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e-Newsletter Issue 3 April 2008 |
Welcome to the third ScotPHO e-NewsletterIn this e-Newsletter we feature some of the projects we've been working on over recent months and highlight other developments in public health intelligence in Scotland that may be of interest to you. If you have any comments or questions about the e-Newsletter or the ScotPHO collaboration, please email us at scotpho@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk. If you have difficulty reading this e-Newsletter as an email, then please view it as a web page. New on the ScotPHO websiteClick on the headlines below for more details Obesity in Scotland: an epidemiology briefingThis report provides an overview of the epidemiology of obesity in Scotland, describing geographical and social variations in obesity, health inequalities and related morbidity and mortality. The report concludes by identifying some important information needs and gaps for public health intelligence on obesity in Scotland. Measuring socio-economic inequalities in health: a practical guideIn Scotland - as in many other countries - there is currently considerable emphasis being placed on reducing socio-economic inequalities in health. However, success in achieving such a reduction can only be gauged if the inequalities can be measured. This briefing paper looks at several different methods available to measure inequalities and provides a commentary on each. It also comes with an Excel worksheet that will enable public health practitioners and analysts to interpret their own data. Tobacco smoking in Scotland: an epidemiology briefingThis report looks at how tobacco impacts on the population health of Scotland, why people take up smoking and continue to smoke, and what might be done to curb the epidemic. Using the latest available data, it estimates the size of the problem, discusses why it matters, and presents trends in smoking over time. Variation in smoking prevalence within the Scottish population, and international comparisons, are also shown. It then discusses factors that help determine smoking status and details measures that may help tackle the problem. It concludes with some final remarks on the continuing challenge posed by tobacco. NHS Smoking Cessation Service Statistics (Scotland) 2007This report presents information on clients attempting to quit smoking with the help of NHS smoking cessation services, and quit outcomes, during the 2007 calendar year. Included also are comparisons with data for the previous year. The primary source of the data is the National Smoking Cessation Database, managed by ISD Scotland. Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) peopleThis new website section describes health and risk factor information currently available for the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) population in Scotland. Some of the key points from the section are:
Pregnancy and birthsThis new website section pulls together available information and data on pregnancy and births in Scotland. It considers avoidable risk factors during pregnancy (maternal smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use), and their health impact, and national policy. It also includes data on population fertility, pregnancy outcomes, maternal and birth outcomes, and breastfeeding. Public Health Information Network for ScotlandWe've added a new Public Health Information Network for Scotland (PHINS) mailing list to our existing email list options for ScotPHO website registered users. By subscribing to this new email list you will receive regular emails relating to PHINS. This network aims to keep public health professionals in Scotland up-to-date with national and local developments in the sphere of public health information via bulletins, email updates and seminars. The annual PHINS seminar is particularly popular and provides a forum for discussing and publicising current public health information and research projects in Scotland. If you are already registered with the ScotPHO website and wish to be added to the PHINS email list please email us at scotpho@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk. If you have not yet registered with the website, please consider registering to receive regular email updates about the work of the ScotPHO collaboration. ScotPHO website topic focusOral healthThe oral health of adults in Scotland has improved markedly over the last 30 years, with more adults still having some of their natural teeth and retaining more teeth into their older years. Children's dental health has also improved, but levels of decay are still worse than the UK as a whole and western Europe. In 2006, 54% of 5-year-old children in Scotland had some dental decay. Those from deprived communities had the greatest disease burden, and are unlikely to meet the Scottish target of 60% with no obvious decay by 2010 (see graph below). For further information on this topic, see our Oral health web pages.
