The future of public health report series
Building a fairer and sustainable system for the UK
Public health challenges are complex requiring cross functional targeted, approaches to tackle them, alongside a deep understanding of the needs of defined populations. COVID-19 has shown the UK to be an unequal society and has exposed a crisis in public health services, including inadequate funding, variations in workforce capability and capacity and a need for clarity over roles responsibilities and accountabilities.
The pandemic has raised awareness of public health’s role in health protection, ill health prevention as well as health promotion and prolonging healthy life years for all. As well as promoting and prolonging healthy live years for all, it has also demonstrated the potential of public health to use community assets and tackle local health issues effectively.
Despite unequivocal evidence that prevention is more cost effective than treatment, funding cuts and a lack of focus on prevention hinder progress in reducing health inequalities and addressing the impact of social determinants on the physical and mental health of the population.
The future of public health report series features six reports on the crucial role of public health and the actions needed to optimise the link between health and productivity to drive economic recovery and positive societal impact.
The future of public health research
Our research was carried out between March and July 2021, against the backdrop of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It involved an extensive literature review, a survey of 1,500 front-line health and care professionals across the UK, 85 interviews with stakeholders with an interest in public health, including public health specialists, academics, policy makers and employers, as well as insights from Deloitte colleagues.
The future of public health reports include insights from the primary research and where applicable, good practice case studies.