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Radical changes needed to tackle public health, say academics

Nurses and healthcare professionals must collaborate with those outside of their traditional sector in tackling public health priorities.
Health of the public

Nurses and healthcare professionals must collaborate with those outside of their traditional sector to tackle public health priorities, according to a new report.

The Academy of Medical Sciences (AoMS) is calling for a more coordinated approach in future to address issues such as obesity, diabetes and cancer.

New ways of working

In its report published today, AoMS recommends the healthcare and research workforce work beyond their usual borders by collaborating with lawyers, city planners, data scientists and transport specialists.

Improving the Health of the Public by 2040 stresses the importance of capitalising on the digital revolution to better understand the health of the public by the ethical use of individual data.

A sum of £1 million to assist researchers was announced by the Academy, with the support of the Wellcome Trust, as the report launched.

Prevention is key nurse work

Responding to the report, Public Health England (PHE) deputy chief nurse Joanne Bosanquet said she urged the profession to access online resources to support work on public health priorities.

PHE this week said poor diet, drinking and smoking were costing the NHS £11 billion a year.

Ms Bosanquet said: 'Promoting healthier lifestyles and empowering individuals to make better choices are central to [our] work.
 
'Public Health England is leading a call to action for all health and care professionals around prevention and promotion of wellbeing.

'Our online resources for All Our Health, are aimed at nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals and bring together priority topics to help address the major factors causing premature death, ill health and health inequalities.'

Research funding

The AoMS report also calls for researchers and health professionals to collaborate on a regional scale, and the creation of a body of funders to identify the gaps in public health knowledge and channel funds to the most relevant research.

Chair of the group Professor Dame Anne Johnson said: 'We must act now to create a healthcare and research workforce equipped to collaborate with others not normally considered within public health, such as lawyers, architects, city planners, transport specialists, data scientists and programmers, engineers and climate scientists.

'These new public health leaders must be equipped with knowledge about how factors interlink to determine health.'


Further information

Improving the Health of the Public by 2040 report

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