Health Profiles

First published in 2006, the Health Profile of England provides a collation of national and regional data to provide a baseline against which people can compare data from their own Local Health Profile (LHP). The 2007 report updates tables showing regional comparisons and national trends for indicators presented in LHP, as well as a wide ranging snapshot of public health and well-being in England and a section on international comparisons.

In England there are at least 24 different sets of health indicators and databases but no consistent countrywide health profiles. The government white paper “Choosing Health: Making Healthy Choices Easier” stated:

“Public Health Observatories will produce reports designed for local communities at local authority level which will support Directors of Public Health in promoting health in their area. The first of these reports will be published in 2006 and we will also publish the first national report in that year.”

The Association of Public Health Observatories was commissioned by the Department of Health in 2005 to produce Health Profiles. The first batch of profiles was produced in 2006, for all but 2 of the 388 local authorities in England (County, District, Unitary and London Borough). The updated and improved Health Profiles 2007 were released in June 2007. The White Paper 'Choosing Health' also included the commitment to publish a national 'Health Profile of England' and this was published in 2006 with an update in 2007 (the 2007 Health Profile for England is available here, with the older 2006 Health Profile for England available here).

The aims of the profiles are:

To provide a consistent, concise, comparable and balanced overview of the population’s health that informs local needs assessment, policy, planning, performance management, surveillance and practice.

To be a distillate of the absolutely key, most useful (currently available) indicators (with a reference to new data/indicators and unavailable data/indicators). To be primarily of use to joint efforts between local government and the health service to improve health and reduce health inequalities, but ultimately to empower the wider community

The local authority Health Profiles for England were produced in April 2006. The profiles are available in both web based (pdf) and hard copy reports. The audience includes healthcare and public health professionals and local authority members and officers. The profiles describe the health of the local population and enable comparison local, regionally and nationally as well as over time. It is hoped that they will be used for action planning by local strategic partnerships.

APHO Health Profiles