Work

Comparative policy analysis of national frameworks for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and injuries in children and adolescents

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries are important contributors to morbidity, disability, and mortality among children and adolescents, with many associated risks and vulnerabilities emerging early in life. This study compared national policies for the prevention of NCDs and injuries among children and adolescents across six purposively selected high-income countries to identify differences in policy coverage and organization that may inform cross-country policy learning. A structured comparative documentary policy analysis was conducted in Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and Switzerland. National policies, strategies, programs, guidelines, and other relevant policy instruments addressing NCD and injury prevention among children and adolescents were identified from official government sources and national public health agencies. The policy evidence was mapped to the six WHO Health System Building Blocks to describe its distribution across health-system and multisectoral domains. A study-specific Policy Coverage Index for Child and Adolescent NCD and Injury Prevention (PCI) was developed using a standardized 0–2 rubric to assess the breadth and specificity of explicit policy coverage across disease/condition, NCD risk-factor, and injury-prevention domains. The Child and Non-Communicable Disease and Injury Burden Index (CNBI) was calculated from standardized burden indicators for six predefined disease and injury categories. Excel was used for data organization, coding, and descriptive calculations. The overall PCI ranged from 31.9 in Switzerland to 77.8 in Japan and Australia. Japan and Australia had the highest documented policy coverage, while Switzerland had the lowest. The descriptive structural synthesis identified four broad organizational patterns: life-course digitally integrated (Japan and Singapore), school-centred (Sweden), life-course preventive (Australia), and primary-care-oriented (Canada and Switzerland). Japan and Singapore had relatively lower CNBI values, whereas Canada had the highest CNBI values in both age groups. These findings describe differences in documented policy coverage, policy organization, and burden profiles across the selected countries and do not imply a causal or statistical relationship between policy coverage and disease or injury burden. The six countries demonstrated distinct approaches to organizing national policies for child and adolescent NCD and injury prevention, with variation in the breadth and specificity of policy coverage and in the settings and sectors through which prevention was addressed. The identified approaches may provide useful benchmarks for comparative policy learning and policy development, although their applicability should be considered in relation to the specific health-system, governance, and policy context of each country.

Source: BMC Public Health

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-30065-w