[Locally based health promotion. Meetings of citizens as a tool for population mobilization]

It is necessary to involve the local population to a greater extent in the work of health promotion and prevention of disease. In the municipality of Askvoll the results of a household survey were used as an educational tool at popular meetings in the different settlements. At these meetings, the local citizens themselves chose actual health promotion projects and elected committees to carry them out. The article describes our experiences from this way of mobilizing the community. The attendance rate varied from 3% to 29% of the local population aged over 15 years. More women than men participated. A total of 17 local projects were chosen. We conclude that popular meetings can be a useful tool in local health promotion work.