Faculty Annual Conference - Making Public Health Work
Thank you to everyone for making our new look, new format conference such a success. For those of you unable to attend, see our conference update page, where you can read summaries of the key sessions or watch them online. Please share this with colleagues to maximise the reach of our annual event.
Collecting the evidence for improvement
Whether or not you attended the conference, we would appreciate your feedback via our online evaluation. Did the event meet your expectations? If you did not attend, please let us know why. The online survey should take no more than 5 minutes. Complete the evaluation
And finally, if you did attend the conference, please don't forget to complete the online travel questionnaire, and help us meet the next public health challenge of tackling climate change.
Sugar - too sweet?
The Faculty has launched its new position statement on sugar. The final in the series of nutritional statements (along with Fat and Salt), Sugar - a position statement sets out the health dangers of too much sugar in the diet and what action we want taken to protect the public's physical and oral health.
The statement will form part of the Faculty's nutrition advocacy campaign calling on food manufacturers to reduce salt, fat and sugar in food as well as eliminate trans fats.
Survey of overseas members
The Faculty's International Committee has recently undertaken a survey of overseas Faculty members to seek their views on what the Faculty can do for them, what they can do for the Faculty and how they might be engaged more actively in Faculty affairs.
The results of the survey can be found at www.fph.org.uk/resources/international_ph/downloads/overseas_survey_07.pdf
Chair of Cardiovascular Health Working Group
The Faculty's Cardiovascular Health Working Group is in need of a new chair. This well-established working group is responsible for a number of popular Faculty publications on issues pertaining to cardiovascular health.
Applicants should be members of the Faculty with experience in cardiovascular health. Please note that this is a voluntary position.
Interested individuals should please contact Hannah Pugh, Working Group Secretary (hjpugh@yahoo.co.uk/ Tel: 020 7935 3115) for details on how to apply. The deadline for applications is 20 July 2007.
EU Study Visit
- Are you interested in European public health?
- Is learning about the EU part of your Personal Development Plan?
- Would a European perspective improve your effectiveness at work?
- Have you got views and ideas on EU issues to offer to the Faculty?
In order to stimulate interest in European issues, the European Working Group is organising an EXPENSES PAID study visit to Brussels and Luxembourg for up to 10 Faculty members from 19-21 September 2007.
For further details of the visit and how to apply, contact Caroline Wren (caroline.wren@talk21.com). The deadline for applications is 20 July 2007.
International Committee
Are you interested in international public health? The Faculty's International Committee currently has a number of vacancies for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join its team.
As part of its new five-year work plan, the committee is developing a series of new and exciting projects and would welcome applications from members with the time and energy to commit to them.
For further information and application details, contact Caroline Wren (caroline.wren@talk21.com). The deadline for applications is 20 July 2007.
Part A exam date
Please note that the June 2008 Part A exam has been rescheduled to 9-10 June 2008. It had originally been scheduled for the first week of June. Should you have any queries regarding this, please don't hesitate to contact the Education & Training Department on educ@fph.org.uk
Editors for the OUP Journal of Public Health
The Faculty is looking for new editors for the Journal of Public Health. Applicants should be Fellows of the Faculty with a strong background in academic public health and a broad practical experience of the three domains of public health.
The editors will be supported in their role by the editorial team at Oxford University Press. However, the position does require a regular time commitment and enthusiastic engagement with the editorial board and editorial support team. Please note that this is a voluntary position.
Interested individuals should contact Helen Keevy for the full application pack at helenkeevy@fph.org.uk or Faculty of Public Health, 4 St Andrews Place, London, NW1 4LB. The deadline for applications is the 13 July 2007.
New network groups
Wales Public Health
This group is intended as a discussion forum and information exchange for public health specialists and trainees in Wales. It has been set up by the Faculty in Wales Committee (FCW, formerly Welsh Affairs Committee) who will use it, if appropriate, to inform their agendas, but is intended to allow discussion beyond their remit on any topic of importance to public health in Wales.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development - particularly with regards to climate change - has emerged as one of the top public health priorities for the 21st Century. The Sustainable Development network groups provides a forum for debate and the opportunity to share knowledge and insight into the whole sustainable development agenda.
Anyone interested in joining the groups can register at: http://new.fph-groups.org.uk. If you are already registered, login, go the 'My Groups' tab and click on 'Join this Group'.
Health inequalities workshops
To support public health practitioners in their role of reducing health inequalities in England, the Faculty of Public Health organised four regional workshops in June These were supported by the Department of Health in England and facilitated by Dr Foster.
These looked at those factors which contribute most to health inequality (such as smoking, alcohol, sexual health, mental health and CHD), with an emphasis on interventions targeting disadvantaged and/or socially excluded groups.
See: www.publichealthconferences.org.uk/health_inequalities_2007
Suppressing TB
The Department of Health has just released a new document on tuberculosis. Three working groups (one chaired by past president Rod Griffiths) worked for a year and a half to produce this paper which has been given a low key release by the Department of Health. The paper sets out some key recommendations for controlling TB.
See Tuberculosis prevention and treatment: a toolkit for planning, commissioning and delivering high-quality services in England on the Department of Health website
Providing public health
Our quarterly newsletter, ph.com, will be considering 'Provider Public Health' in its December edition.
We'll be looking at the roles of those public health specialists working directly with the public to deliver public health services, as well as those supporting providers. We would be very interested to hear from members providing public health services. For example; in Acute Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, Local Authorities, the third sector or the private health sector. We would also like to hear from anyone interested in writing about experiences providing public health internationally and those supporting providers through procurement, for example. This list is by no means exhaustive, and if you're working outside of traditional NHS structures in providing public health services then we would be interested in hearing from you.
If you would like to contribute, please contact guest editor, Jan Yates (jan.yates@nhs.net ) with your proposal for a 500-word article.
HTA public health newsletter
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme - part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - has published its latest Themed Update newsletter, Promoting public health, which features research commissioned by the HTA programme in the area of public health, as well as news and views from opinion leaders in the field.
Promoting public health can be ordered in print format by emailing hta@hta.ac.uk or downloaded from the HTA website [pdf].
Events
Only Faculty sponsored events are listed below, however a list of public health events across the UK is available at www.publichealthconferences.org.uk/all_events.php. If you would like to list your event, please email news@fph.org.uk.
Patient Safety Research - Shaping the European agenda
24-26 September 2007
Porto, Portugal
UK Faculty of Public Health, University College London, WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety
For further information see www.patientsafetyresearch.org
21st Century Trends – Threats and Opportunities for Public Health
15-16 November 2007
Airth Castle Hotel, Falkirk in Forth Valley
Faculty of Public Health Scottish Affairs Committee
For further information see: www.publichealthconferences.org.uk/scotland_2007