Geographical Locations - United Kingdom

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 1,064
• CIA World Factbook : United Kingdom

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile - United Kingdom
  - WHO - Tobacco control: Country Profile: United Kingdom
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – United Kingdom
  - WHO – Progress in the Prevention of Injuries in the WHO European Region: United Kingdom
• WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) in Copenhagen (Denmark)

Government

• Open Government - the Internet portal to governmental web-sites of the United Kingdom
• National Statistics
• Commission for Racial Equality
• Department of Health
  - National Health Service
  -- Health Promotion England
  -- NHS Evidence Health Information Resources
  -- Public Health Resource Unit
  -- Our healthier nation
• Department of Health and Social Services - Northern Ireland
• HDA - Health Development Agency
  - HealthPromis - "the national health promotion database for England. The database references the extensive collection of international, national and local health promotion information in HPIC. This includes government publications, surveys, reference documents, research reports, books, journal articles, and resources (videos, teaching material, software, cassettes, and games)"
• Healthy Schools Programme
• SHEU - The Schools and Students Health Education Unit - located at the University of Exeter
• NHS Scotland
• Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH)

Non-Government

• Age Concern - "consists of a large number of locally based Age Concern and Old People s Welfare organisations. Age Concern organisations are independent charities and also part of a nationwide movement. All Age Concern organisations have one central aim - they exist to look after the interests of older people in their area"
• Family Planning Association of the United Kingdom
• Interchange Liverpool - provides voluntary and community sector groups with access to the research expertise of students and staff from the city's universities
• Mental Health Foundation - "the UK charity improving the lives of everyone with mental health problems or learning disabilities. We use our research, service development and information to increase understanding and meet people's needs"
• National Childbirth Trust - "offers support in pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. We aim to give every parent the chance to make informed choices. We try to make sure that all our services, activities and membership are fully accessible to everyone"
• National Health Education Group
• National Institute for Social Work - "active throughout the UK, and internationally, supporting users and carers, practitioners and managers, policy makers and their organisations with a comprehensive range of services aimed at achieving excellence in practice and management in social work and social care"
• Northern Ireland Women's Aid Federation - "exists to challenge attitudes and beliefs which perpetuate domestic violence. We seek through our work to promote healthy and non-abusive relationships"
• RADAR - The Disability Network - "The Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation is a national organisation run by and working for disabled people. It is one of the few pan-disability charities in the country, working to represent the needs, views and wishes of over 8.3 million people with all kinds of disabilities. Our aim is to remove barriers - the architectural, environmental, economic and social barriers that restrict disabled peoples' daily lives"
• Royal Society for Public Health - "promote by all practicable means:
  - The advancement and development of all questions or matters relating to or having for their object the benefit of the public health and hygiene in all its branches and especially personal, domestic and industrial hygiene.
  - The advancement of public education relating thereto.
  - To promote and provide means for the theoretical and practical investigation and study of all branches of public health and preventive medicine and hygiene and for the publication of the results of such investigation and study"
• Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents - "Providing information, advice, resources and training, RoSPA is actively involved in the promotion of safety in all areas of life - at work, in the home, and on the roads, in schools, at leisure and on (or near) water"
• Society for Social Medicine
• UK Health Equity Network - "a resource for all those interested in equity and inequality in health, aiming to provide comprehensive and well organised links to relevant information and organisations"
• UK Public Health Association
• Youthlink Scotland - "the umbrella body for voluntary youth organisations in Scotland. We currently have 51 members, ranging widely from the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to YMCA Scotland. YouthLink Scotland exists to support and promote the work and collective aspirations of voluntary youth organisations in Scotland in the interests of young people"

Academic Institutions

• Cambridge University
  - Institute of Public Health
• Cardiff University
  - Health Communication Research Centre
• Edinburgh University
  - Directory of Sites in Occupational & Environmental Health
  - HEW - Health, Environment & Work
  - Public Health Sciences
• Glasgow University
  - Department of Public Health
• Keele University Centre for Health Planning and Management
• Leeds Metropolitan University
  - Faculty of Health and Environment
• Leeds University
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Liverpool University
  - Department of Public Health
  Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
  - Department of Public Health and Policy
• Oxford University - Health Services Research Unit
• University of Aberdeen
  - Department of Public Health
• University of Bristol, Department of Social Medicine
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne
• University of Sheffield, School of Health and Related Research
• University of York
  - Centre for Health Economics

