This report summarises findings from a literature review of the impact of the cost of living crisis on children’s health and well-being. We drew on the findings to make recommendations across eleven priority policy action areas.
The International Health Coordination Centre’s (IHCC) International Health Newsletter promotes and shares international news, events and initiatives with partners across Wales and beyond.
The newsletter was piloted in May 2023, thereon issued quarterly.
View the latest issue here.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can impact mental and physical health, leaving people with less resilience to health challenges across the life-course. This study examines whether individuals’ levels and changes in levels of mental health, physical health and sleep quality reported across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with ACEs and moderated by social assets such as having trusted family and friends.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass various adversities, e.g., physical and/or emotional abuse. Understanding the effects of different ACE types on various health outcomes can guide targeted prevention and intervention. We estimated the association between three categories of ACEs in isolation and when they co-occurred. Specifically, the relationship between child maltreatment, witnessing violence, and household dysfunction and the risk of being involved in violence, engaging in health-harming behaviors, and experiencing mental ill-health.
Time to Talk Public Health is a national panel of Welsh residents aged 16+ years established by Public Health Wales to enable regular public engagement to inform public health policy and practice. The panel is designed to be broadly representative of the Welsh population by age, sex, deprivation, ethnicity and health board. This report presents findings from the June 2023 survey covering: NHS waiting lists, Housing, Witnessing violence, Mental well-being, Primary care.
The International Horizon Scanning and Learning reports were initiated as part of the COVID-19 public health response, to support dynamic response and recovery measures and planning in Wales. In spring 2022, the scope of the reports was expanded to cover priority public health topics, including in the areas of health improvement and promotion, health protection, and health care public health.
In focus: Mental Health and Well-being of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers
Wales Without Violence: Perspectives of Children and Young People brings together contributions made by children and young people during the Wales Without Violence consultation. It provides unparalleled insight into the issues most affecting children and young people in Wales, as well as their priorities for preventing violence.
The report should be read alongside the Wales Without Violence Framework.
This health impact assessment (HIA) is a strategic and comprehensive appraisal of the potential implications of climate change on population health in Wales. It provides robust evidence to inform public bodies, agencies and organisations in their preparations for, and responses to, climate change and climate change events. It aims to support adoption of policies and plans that can promote and protect health and wellbeing for all in Wales and in those population groups and geographical areas particularly at risk of negative impacts.
The outputs of the HIA available to download here are:
• An evidence based HIA Summary report
• Individual chapters on the evidence of impact of climate change on the wider determinants of health and population groups in Wales
• A set of 4 infographics
• A PowerPoint slide deck
• A Technical Report
There is a wealth of evidence that shows the significant impact people’s homes have on their health and well-being.
Public Health Wales is publishing a series of briefings that aims to translate this evidence into action. The briefing series will:
• Outline our shared vision for a future of healthy housing in Wales.
• Share examples of what ‘good’ looks like from existing evidence and notable practice.
• Use this insight, alongside evidence from people’s lived experiences, to identify actions that will help achieve our vision.
This briefing sets the context for the series and the themes and topics it will cover.
This report provides a short summary of the findings of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement on Wales. This report is a high-level, evidence-based strategic overview. It summarises the main health, well-being and equity impacts that could potentially occur in the short and longer-term following the UK’s accession to the CPTPP.
A practical, interactive tool to help you consider and define your target behaviour and target population, as you create a ‘behavioural specification’.
A practical, interactive tool to help you develop a systematic understanding of the influences of your target behaviour, in your target population.
A report into the exploration of factors influencing the application of behavioural science within public health practice across Wales.
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.
Time to Talk Public Health is a nationally representative panel of Welsh residents aged 16+ years established by Public Health Wales to enable regular public engagement to inform public health policy and practice. In April we published a report presenting findings from the February – March 2023 survey which focused on screening, sustainability, campaigns and current concerns. This second report from the February – March 2023 survey is focused on findings relating to food environments and healthy weight.
This briefing by Public Health Wales summarises the international systems the UK and Wales participated in to tackle illicit alcohol, tobacco, and drugs before Brexit. It will then explore how these have changed post-Brexit and what potential impact that may have on health and well-being in Wales.
The International Horizon Scanning and Learning reports were initiated as part of the COVID-19 public health response, to support dynamic response and recovery measures and planning in Wales. In spring 2022, the scope of the reports was expanded to cover priority public health topics, including in the areas of health improvement and promotion, health protection, and health care public health.
In focus: Universal primary Free School Meals
Social capital is a protective factor for health and well-being, and differences contribute significantly to health inequalities in Wales. This paper provides a rapid review of older people’s social relationships and networks and how this has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recent cost of living crisis. The report identifies policy and practice examples that can promote, sustain and strengthen older people’s social relationships and networks as a means of overcoming challenges and building the social capital of current and future older generations.