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Other developments in public health intelligence in ScotlandClick on the headlines below for more details New community health profiles for Greater Glasgow and ClydeThe Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) has created a new set of community health profiles, building on the success of similar health profiles produced by NHS Health Scotland in 2004. There are ten community profiles, one for each Community Health (and Care) Partnership within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. Data are also provided for smaller areas within each community. The profiles are based on a socio-ecological model of health and include indicators of health outcomes (e.g. deaths and hospitalisations) and health determinants (e.g. behaviours and socio-economic factors). Health and wellbeing profiles for CHPs across the rest of ScotlandWork is now well underway by the ScotPHO team at ISD Scotland to produce similar profiles to the GCPH profiles mentioned above for the 30 Community Health Partnership (CHP) areas covering the remainder of Scotland. Project outputs will include: individual CHP area reports, a Scotland-level report and intermediate zone / sub-CHP 'locality' data. The first profiles (comprising data for approximately 60 health and wellbeing indicators) are due to be published at the end of June 2008 and will be updated annually thereafter. Mental health and wellbeing indicators for ScotlandNHS Health Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Government, has now concluded its work to establish a national set of adult mental health indicators for Scotland. The final report for this work and a briefing paper are now available, both of which list the adult indicator set (there are 55 indicators in total). A new data report is to be presented at an event to be held on 21st April 2008 at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. This report will populate the adult indicator framework with currently available data to provide an initial assessment of adult mental health in Scotland. The event will also launch a new project to establish children and young people’s mental health indicators, inviting discussion and debate on the possible structuring of the framework for these indicators. Scottish Neighbourhood StatisticsThe Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics website was last updated on the 7th February to include the latest data on childhood obesity, hospital admissions and maternity information. Benefits, criminal justice, social work and business data were all also updated. Information on dwellings in flood risk areas were added to the site at datazone level for the first time. The next update to the site will be on Friday 2nd May. Scottish Health SurveyThe new Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) went into the field in January 2008 and around 800 interviews and over 50 nurse visits have already taken place. Reports of the survey findings are planned for summer 2009. The survey now has a core and modular structure, and includes a knowledge, attitudes and motivations to health (KAM) module as a replacement for NHS Health Scotland’s Health Education Population Survey (HEPS). Health boards were given the option to boost their samples beyond the level which is being funded centrally and in 2008 three health boards – Borders, Fife and Grampian – have taken this opportunity. If you have any comments or questions about the Scottish Health Survey, please email the SHeS team at ScottishHealthSurvey@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Data Augmentation for Sexual Health (DASH)As part of the ongoing sexual health data development work at ISD Scotland, a review has been undertaken looking at the information available on sexual health attitudes, lifestyles and behaviours obtained via surveys - both national and UK-wide. Following the review, the contraceptive section of the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) has been expanded and will be asked of both men and women. The content of the SHeS post-HEPS (Health Education Population Survey) module has been updated to reflect current data requirements. The review group is considering the potential of input into other existing surveys in addition to the possibility of commissioning more specialist surveys. Scottish Public Health Network (ScotPHN)Phil Mackie, Senior Specialist in Public Health, NHS Lothian is the new lead consultant for ScotPHN. Julie McGahan, Professional Support Officer, has also joined the team. Current work includes a needs assessment of services for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) / myalgic encephalopathy (ME) and an HIV treatment and care services needs assessment. A project on mental health patient pathways for prisoners will start this month. ScotPHN is currently seeking a lead author to undertake a needs assessment on diabetes. For further details email scotphn@health.scot.nhs.uk. Injury Observatory for Britain and IrelandThe first issue of Injury Prevention News The aftershock of deindustrialisationPost-industrial decline is frequently cited as one of the major underlying reasons for the poor health profile of Scotland and, especially, the West of Scotland. This report, jointly produced by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health and NHS Health Scotland, compares mortality based trends in Scotland with 20 regions in the UK and mainland Europe which suffered similar levels of deindustrialisation in the latter half of the 20th century. The key result is that mortality in Scotland (and especially the West of Scotland) is high and rates of improvement low compared to these other areas that experienced industrial decline. The report goes on to explore possible explanations for Scotland's / West of Scotland's relative poor rate of health improvement. Coming soon on the ScotPHO websiteThis year we hope to add the following resources to the ScotPHO website, so please check our home page regularly to see what's new on the website. Reports:
Website sections:
Other resources:
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