Model of public health
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The first UK wide Allied Health Professions Public Health Strategic Framework was published in 2019.[1] The strategic framework set out a united, collective approach to Public Health for AHPs across all four nations. The infographic below outlines the model of Public Health for AHPs – explaining public health contributions into four key domains:
- Health improvement - describes the work to improve the health and mental wellbeing of individuals, communities or populations through enabling and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and developing resilience.
- Population healthcare – aims to maximise value, equity and good outcomes by focusing on the needs of the population and delivering person centred services across the entire health and care system.
- Health protection – aims to protect the population's health from communicable diseases and other threats, while reducing health inequalities
- Wider determinants – working across different communities, especially those that are in areas of higher deprivation and therefore likely to have multiple risk factors for higher health inequality. Also ensuring access to positive influences on health such as leisure and community resources.
Click on each of the bullets above to find out more about each aspect of public health, consider examples of practice, access resources and reflect on your own role.
Resources and tools to support your learning in public health?
- The Royal Society for Public Health have developed an Allied Health Professionals hub with access to case studies, resources and tools to support practice. The aim of the hub is to provide information, encourage best practice and tell success stories of AHPs who do incredible work every day to protect and improve the public's health.
- Public Health Scotland has a learning site that offers many opportunities to discover more about health inequalities including a designated public health learning hub. The hub offers a series of modules designed to support your understanding of public health, and the role you can play. This and much more can be fully accessed when you register with the learning site.
- Tackling Health inequalities framework The King’s Fund has worked with AHPs from across the UK to develop a framework to support any AHP to think through and understand their contribution to tackling health inequalities, whatever their role. The framework details how AHPs can raise awareness, take action and optimise advocacy.
- Published in 2018 the Scotland's public health priorities report outlines Scotland’s six public health priorities
- The Scottish AHP Public Health Strategic Framework Implementation Plan (launched on 2 August 2022) was developed to describe how the UK AHP Public Health Strategic framework will be put into practice in Scotland and connected to the Public Health Priorities for Scotland.
- NHS Education for Scotland’s website contains a section on Public Health with links to useful reading, reports and resources.
For questions please get in touch:
Joanne Gibson, Senior Educator: Joanne.gibson4@nhs.scot