The Institute of Health Visiting welcomes Public Health England’s new Health Profile for England published on Tuesday 11 September.

This report summarises the health of people in England in 2018 and provides an update to the first Health Profile for England (published 2017). A new addition for this year’s report is the inclusion of forecast data for several key indicators, for the 5 years up to 2023 and a separate chapter on the health of children in the early years.

As a society, people are living longer but often in poorer health and stubborn inequalities persist. Good health is about much more than good healthcare – a high-quality education, a warm home, and a good job are just as important to a healthy standard of living.

The future trends, data and evidence contained in Health Profile for England will help shape the forthcoming NHS long term plan and its renewed focus on prevention as well as treatment.

The report covers life expectancy; major causes of death; mortality trends; child health; inequality in health; wider determinants of health; and health protection. The report also links to further PHE tools to allow local policymakers and commissioners to see how they compare with the national picture.

The Health Profile for England report’s 7 chapters are:

  1. Population change and life expectancy
  2. Trends in mortality
  3. Trends in morbidity and risk factors
  4. Health of children in the early years
  5. Inequality in health
  6. Wider determinants of health
  7. Current and emerging health protection issues