All PHOs in England are undergoing a process of peer review. The North East Public Health Observatory had its peer review in April 2009. Following the peer review all PHOs have produced an action plan to implement the recommendations.

This is the second year of obesity services audit for the North East [4]. Annual collection of this data is important to: 1) understand differences in service provision across the region; 2) disseminate emerging good practice; and 3) ensure capacity is meeting needs. As part of a broader regional strategy to tackle obesity, the obesity service mapping audit was developed to provide a baseline of existing obesity services, identify gaps/service needs and highlight emerging good practice. This year, the questionnaire was also tailored to capture use of the national Standard Evaluation Framework (SEF) (http://www.noo.org.uk/sef) which is being advocated across the region.

Summary

Infant mortality is an important indicator of population health.

Reducing inequalities in infant mortality is a key national target to reduce inequalities in health outcomes. This study explored the potential value of electronic birth records held by maternity units for the surveillance of determinants of infant mortality.

The study population included all live births between 2003 and 2005 in five maternity units in the North of England.

Electronic maternity unit data could provide a valuable data source for monitoring progress towards reducing risk factors for infant mortality.

This NEPHO Information Govemance Policy replaces the NEPHO Security and Confidentiality Policy which was last fully revised in August 2004. There had been a series of updates and interim guidance and it was clear a more radical overhaul was necessary. The scope has been broadened to cover all aspects of Information Governance such as information sharing and freedom of information not just Security and Confidentiality. It takes account of recent changes in law and guidance although this is a rapidly changing field and will still require constant updating. The opportunity has been taken to restructure so that more background information can go into the appendices in order to focus on practical guidance.

1.1.1 Definitions

Infant death is defined as the death of a live born baby in the first year of life. The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. The infant mortality rate consists of two components, neonatal deaths which occur during the first 28 days of life, and post-neonatal deaths which occur after 28 days and up to one year.

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) was established to annually weigh and measure all children from Reception and Year 6 in maintained schools across England. In 2007/08, National Child Measurement Programme data was collected by all 12 North East Primary Care Trusts, providing a total of 51,801 records and a participation rate of 93.3% for Reception and 90.3% for Year 6, an increase of 6% and 8% respectively from last year.