The Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care was established in 1990 through the fusion of the Institute of Hygiene and Social Medicine, the Institute of General Practice, Geriatric Medicine and the Institute of Nursing Sciences. In 1994, the Section for Occupational Medicine was added to the Department, in 1995 the Section of Physiotherapy Science, and in 1998 the Section for Medical Statistics. The Department now has has seven sections: Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, General Practice, Geriatric Medicine, Nursing Science, Occupational Medicine, Physiotherapy Science, and Social Medicine.

Several externally financed units are related to the Department. The Medical Birth Registry, Section for Occupational Medicine (externally financed activity), the Norwegian Quality Improvement of Laboratory Services in Primary Care, the National Geriatrics Dissemination Centre, The National Centre for Emergency Primary Health Care, and Fjellsiden health centre are all connected to the Department in different ways.

The Department leads the Locus for registry-based epidemiology and participates in Locus on neuroscience and Locus for homocysteine and related vitamins, all authorized research groups at the Medical Faculty.

In 2003 the Department was relocated in Kalfarveien 31 - the old nursing institution for leprous patients. It was in this institution one of Bergen's most famous men, Gerhard Armauer Hansen, conducted his medical research.