National Policy and Related Documents

• Best Resaerch for Best Health
  This 2005 report sets out the UK government's goals for medical research and development over the next five years.
• First do no harm: denying heallthcare to people whose asylum claims have failed
  In April 2004 the U.K. introduced the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors)(Amendment) Regulation. The regulation denies free healthcare to those asylum seekers who are Appeals Right Exhausted and yet remain in the U.K. for one reason or another. This Refugee Council report examines the impact of this regulation on the health of those whose asylum applications have been rejected.
• Health and Foreign Policy in the UK : Experience since 1997
  This UK study published by the Nuffield Trust aims to examine the manner in which health and foreign policy have interacted over the years. The research focuses on UK policy and attempts to analyse how policy has developed; what have been the drivers in the development of that policy, in particular the role of security concerns; the impact both on and of public health; and the role of the UK internationally.
• Health Care Systems in Transition: the Northern Ireland Report
  The Health Systems in Transition profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of reform and policy initiatives in progress or under development in a specific country.This 42-page report highlights the organization, financing, regulation, delivery, and reforms of health care in Northern Ireland that differ from those in England, Scotland and Wales.
• Health Inequalities: Third Report of Session 2008-09 Volume 1, House of Commons Health Committee
  This report of 15 March 2009 states, "Health inequalities are not only apparent between people of different socio-economic groups — they exist between different genders, different ethnic groups, and the elderly and people suffering from mental health problems or learning disabilities also have worse health than the rest of the population. The causes of health inequalities are complex, and include lifestyle factors — smoking, nutrition, exercise to name only a few — and also wider determinants such as poverty, housing and education. Access to healthcare may play a role, and there are particular concerns about 'institutional ageism', but this appears to be less significant than other determinants."
• Health inequalities: progress and next steps
  This document outlines the UK Government’s approach to hit the 2010 health inequalities Public Service Agreement targets, assessing what has and has not worked, and setting the direction of travel beyond 2010. The partial Equality Impact Assessment sets out some of the current health inequalities and potential interventions to reduce and eliminate these inequalities.
• Health Reform in England: Update and Next Steps
  This document describes a framework for reform of the NHS in England and explains how the reforms are intended to be mutually reinforcing; re-states the rationale for reform; summarises the initiatives already announced; lays out a programme of further policy development for 2006.
• Our Health, our care, our say: making it happen
  The Health Minister for England has published a report on progress on implementation of the White Paper published in January 2006. Three of the main goals set out in the White Paper were better prevention and early intervention for improved health; more choice and empowerment for communities and individuals and further moves to tackle inequalities in access to health services. This update sets out the next stages and includes a road map to implementation and is a resource to support key actions for local implementation.

