Health, Wellbeing and Disability:

the implications for Adult Nursing

What is Public Health? and
The Role of the Nurse in Public Health
AN421
Introductions

 Catherine Forward BA RNA MML SCPHN Dip.ED

PGCert fhea

 catherine.forward@bucks.ac.uk

 Specialist Community Public Health Nurse

 Lesson Objectives

 Explore what public health is

 Identify current public health priorities

 Identify nursing interventions that promote health

blackboard

Have you found your way yet?

Session preparation
Independent study
 What is public health?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy1CAMObRzc

 Upstream parable
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qarQXqKbmLg
Activity in pairs

 Write a definition of public health

 “Public health is………………………………….”

 Get ready to feedback to another pair

WHO definition

 Publichealth refers to all organised

measures (whether public or private)
to prevent disease, promote health,
and prolong life among the population
as a whole.’
(RCN, 2016)
Gov.uk Definition

“Public health is about helping people to stay

healthy, and protecting them from threats to
their health. The government wants everyone
to be able to make healthier choices,
regardless of their circumstances, and to
minimise the risk and impact of illness.”
Individual Task

 What
are the 3 P’s that help us to
remember what is Public Health?
P
P
P
Answers – can you think of examples?

 Promote
 Protect
 Prevent
(PHE, 2013)
What are the UK’s public health
priorities?
 To secure the greatest gains in health and
wellbeing, PHE will support the Government,
local government and the NHS to build healthy
communities and support people to make
healthier choices across the life course, with a
particular focus on:
Priorities set out in PHE Remit letter:
2018-2019
 Best Start in Life
 work with local government, the NHS and health professionals to
drive improvements in outcomes at scale with a particular focus
on infant mortality, child health speech, language and
communication needs and school readiness; lead delivery of the
year 2 prevention workstream within the Maternity Transformation
Programme, leading and supporting prevention initiatives designed
to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes and reduce health
inequalities, in support of the national maternity safety ambition,
across the local NHS and local government.
Priorities set out in PHE Remit letter:
2018-2019
 Childhood Obesity –
 deliver the agreed programme of work to significantly reduce
childhood obesity, including sugar reduction and total calorie
reduction programmes; support local delivery of the childhood
obesity plan, including by the wider public health workforce, and
working with industry, schools, local government and the NHS; and
continue work to reduce salt intake within the population.
Priorities set out in PHE Remit letter:
2018-2019
 Health Inequalities
 support national and local action to improve the health
of the poorest fastest, working in partnership with
DHSC and its ALBs, other government departments, the
Local Government Association, local government, the
NHS and other relevant bodies; focused specifically on
supporting progress on inequalities in cardiovascular
disease, obesity and cancer.
Priorities set out in PHE Remit letter:
2018-2019 continued

 2d.Alcohol – deliver a programme of work to reduce alcohol related harm in line

with cross-government priorities and support DHSC to address the needs of
children living with alcohol dependent parents. From Steve Brine MP Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care 39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
 2e. Mental Health – promote good mental health, prevent mental health problems
and improve the lives of people living with and recovering from mental illness;
specifically engage 1 million people on how to take care of their own mental
health and the mental health of others; and continue to deliver the PHE-led
commitments on mental health from the Five Year Forward View.
 2f. Smoking – implement the PHE-led commitments in the Government’s Tobacco
Control Delivery Plan.
Priorities set out in PHE Remit letter:
2018-2019 continued
 Sexual and reproductive Health – support the commissioning and delivery of
services, focusing on helping delivery organisations reduce the variation in
outcomes for reproductive, sexually transmitted infection and HIV services
across England; and support NHS England in their PrEP Impact Trial.
 Improving Work and Health Outcomes – support improved health and
wellbeing by helping people to enter, return to and stay in work, delivering
the commitments set out in ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and
Disability’ and ‘Thriving at Work’ Stevenson Farmer review on mental health
and employers and support the development of an employers’ network.
Why are nurses important in public
health?

 Many long-terms diseases in our population

are closely linked to known behavioural risk
factors. Around 40% of the UK’s disability
adjusted life years lost are attributable to
tobacco, hypertension, alcohol, being
overweight or being physically inactive.
(HEE, 2018)
 Nurses are Ideally placed to make a
difference
 Nursing should be at the heart of minimising the impact of illness, promoting
health and helping people to function at home, work, and leisure
 Improving public health should be seen as part of all nursing and midwifery roles
 Public health is everyone’s responsibility and should be a fundamental part of all
nursing roles.
 Nursing skills are rightly valued as being able to provide meaningful public
health interventions across all health and social care settings as part of holistic
patient centred care.
(Royal College of Nursing (RCN) 2016)
Improving health and wellbeing

 Promoting health is now recognised as a multi agency task.

 Public health cannot be delivered by the health service alone.

 Cross sector action is required on the environmental, economic and social

determinants of health such as low income, housing, transport, food supply,
crime & disorder & employment
 PHE’s key responsibilities & functions: To protect and
improve the nation's health and wellbeing and reduce
health inequalities by-
 making the public healthier by encouraging  researching, collecting and analysing data to
discussions, advising government and supporting improve our understanding of health and come up
action by local government, the NHS and other with answers to public health problems
people and organisations
 reporting on improvements in the public’s health
 supporting the public so they can protect and so everyone can understand the challenge and the
improve their own health next steps
 protecting the nation’s health through the national  helping local authorities and the NHS to develop
health protection service, and preparing for public the public health system and its specialist
health emergencies workforce
 sharing our information and expertise with local Gov.uk 2016
authorities, industry and the NHS, to help them make
improvements in the public’s health
Small Group Task

 Insmall groups list as many nursing

interventions that promote or protect
an individuals’ health that you can
think of
for example cervical screening.
Nursing Interventions linked to Public
Health
 Cervical screening  Child development checks
 “Midlife MOT”  Infant weigh-in clinics
 Infant and children immunisations  Chest clinics
 Travel immunisations  Healthy heart clinics
 Smoking cessation clinics
Nursing Interventions linked to Public
Health – Cont.
 Hypertension monitoring  Advice on minor ailments
 Diabetic clinics  Family planning advice
 Asthma clinics  Weight management
 Breastfeeding support group  Lifestyle advice
 Post-natal depression support  Advice on sexual health
group
Nursing Interventions linked to Public
Health- Cont.
 Child Health Promotion Programme  Early identification
 Blood tests to ascertain health  Listening
status
 Facilitating group work
 Providing resources i.e leaflets,
 Policy making and implementation
booklets, testing equipment
 Action research
 Signposting
 Referral to other agencies
Additional reading in Independent Study
Folder
Additional reading
resources

 https://www.rcn.org.uk/clinical-topics/public-health
 https://www.nurses4PH.org
 https://www.gov.uk/government/topics/public-health
 http://www.makingeverycontactcount.co.uk/