Public Health
What is Public Health?
Public Health is concerned with the wider determinants of health - the behavioural or environmental factors that affect people's health. Key areas of concern, as outlined in the Government's White Paper, Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier, are:
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Physical exercise
- Sexual health
- Alcohol
- Mental health
- Health Inequalities
The Role of Public Health Intelligence
Health Intelligence is a core function of the local Public Health teams.
The role of the Public Health Intelligence Teams (PHIT) is to support local bodies by:
- Monitoring health and disease trends and highlighting areas for action
- Identifying gaps in health information
- Advising on methods for health and health inequality impact assessment
- Drawing together information from different sources in new ways to improve health
- Carrying out projects to highlight particular health issues
- Evaluating progress by local agencies on improving health and cutting inequality
- Looking ahead to give early warning of future public health problems
Public Health Outcomes Framework
The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF), published by Public Health England, sets the objectives for the public health system & sets the framework for Public Health Intelligence
The PHOF can be accessed at the following link:
Fingertips
PHE also provide the Fingertips tool which allows the public to easily view the PHOF indicators & how their local area compares - the video below provides a guide on how to use the Fingertips tool.