Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

#HealthNow Literature review update: how has patient experience changed for people who are homeless?
Groundswell; 2022.
(People experiencing homelessness face significant health inequalities. They encounter barriers to accessing the health care they need and often have poor experiences of engaging with health care services. This report examines research published since the Groundswell 2020 #HealthNow literature review and outlines the findings from its five #HealthNow research reports.)

Health disparities and health inequalities: applying All Our Health.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); 2022.
(Evidence and information for health and care professionals and the wider workforce on health disparities and health inequalities, and how they can be addressed. This resource will help frontline professionals and organisations use their trusted relationships with individuals, families and communities to address the impact of health disparities and health inequalities on groups or populations. We also recommend important actions that managers and staff holding strategic roles can take.)

National Audit of Dementia: Memory Assessment Services Spotlight Audit 2021.
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP); 2022.
(The National Audit of Dementia (NAD) is a clinical audit programme commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership on behalf of NHS England and the Welsh Government. In 2019 we undertook an audit of community-based memory assessment services in England and Wales.)

World Mental Health Day: rising cost of living and mental health.
House of Commons Library; 2022.
(Our mental health can change depending on our financial situation and it’s thought this relationship works in both directions: suffering financial losses or living in poverty can worsen mental health; people with mental health conditions may end up in poverty or suffer financial loss because of their illness, for example, if they are not able to work. Financial difficulties and problem debt are also associated with suicidal thoughts and dying by suicide.)

Valuing health: why prioritising population health is essential to prosperity.
British Medical Association (BMA); 2022.
(This report calls on the government to consider the health of the population as crucial to sustainable economic growth, rather than being dependent on a prosperous economy. Raising alarm about rapidly declining population health and widening health inequalities, the report identifies that the nation is facing a ‘ticking time-bomb’ of ill health with current government policies insufficient to meet the scale of the challenge.)

Bereavement is everyone’s business.
The UK Commission on Bereavement; 2022.
(This report shows how bereavement impacts us all. From dealing with complicated administration, to coping with financial and housing insecurity, it explores the challenges of returning to work or school after a bereavement and highlights the challenges being bereaved throws up in every area of life.)


Allied Health Professions Day

Friday 14 October 2022

AHPs are the third largest healthcare workforce, with significant opportunities to support delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan. AHPs’ Day is an annual opportunity for AHPs to come together and celebrate being part of the AHP family, and the day gives an opportunity to showcase to others the impact they make to the delivery of high quality care. The collaborations in services, organisations, trusts, regions and nationally enable:

  • Improved awareness of the role of the fourteen allied health professions
  • Showcasing the achievements of local services and their impact on patient care and population health
  • Integrated working with other services and organisations.

Read more here

NHS Clinical Commissioners

Advancing population health management

Population health management (PHM) – the use of data to identify specific groups within a population that may have similar characteristics and similar needs, and develop targeted interventions to meet those needs – was a notable theme of the NHS long-term plan. But it’s something that clinical commissioners have been doing for some time. This report brings together PHM stories from 10 different areas of England – led by clinical commissioners – to demonstrate the progress that has already been made in advancing this approach to health care, and what more will need to be done.

The report can be read here

Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European health equity status report –

World Health Organization Europe, September 2019

This report reveals that health inequities in many of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region remain either the same or have worsened despite governments’ attempts to address them. The report identifies five key risk factors that are holding many children, young people, women and men back from achieving good health and leading safe and decent lives. Key findings on current health status and trends across the Region show a significant health divide.

• While average life expectancy across the Region increased to 82.0 years for women and 76.2 years for men by 2016, there are still significant health inequities between social groups: a woman’s life expectancy is cut by up to 7 years and a man’s by up to 15 years if they are in the most disadvantaged groups.

• Almost twice as many women and men in the least affluent 20% of the population report illnesses that limit their freedom to carry out daily activities, compared to those in the most affluent 20%.

• In 45 of 48 countries providing data, women with the fewest years of education report higher rates of poor or fair health compared to women with the most years of education; the pattern is the same for men in 47 of the 48 countries.

• Where you live influences how long and how well you are able to live: trends show that in almost 75% of countries surveyed, the differences in life expectancy between the most and least advantaged regions have not changed in over a decade, and in some cases have worsened.

• In the most deprived areas, 4% more babies do not survive their first year compared to babies born in more affluent areas.

• Health gaps between socioeconomic groups widen as people age: 6% more girls and 5% more boys report poor health in the least affluent households compared to those in the most affluent households. This gap rises to 19% more women and 17% more men during working age, and peaks among those aged 65 and over with 22% more women and 21% more men reporting poor health in the least affluent households compared to the most affluent households.

• The accumulated poor health of those with fewer economic and social resources when entering later life predicts their higher risk of poverty and social exclusion, loss of independent living and more rapidly declining health.

Click here to view the full report.

Health profile for England: 2019

Department of Health and Social Care, September 2019

This report combines data and knowledge with information from other sources to give a broad picture of the health of people in England in 2019. It includes life expectancy, trends in mortality and morbidity, and inequalities in health.

Click here to view the full report.