Prevention of ill health

Prevention is an integral part of the solution to many of the problems that children face in the UK - from increasing mortality rates, to high prevalence of obesity, to widening social and health inequalities.
Document

"Securing our healthy future: Prevention is better than cure"

Set in the context of a political deprioritisation of children and young people within the UK Government’s current health agenda, this report, published by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in September 2023, makes the case for prioritising the prevention of ill health in childhood.
Icon - computer screen with bar chart and arrow
State of Child Health is our landmark report into the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK. This looks at three indicators around prevention of ill health: immunisations, healthy weight and oral health.
Icon - document with folded corner
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)'s green paper in 2019, "Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s", included proposals to tackle the causes of preventable ill health in England - looking at services, choices and conditions.
Icon - speech bubbles
We responded to the consultation on this green paper. We were supportive of many of the Government's ambitious plans, but noted the need for sufficient funding and cross-government focus on improving the social conditions in which people are born and live.

News about public health and prevention

Podcast

Child health and climate change episode 2: Canada

Floods, heatwaves and wildfires have become increasingly common across Canada. And as retired paediatrician Dr Julian Pleydell-Pearce explains in this episode of our climate change podcast series, this makes a profound impact on the lives of children and young people - and the way health services ar...