The Institute of Public Health of Republic of Slovenia is a major research centre for epidemiology, the prevention of disease, and promotion of health in Slovenia.

The creation of the Institute was one of the achievements of Dr. Andrija Štampar who was the first president of the World Health Organisation. Gradually, the Institute was transformed and in 1992 the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) was established by the government. Its professional area covers all public health fields from laboratory activities to health promotion and mental hygiene.

Research activities in the field of mental health also have a long-standing tradition, especially in the research of drug misuse, alcohol dependence and completed suicide. With foundation of the Mental Health Department, many other areas in mental public health have started to be investigated, with liaison psychiatry (e.g. an international project on depression and diabetes) and suicide research (e.g. and international collaboration on molecular genetics of suicide behaviour) amongst them.