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Alcohol-use disorders: Preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking
  "The guidance is for government, industry and commerce, the NHS and all those whose actions affect the population’s attitude to – and use of – alcohol. This includes commissioners, managers and practitioners working in local authorities, education and the wider public, private, voluntary and community sectors. In addition, it may be of interest to members of the public." [UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), June 2010 – NICE public health guidance 24]
• Education in and the Practice of Dental Public Health in Bulgaria, Finland, and the United Kingdom
  The aim of this review paper is to describe and compare specialist education in and practice of dental public health (DPH) in Bulgaria, Finland, and the United Kingdom (UK). These countries are the only three member states of the European Union in which the specialty is officially recognised. In each country, DPH is included in the undergraduate curriculum. Postgraduate specialist education is provided at universities and lasts for three years in Bulgaria and Finland and four years in UK. The training programmes in DPH are a mixture of academic and practical training. The academic studies cover oral health needs and demands assessment, use of information technology, commissioning and evaluating oral health services, promoting oral health and research, together with other related areas. The practice of DPH includes: leadership and management of health organisations, teaching, training, research, advising and evaluating. This paper discusses the rationale for a specialty of DPH at a time of changing oral health need and give examples of problems that have arisen when such advice has not been sought or has been ignored. [author abstract] [OHDMBSC, Vol. VIII, No. 2, pp. 30-37 - June 2009]
• Estimation of the Risk of Stroke in Black Populations in Barbados and South London
  Background and Purpose: The incidence of stroke in black populations is a public health issue, but how risk varies between black communities is unclear. Methods: Population-based registers in South London (SLSR) and Barbados (Barbados Register of Strokes [BROS]). Stroke incidence estimated by age group, gender and stroke subtype from January 1995 to December 2002 (SLSR), and October 2001 to September 2003 (BROS). Incidence rate ratios [IRR] estimated adjusting for age and sex. Results: Two hundred and seventy-one cases registered in SLSR and 628 cases in BROS. Average age of stroke was 66.1 years (SD 13.7) in SLSR and 71.5 years (SD 14.9) in BROS (P<0.001). The incidence rate/1000 population in SLSR was 1.61 (European adjusted; 95% CI, 1.41 to 1.81) and 1.08 (world adjusted; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.21). For Barbados incidence rates were 1.29 (European adjusted; 95% CI, 1.19 to1.39) and 0.85 (world adjusted; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.92). Overall IRR for SLSR: BROS adjusted for age and sex was 1.26 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.46). Statistically significant subtype differences included total anterior cerebral infarction (IRR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.69), posterior cerebral infarction (IRR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.28 to 3.53), primary intracerebral hemorrhage (IRR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.35) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (IRR, 5.04; 95% CI, 2.54 to 9.97). Conclusions: The risk of stroke in black Caribbeans is higher in South London than Barbados, and particularly so for specific stroke subtypes. The risk in Barbados approaches that in the white population in South London and strokes occur at an older age. Whether environmental factors mediate these differences in migrant populations requires further study. [author abstract] [Stroke, August 2006, Volume 37(8): 1986-1990]
• Fair London, Healthy Londoners?
  The report provides an overview of current health inequalities in London, both in terms of health outcomes and also in relation to key indicators for the wider social determinants of health. It is intended to illustrate the current situation and to stimulate and inform discussion on the focus for future action across London. [The London Health Commission, 2011]
• Health and Foreign Policy in the U.K.: The Experience since 1997
  This report focuses on UK foreign policy and health and attempts to analyse how policy has developed; what have been the drivers in the development of that policy, in particular the role of security concerns; the impact both on and of public health; and the role of the UK internationally. The project aims to draw out lessons for future policy and this paper summarises the findings of the case studies, and a number of tentative recommendations are made at the end of the paper.
• Health inequalities on the island of Ireland: the facts, the causes, the remedies
  "People who are poor and those who are socially excluded are more likely to die at a younger age and experience a higher rate of ill health. The risk of poor health increases for those furthest down the socio-economic scale. On the island of Ireland health inequalities can be shown to exist through comparison with international ratings, contrasts between health data from Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and in relation to a range of factors including socio-economic status, age, gender and geographic location. This report presents a sample of the current data on the inequalities in health experienced on the island of Ireland, together with a brief discussion on the causes of, and remedies for, such inequalities. It is hoped that the report will prompt further discussion, debate and action to equitably address the root causes of ill health and inequality." [Public Health Alliance for the Island of Ireland, 2007]
• Health Needs Assessment - a practical guide
  Health needs assessment is a systematic method for reviewing the health issues facing a population, leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation that will improve health and reduce inequalities. [UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2005]
• Improving Quality in Primary Care
  "No single element or individual can improve quality in primary care alone. It involves a package of measures including: guidelines and standards to bring clarity to quality; measuring quality; publishing information on quality; recognising and rewarding quality improvement; providing leadership; safeguarding essential levels of safety and quality; and staying ahead through innovation. These measures and their significance to primary care services are described in the seven elements of this document, alongside practical ideas, tools and resources that Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) can use to support and enable quality improvement for patients." [UK Department of Health, NHS, September 2009]
• Inequalities in health in Scotland: what are they and what can we do about them
