
javno zdravje) multidisciplinarno raziskovalno 
področje, ki uvaja raziskovalne dosežke biomedicinskih 
in družboslovnih znanosti, povezanih z zdravjem 
med prebivalstvom. Obsega tako epidemiološko 
proučevanje stanj, povezanih z zdravjem prebivalstva, 
kot tudi proučevanje odgovorov družbe na ta stanja, 
predvsem pa način odražanja teh odgovorov v sistemu 
zdravstvenega varstva (Frenk, 1993). 
Medicinski inštitut ZDA v svojem poročilu iz leta 
2002 navaja, da javno zdravje obsega dejavnosti, ki 
jih družba kolektivno izvaja za zagotovitev pogojev, v 
katerih bi ljudje lahko bili zdravi. V njem poudarja, 
da javno zdravje obsega napore, znanost, načine in 
pristope, ki jih uporabljajo vsi družbeni sektorji za 
zagotavljanje, zaščito, ohranjanje in krepitev zdravja 
prebivalstva (Institute of Medicine, 2002).
Leta 1923 je dr. Ivo Pirc v vlogi direktorja takratnega 
Higienskega zavoda v Ljubljani skupaj s sodelavci 
začel 100 let dolgo pot. V 100 letih so hišo osmih 
imen, ki danes nosi naziv Nacionalni inštitut za javno 
zdravje (NIJZ), oblikovali ključni razvojni in strokovni 
mejniki, ki so pomembno vplivali na javno zdravje v 
Sloveniji.
V času, ko obeležujemo 100. obletnico organiziranega 
delovanja na področju javnega zdravja, se velikokrat 
ozremo nazaj, prav na začetek. Temelji, ki so jih za delo 
na področju javnega zdravja postavili pionirji javnega 
zdravja, so še vedno vidni in na njih gradimo naprej. 
Seveda so bile dejavnosti v tistem času drugačne – pa 
vendar ne tako zelo, da ne bi bilo mogoče tudi danes, 
100 let kasneje, poiskati vzporednic z današnjimi. Že 
v tistem času je bila strokovna neodvisnost izjemno 
pomembna za uspešno delo. To se ni spremenilo do 
danes. Drugačne so le posamezne dejavnosti, ki jih 
glede na sedanje možnosti razvijamo kot odgovor na 
grožnje zdravju (Eržen, 2023)
Gabrovec, B. (2023)/Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 57(4), pp. 236–238.238
Za uspešno izvedbo in opravljanje dosedanjih 
nalog, kakor tudi za razvoj novih področij in metod 
dela ter posodabljanje procesov dela smo vzpostavili 
učinkovito organizacijsko strukturo, ki omogoča 
tesno sodelovanje posameznih strokovnjakov pri 
različnih projektih oziroma v okviru različnih 
programov. Odprt in fleksibilen način organiziranosti 
ustreza potrebam pri izvajanju posameznih delovnih 
procesov in podpira učinkovitost ter uspešnost 
delovanja. Pregled dejavnosti kaže na to, da smo uspeli 
združiti vire in zagotoviti transparentno delovanje, 
temelječe na strokovnosti. Preko sodelovanja z 
zunanjimi partnerji ter z intenzivnim mednarodnim 
udejstvovanjem in sodelovanjem smo dosegli izjemen 
razvoj in razmah javnega zdravja v Sloveniji. Vsako 
leto se dejavnost javnega zdravja razvija in širi 
naprej. Krepi se zavedanje, da javno zdravje ni stvar 
zdravstvenih organizacij, temveč lahko na uspešne 
spremembe računamo le, ko se spremeni delovanje 
v okviru posameznega družbenega sektorja. To 
dokazuje tudi pregled Dosežki v javnem zdravju 
v Sloveniji, ki nakazuje na trajnostno naravnano 
delovanje, kar je predpogoj za nadaljevanje uspešnega 
procesa spreminjanja družbenih razmer v dobro 
zdravja prebivalcev (Eržen, 2023)
30. maja 2023 smo gostili slavnostni dogodek, ki je bil 
poleg simbolne obeležitve tudi priložnost za refleksijo 
o stoletju dela na področju javnega zdravja. Nedolgo 
nazaj smo se znašli v izjemno težki preizkušnji, ko 
je bila vloga javnega zdravja osredotočena predvsem 
na področje spremljanja nalezljivih bolezni. Pri 
tem ravno preprečevanje in obvladovanje širjenja 
nalezljivih bolezni uvrščamo med najpomembnejše 
dosežke javnega zdravja v 21. stoletju. 
Poleg obravnave nalezljivih bolezni javno zdravje 
bogatijo tudi drugi pomembni mejniki in dosežki. 
Mednje lahko zagotovo štejemo laboratorijsko 
diagnostiko, prepoznavanje in obvladovanje 
tveganj, ki jih predstavljajo nenalezljive bolezni, 
kot so odvisnosti, škodljiva raba alkohola, tobaka, 
duševne stiske, nezdrava delovna mesta ali 
okolja, ki z dejavniki tveganja, celo neposrednimi 
grožnjami zdravju, vplivajo na zdravje vseh. Brez 
referenčnih informacijskih orodij, ki omogočajo 
analizo zdravstvenega stanja prebivalstva, danes ne 
gre. Dodatno bogastvo predstavljajo dobre prakse, 
strokovni razvoj ter medsektorsko sodelovanje v 
domačem in mednarodnem okolju.
Potreba po javnem zdravstvu se povečuje in ta 
trend je pričakovati tudi v prihodnosti. Demografska 
slika, kronične bolezni ter multimorbidnosti so le del 
spremenjenih okoliščin, ki zahtevajo širok, celosten in 
multidisciplinaren pristop. Naše nadaljnje delo bo tako 
usmerjeno v tri področja. Najprej v izzive prihodnosti 
na temelju vseh spoznanj in izkušenj stoletnega dela 
na področju javnega zdravja. Nadalje smo si zastavili 
cilj krepitve zaupanja v javno zdravje. Zaupanje naših 
prebivalk in prebivalcev je naše temeljno orodje dela. 
Brez tega zaupanja imajo naša priporočila, intervencije, 
smernice ipd. le omejen doseg. In seveda ni skrivnost, 
da je bilo to zaupanje ob pretekli pandemiji načeto. 
Kot tretje pomembno področje lahko izpostavimo 
sodelovanje. NIJZ se kot terciarna ustanova javnega 
zdravja podaja na pot progresivne vloge gradnika in 
povezovalca javnega zdravja v Sloveniji.
Conflict of interest/Nasprotje interesov
The author is the director of the National Institute 
of Public Health./Avtor je direktor Nacionalnega 
inštituta za javno zdravje.
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Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje.
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Health, 14, 469–490.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.pu.14.050193.002345 
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Gabrovec, B. (2020). Javno zdravje: zbrano učno gradivo. 
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Health in the 21st Century. National Academy Press.
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Cite as/Citirajte kot: 
Gabrovec, B. (2023). One hundred years of public health in Slovenia. Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 57(4), 236–238. 
https://doi.org/10.14528/snr.2023.57.4.3261