Achieving a More Equal Wales is one of the seven goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The act provides public sector bodies in Wales with the five ways of working that will support us to make better decisions today for a More Equal Wales tomorrow. The Welsh Government’s Socio-economic Duty came into force in 2021 and aims to deliver better outcomes for those who experience socio-economic disadvantage.
The aim of this Guide is to help public bodies in Wales apply the Socio-economic Duty so that it can act as a powerful lever to improve the health outcomes for people and communities who experience socio-economic disadvantage. Public bodies have an opportunity to embed the Duty into their systems and approaches to ensure that the Duty makes a systematic difference and is not just a tick-box exercise.
An accompanying animation is also available via the links below.
Time to Talk Public Health is a new nationally representative panel of Welsh residents established by Public Health Wales to enable regular public engagement to inform public health policy and practice.
This month’s survey covered physical activity, active travel, menopause, shingles, and climate change.
Unemployment has adverse consequences for families and can put children at risk of harm. This review examines associations between parental unemployment and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Findings highlight that increasing employment opportunities and parental support interventions may help break multigenerational cycles of ACEs.
The International Health Coordination Centre’s (IHCC) International Health Newsletter promotes and shares international news, events and initiatives with partners across Wales and beyond.
The newsletter was piloted in May 2023, thereon issued quarterly.
View the latest issue here.
This International Horizon Scanning and Learning Summary Calendar is the third in the series, following the Summary Calendars from 2020/21 and 2021/22. This Summary Calendar has collated, synthesised, and presented a clear and concise synopsis of the five International Horizon Scanning Reports over the past year, since April 2022 through to March 2023. In addition, the two summary reports (published in 2022) are included. The International Horizon Scanning and Learning work stream has proved to showcase informative and impactful research whilst collating data from other countries and has provided guidance, recommendations, and useful insights regarding the evolving nature and uncertainties of emerging public health topics, which has sought to improve and inform such actions and approaches in Wales.
The summary aims to inform a succinct overview of comprehensive, coherent, inclusive and evidence-informed policy action, which has supported and continues to support the national strategies towards a healthier, more equal, resilient, prosperous and globally responsible Wales. This calendar includes key messages and key recommendations from the high level synthesis pages of each International Horizon Scanning report.
Themes include:
• Intermediate care
• The cost of living crisis
• COVID-proofing the educational environment: 4-18 years
• Early childhood education and care
• Communication campaigns for vaccine acceptance
• The impact of COVID-19 on mental health and increasing vulnerability
• The impact of COVID-19 on increasing the health gap and vulnerability
This report outlines the International Health Coordination Centre’s (IHCC) progress in driving and enabling implementation of the Charter for International Health Partnerships in Wales (the Charter) across the NHS over the last four years. It also provides examples of international health partnership working from across the Health Boards and NHS Trusts. The report highlights the IHCC’s plans and aspirations for the future, in supporting a healthier, more equal, globally responsible, resilient and prosperous NHS in Wales.
The report highlights the IHCC’s role, achievements, ways of working, collaborative structures and activities; and outlines the evolution of the IHCC in relation to global, UK, national and local developments. These include challenges and opportunities such as the UK withdrawal from the European Union (‘Brexit’), the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘cost of living’ crisis. It demonstrates the tools used to enable shared learning, facilitate cross-NHS and cross-sector synergies, and maximise benefits to the health and well-being of the people in Wales and beyond.
Time to Talk Public Health is a new nationally representative panel of Welsh residents established by Public Health Wales to enable regular public engagement to inform public health policy and practice. This report presents findings from the February – March 2023 survey, covering issues including screening, sustainability, campaigns and current concerns. The following topics were also asked in the survey: food environments, healthy weight and Healthy Weight Healthy You campaign, however, their findings will be reported internally initially and published at a later date.
Preventing violence among children and young people requires collective and coordinated action.
The Wales Without Violence Framework outlines the key elements needed to successfully develop primary prevention and early intervention strategies to end violence among children and young people through a public health, whole-system approach.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show strong cumulative associations with ill-health across the life course. Harms can arise even in those exposed to a single ACE type but few studies examine such exposure. For individuals experiencing a single ACE type, we examine which ACEs are most strongly related to different health harms.
The Wales Violence Prevention Unit has developed this Wales-specific guidance to support multi-agency partners to complete strategic needs assessments to understand how violence is affecting their communities and to help them develop a violence prevention strategy, as part of the Serious Violence Duty.
An interactive tool to help you take a behaviourally informed approach when designing your communications
The International Horizon Scanning and Learning reports were initiated as part of the COVID-19 public health response, to support dynamic response and recovery measures and planning in Wales. In spring 2022, the scope of the reports was expanded to cover priority public health topics, including in the areas of health improvement and promotion, health protection, and health care public health.
In focus: Communication campaigns for vaccine acceptance