  In this October 2007 paper, Sally Macintyre outlines key facts about socio-economic inequalities in health in Scotland. She recommends key principles for effective policies to reduce inequalities in health. These include: Maintaining and extending equity in health and welfare systems; Levelling up, not down; Reducing inequalities in life circumstances, especially education, employment, and income; and Prioritising early years interventions, and families with children. Summarising lessons learnt from research on how best to reduce inequalities in health, the paper recommends putting a high priority on changes in the physical and social environment (for example, building and planning regulations, fiscal policies, and reducing price barriers to health-promoting goods and services), rather than information-based campaigns or interventions which require people to opt in.
• Migrant Health Guide
  The Migrant Health Guide is intended to be a "one stop shop" for information to support GPs and nurses in assessing and treating migrant patients, in recognition of the fact that these patients sometimes have health needs which are more complex than those of UK born patients. It will provide health professionals with the information they require quickly and easily and it is hoped that this will, in turn, improve patient care and quality of life. The guide covers a wide variety of health issues that may affect migrant patients including infectious diseases. Although most migrants to the UK are healthy, infections such as TB and HIV are more common elsewhere in the world than they are in the UK. The new resource will support health care practitioners in diagnosing and managing a range of infectious and other conditions that may be relevant to migrants from different countries. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment is important for the health of the individual patient and also to reduce the risk of onward transmission of some infections. [publisher overview] [Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK, 2010]
• Pandemic flu: planning and responding to primary care capacity challenges
  "The current swine flu pandemic is likely to present Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and primary care services with increasingly significant capacity challenges: not only in terms of demand pressures from patients who present with influenza-like illness or secondary complications arising from swine flu, but also potentially in terms of supply pressures due to illness amongst primary care staff themselves. This first practical guide to support PCTs in relation to primary care during a pandemic situation covers primary medical care: those services provided by GP practices, GP led health centres and Out of Hours Providers (OOH). Further practical guides will be produced for other independent contractors and to support any vaccination programmes that relate to this pandemic. A guide for pharmacy services and access to medicines is already in development." [UK Department of Health, 20 August 2009]
• Tackling health inequalities: 2007 Status Report on the Programme for Action
  “…If evidence-based policy making were to be honoured in the observance rather than the breech what might it look like? A simple description might be: review the evidence and make recommendations; use these recommendations as a base to formulate policies; monitor their effects. By this description, action on inequalities in health in England conforms rather well to evidence-based policy making. The Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health (the Acheson Inquiry) reviewed the scientific evidence on health inequalities. It made 39 recommendations. Importantly, Acheson took a social model of health. Thirty-six of it’s (our) recommendations ranged across the whole spectrum of government policy that influences health inequalities. Only three were specifically aimed at the health service. It was then appropriate that a cross-cutting review on health inequalities was conducted by the Treasury with the participation of 18 government departments and agencies. The result was a national Programme for Action. Government Departments entered into 82 commitments aimed at tackling health inequalities. Targets on reduction of health inequalities, for infant mortality and life expectancy were set. A key part of the Programme for Action was to monitor health inequalities and a few key determinants and components. The overseeing of this monitoring task was assumed by the Scientific Reference Group on Health Inequalities. In our first Status Report, 2005, we suggested that time was too short to see any effect of policy changes. Now, two years later, that is still a major issue. It is simply too early to say if too little has been done or the right actions were not taken. Whatever actions were taken between 2003 and 2006 there would be little short-term impact on health inequalities. Nevertheless it is important to keep close watch on what has been happening both to important policy areas such as housing, child poverty and education, as well as to health inequalities. …” [Preface by Professor Sir Michael Marmot]
• Waterpipe smoking in students: Prevalence, risk factors, symptoms of addiction, and smoke intake. Evidence from one British university
  Background: Anecdotal reports suggest waterpipe smoking is becoming common in students in western countries. The aim was to examine prevalence, risk factors, symptoms of addiction, and smoke intake. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of students with subsidiary survey of regular waterpipe user and survey of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) before and after waterpipe smoking in customers of a waterpipe café. 937 students of Birmingham University completed the initial survey with a follow up of 21 regular waterpipe smokers. 63 customers of a waterpipe café near the University completed the study of CO intake. Results: 355 (37.9%, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 34.8 to 41.1%) students had tried waterpipes, the prevalence of trying rising with duration at University. 75 (8.0%, 95%CI 6.4 to 10.0%) were regular smokers, similar to the prevalence of cigarette smoking (9.4%). Although cigarette smoking was the major risk factor for being a regular waterpipe smoker, odds ratio (95%CI) 2.77 (1.52 to 5.06), 65% of waterpipe smokers did not smoke cigarettes. Seven of 21 (33.3%) regular waterpipe smokers experienced cravings. Nearly all regular waterpipe users thought it less harmful than smoking cigarettes. The mean (standard deviation) rise in CO was 37.4 (25.8) ppm, nearly twice as high as a typical cigarette smoker seeking cessation treatment. Conclusion: Waterpipe smoking is a common part of student culture in one British university, as in the Middle East and in the United States. It poses a potential threat to public health, with evidence of dependence and high smoke intake. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2008, 8: 174]
• Working the System: Creating a State of Wellbeing
  The Scottish Council Foundation has conducted a number of inquiries into health and wellbeing issues over the last nine years. A consistent theme throughout those inquiries has been the need to change the way we think about health and wellbeing. This report has set out to build on that approach by developing a new framework for the development of future policy on health and wellbeing in Scotland.

