Resources

Keeping warm at home during winter in Wales: Differences in heating behaviours, coping strategies, and wellbeing from 2022 to 2023

People’s homes can have a significant impact on their health and well-being. This includes the ability to keep warm at home during winter. This report describes the findings of a national household survey of residents in Wales aged 18 years and over between January to March 2022 (wave one) and repeated between January to March 2023 (wave two). The findings use a sample of 507 participants who completed both survey waves.

Authors: Kat Ford, Nicholas Carella+ 5 more
, Rebecca Hill, Hayley Janssen, Lauren Heywood, Daniella Griffiths, Sumina Azam
Report - EnglishReport - Welsh

Cold indoor temperatures and their association with health and well-being: a systematic literature review

Evidence suggests that indoor temperatures <18°C are associated with negative health effects. This study aimed to identify, appraise and update evidence on the association between cold temperatures (i.e. <18°C) within homes (i.e. dwellings) and health and well-being outcomes. Significant gaps in the current evidence base are identified, including research on the impacts of cold indoor temperatures on mental health and well-being, studies involving young children, and the long-term health effects of cold indoor temperatures.

Authors: Hayley Janssen, Kat Ford+ 5 more
, Ben Gascoyne, Rebecca Hill, Manon Roberts, Mark Bellis, Sumina Azam
Journal - English only

The rising cost of living and health and wellbeing in Wales: a national survey

Households across Wales and worldwide are experiencing an increase in the cost of living. Since late 2021, price rises for basic items such as food and energy have outstripped increases in average wages and welfare payments, leading to a fall in real disposable incomes. As a result, increasing pressure on household budgets is making it harder for people to afford the basics and is often referred to as a ‘cost of living crisis’. This report presents the findings of a survey developed to understand how the cost of living crisis is affecting health and wellbeing among the Welsh public; their approaches and decision-making relating to rising living costs; and their awareness of and access to financial support and schemes.

Authors: Rebecca Hill, Karen Hughes+ 3 more
, Katie Cresswell, Kat Ford, Mark Bellis
Report - English Report - Welsh

Identifying evidence to support action to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health: A systematic scoping and mapping review

This report examines the review-level evidence that is available to guide action on reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health. Evidence about public health interventions, programmes and policies applied to populations, groups and other geographically defined areas or jurisdictions was sought to explore whether they preferentially improve the health outcomes of people experiencing socioeconomic inequalities.

Authors: Lisa Jones, Mark Bellis+ 3 more
, Rebecca Hill, Karen Hughes, Sara Wood
Report - English Report - Welsh Infographic - English Infographic - Welsh

Welsh Health Equity Solutions Platform Animation: How to use the Solutions Platform

The Welsh Health Equity Solutions Platform (WHESP) animation provides an overview of the functionality of the platform, guiding the user page-by-page through each section and tool. It showcases the easy-to-use Data Tool and Report Generator, that can both be tailored to a desired area of interest to produce outputs to inform work and frame insights.

Authors: Rebecca Hill, Jo Peden+ 7 more
, Lauren Couzens (née Ellis), Mariana Dyakova, Daniela Stewart, James Allen, Golibe Ezenwugo, Anna Stielke, Kathryn Ashton
WHESP Animation - EnglishWHESP Animation - Welsh
Welsh Health Equity Solutions Platform - acronym WHESP

Welsh Health Equity Solutions Platform (WHESP)

The Welsh Health Equity Solutions Platform will act as a repository of information, case studies, and previous interventions used to help combat inequity and share good practice in Wales.
The platform features searchable data tools and a report-generating function which allows users to input their search terms and produce outputs related to those terms. The platform also offers a spotlight feature that can be used to highlight particular solutions or themes.
The team will develop the platform over time to add additional content and features.

Authors: Rebecca Hill, Jo Peden+ 12 more
, Lauren Couzens (née Ellis), Mariana Dyakova, Daniela Stewart, James Allen, Liz Green, Rebecca Masters, Leah Silva, Sara Cooklin-Urbano, Golibe Ezenwugo, Abigail Malcolm (née Instone), Jason Roberts, Rajendra Kadel
WHESP Link - EnglishWHESP Link - Welsh

Cold homes and their association with health and well-being: a systematic literature review

As part of a wider project to determine whether current indoor temperature standards for households in Wales are optimal for people’s comfort, health, and well-being, this review aims to identify and appraise the current evidence on the association between cold homes and health and well-being.

Authors: Hayley Janssen, Ben Gascoyne+ 4 more
, Kat Ford, Rebecca Hill, Manon Roberts, Sumina Azam
Report -EnglishReport - Welsh

Climate Change and Health in Wales: Views from the public

This report presents initial findings from a survey of adult residents in Wales on their perceptions of climate change and health. Whilst work to understand and mitigate climate change is gaining momentum in Wales, there remains a lack of information on population views and behaviours. Such data are critical for the co-creation of effective and acceptable approaches to climate change that help protect public health; the targeting of key messages and information; and the establishment of long-term solutions across Wales that will continue to be supported across multiple generations. To address this gap, a public survey was developed to seek the population’s views about climate change, its relationship with health, their current climate friendly behaviours, their willingness to engage in action, and views on policy solutions. This report presents initial findings from the survey, providing population-level views on climate change among adult residents in Wales.

Authors: Sara Wood, Karen Hughes+ 3 more
, Rebecca Hill, Natasha Judd, Mark Bellis
Report - EnglishReport - Welsh

An evaluation of a short film promoting kindness in Wales during COVID-19 restrictions #TimeToBeKind

In response to successive COVID-19 restrictions in Wales, the Welsh ACE Support Hub launched the #TimeToBeKind campaign in March 2021. The campaign used a short film broadcast on national television and promoted on social media to encourage behaviour change for kindness. This manuscript evaluates the #TimeToBeKind campaign film. Findings strongly indicated that film can be an effective tool to promote behaviour change for kindness and that even films that provoke strong emotional reactions can be positively perceived and lead to behaviour change. The findings of the evaluation are relevant to how public health messaging can adapt and utilise online space to target individuals and promote behaviour change.

Authors: Kat Ford, Mark Bellis+ 2 more
, Rebecca Hill, Karen Hughes
Journal

Brexit and Poverty in Wales: A Public Health Lens

The aim of this report is to strengthen knowledge and understanding of the implications of the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) – ‘Brexit’ – on poverty, and health and well-being in Wales.

Authors: Sumina Azam, Katie Hardcastle+ 6 more
, Laura Morgan, Rebecca Hill, Michael Fletcher, Tom Johnson, Liz Green, Mark Bellis
Report - EnglishReport - Welsh
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