Public health practice will benefit from new HDA collaborating centres launched today, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 14 Jul 2004 - 7:00 PDT


Some of the best brains in the country will work together to strengthen intellectual and academic networks and promote best practice in public health as nine new collaborating centres are launched across England and Wales today by the Health Development Agency (HDA).

Based mainly in the university sector, the centres will each have their own focus on gathering evidence on what works to improve health and reduce health inequalities and building on practice development in areas such as smoking cessation and drug prevention. They will help strengthen public health infrastructure by creating a network of organisations and institutions working together to further develop HDA evidence and promote good practice.

These centres will enhance and maintain the evidence base in areas such as childhood accidental injury, maternal and child nutrition, the promotion of physical activity, the prevention of obesity and drug misuse. Others will focus on the practical issues of smoking cessation and tobacco control, maternal and child nutrition and community engagement.

Paul Streets, Chief Executive of the Health Development Agency said: "This is groundbreaking for England and we are looking forward to seeing some promising results. These new centres bring together universities and other institutions in a collaborative arrangement with the HDA. They will deliver evidence and advice that is both informed by and relevant to local practitioners, policy makers and planners and will provide an opportunity to boost delivery of the public health agenda, as well as investing in and developing resources at both the regional and local level."

The collaborating centres are situated at Oxford University (in collaboration with Loughborough University), University of the West of England (Bristol) (in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and the Childhood Accident Prevention Trust), University of Teesside, University of Wales (College of Medicine), Liverpool John Moores University, Leeds University (in collaboration with the Universities of York and Coventry), Public Management Associates, Lancaster University and Queen Mary, University of London.

In addition to these collaborating centres, the HDA has developed framework agreements with a further fifteen institutions which will allow the further rapid development of the collaborating centre approach in future years. Already proving successful is the Healthy Communities Collaborative launched by the HDA and National Primary Care Development Team in September 2003 with the aim of engaging communities and reducing the number of falls in the over-65 population in disadvantaged areas in the UK.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health Development Agency http://www.hda.nhs.uk is the national authority on what works to improve people's health and to reduce health inequalities. We work in partnership across sectors to support informed decision making at all levels and the development of effective practice.

For further information please contact James Thomson or Sophie Davison, HDA Press Office on(UK) 020 7061 3108/3125.

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