PublicHealthMatters 
The latest edition of Health Matters, PHE’s professional resource, focuses on the prevention of 5 common sexually transmitted infections (STIs): gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, genital herpes and genital warts. It also covers the public health challenge of antimicrobial resistant STIs, and the commissioning and improvement of sexual health services. This blog provides a summary of the … Read more
Measles is a highly infectious disease which can only be controlled by vaccination. In 2017 the World Health Organization declared that the UK had eliminated measles. However, that elimination status has not been maintained. In this blog, we take a look at the reasons for the change in the UK’s status, and ongoing efforts to … Read more
The wider determinants of health Obesity is a complex public health challenge driven by a mixture of the social, economic, biological and environmental factors that shape our lives and individual behaviours. These drivers have become woven into the fabric of how we live our lives, and systemic change is needed. However, action is also importantly … Read more
This is the latest in a series of blogs summarising what we learn each time we update the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF). The latest update includes 8 indicators, some of which we explain below. The PHOF includes a set of indicators that help us understand how well public health is being improved and protected. It … Read more
In recent years we’ve seen many public health success stories, from smoking prevalence reaching an all-time low and reductions in deaths from cardiovascular disease, through to decreased rates of teenage pregnancy and a dramatic drop in new cases of TB. But although in general our lives are getting longer, stubborn health inequalities persist across the … Read more
The World Health Organisation estimate that a staggering 325 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B and C, leading to 1.4 million deaths a year. In England, around 180,000 people are infected with hepatitis B and latest estimates indicate 113,000 people have chronic hepatitis C. Treating hepatitis C The major game-changer for hepatitis C … Read more
Dear everyone Firstly, congratulations to the Right Honourable Matt Hancock MP who has been reappointed as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Prevention Green Paper This week saw the publication of the Prevention Green Paper, offering everyone the next opportunity to shift the focus from cure to prevention. A Green Paper is by … Read more
The latest edition of Health Matters, PHE’s professional resource, focuses on taking a whole systems approach to addressing obesity using PHE’s newly published guide, which supports local approaches to promoting a healthy weight. This blog provides a summary of the full edition’s content. Taking a whole systems approach to obesity Excess weight is driven by … Read more
The Government’s Green Paper, Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s, marks the official launch of PHE’s Predictive Prevention Programme, delivered in partnership with NHSX. In this blog Professor John Newton, PHE’s Director of Health Improvement, explains the programme. What is Predictive Prevention? Tackling the big health challenges our nation faces means making the best … Read more
The Government has published a Prevention Green Paper setting out how it plans to embed the principle ‘prevention is better than cure’ across wider society. PHE’s Chief Executive Duncan Selbie discusses what this could mean for the public’s health. Aiming for quality, not just quantity The Green Paper ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ … Read more