Educational Resources

• BMJ - British Medical Journal
• BUBL Information Service - Medical, Health & Medicine Resources
• CDC - Travel Information : Western Europe
• Community Development Journal
• Health Inequalities Intervention Tool
  "This tool [presented by the London Health Observatory] provides information on the following: the current life expectancy in each local authority, and in the most deprived quintile of each local authority; the current gap in life expectancy between the most deprived quintile and the local authority as a whole for all areas, and between the local authority and England for spearhead areas; an analysis of the contribution of causes of death to the gap between the most deprived quintile of the local authority and a variety of comparators. The tool allows the user to investigate two scenarios: an intervention applied across the local authority and the same size of intervention applied only in the most deprived quintile. The tool thus supports action to reduce health inequalities within every local authority."
• Health Matters
• Health Poverty Index
  The Health Poverty Index (HPI) is a collaboration between the Social Disadvantage Research Centre (SDRC), University of Oxford, and the South East Public Health Observatory (SEPHO) and the Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, which is sponsored by the U.K. Department of Health. The HPI tool will allow groups, differentiated by geography, social or economic position and cultural identity, to be contrasted in terms of their 'health poverty’. A group's 'health poverty' is a combination of both its present state of health and its future health potential or lack of it. The key justification for the selection of a particular set of groups is the expectation of an equal distribution of health and its determinants between the groups from the perspective of social justice.
• Lancet
• Population Health Intelligence System (Online) - The ‘Population Health Intelligence System (PHIS (Online))’ website is designed to be a ‘first port of call’ for intelligence about health, the factors that affect it and the interventions that improve it in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The main components of the PHIS (Online) website are: A population Health Knowledge Resource Catalogue – searchable catalogue of knowledge resources together with standard details (‘metadata’) about each: A Reports System – searchable collection of key policies, strategies and programme documents as well as evaluation reports.
  An Indicators System – searchable collection of pre-calculated indicator sets together with online presentation tools and A Data System – searchable collection of aggregated data sets together with online data aggregation, indicator calculation and presentation tools.
• Public Healthy.com
  The aim of this site is to introduce people to the subject of Public Health, from the perspective of a Specialist Registrar practising in the UK. It includes regularly updated information on topic areas within Public Health including Health Protection and Prison Health, as well as commentary on recent news stories in the press.
• UK Clearing House on Health Outcomes