The Association of Public Health Observatories

Welcome to The Association of Public Health Observatories


The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) represents a network of 12 public health observatories (PHOs) working across the five nations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We produce information, data and intelligence on people’s health and health care for practitioners, policy makers and the wider community. Our expertise lies in turning information and data into meaningful health intelligence.

Thumbnail image for Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 10: Drug Use
Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 10: Drug Use
This tenth in a series of national reports produced for the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) by the Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) is on drug use. The report contains 46 different indicators of drug use relating to the individual, community and population across all nine English regions; with additional analysis of sub-regional inequalities where possible. An Executive Summary is also ava …

Thumbnail image for Launch of the new Informing Healthier Choices website
Launch of the new Informing Healthier Choices website
The new Informing Healthier Choices (IHC) website has now been launched. The site is hosted through the APHO website, and can be accessed through APHO’s home page or through http://www.apho.org.uk/ihc

IHC is the Department of Health programme that sets out to ensure everyone with a responsibility for planning and commissioning services for healthy individuals and populations, can do so on the basis of the best available knowledge. Amongst its products so far are the National …

Thumbnail image for National Centre for Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD) Compendium Update
National Centre for Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD) Compendium Update
The October Compendium update has been released by NCHOD. The release provides updated information on the following groups of indicators:

generic population indicators that include GP relevant population estimates based on lists extracted from the ADS 2007 (reconciled to ONS mid-2006 estimates for local authorities) and Indices of Deprivation 2007;
Risk factors including fat consumption based on Expenditure and Food Survey, and smoking …
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Thumbnail image for The Good Indicators Guide: Understanding how to use and choose indicators
The Good Indicators Guide: Understanding how to use and choose indicators
This guide is intended to be a short, practical resource for anyone in any health system who is responsible for using indicators to monitor and improve performance, systems or outcomes.

Thumbnail image for APHO Technical Briefing 4: Target Setting in a Multi-Agency Environment
APHO Technical Briefing 4: Target Setting in a Multi-Agency Environment
The fourth is the series of APHO Technical Briefings looks at key issues to consider when setting targets in a multi-agency environment, including the choice of appropriate methodologies, indicators and statistics, and consideration of the wider political and ethical context.

Thumbnail image for Commissioning toolkit of parenting programmes
Commissioning toolkit of parenting programmes
The Commissioning Toolkit of Parenting Programmes is a searchable online database which contains comprehensive descriptions of parenting programmes available for commission. It presents information about programmes – their aims, content, target groups and practitioner requirements and also rates them according to quality and effectiveness, allowing commissioners to make informed choices about how suitable a particular programme may be in meeting the needs of specific parents.

Thumbnail image for APHO Technical Briefing 5: Geodemographic Segmentation
APHO Technical Briefing 5: Geodemographic Segmentation
In this briefing we take a summary overview of segmentation and then focus on one approach to segmentation using geodemographic methods. We then compare the most commonly available geodemographic segmentation tools, highlighting the possible applications within the health sector and discussing some of the factors that should be considered when looking to invest in a system.

Thumbnail image for Launch of new skin cancer website
Launch of new skin cancer website
SWPHO launches its new skin cancer website on 16th June 2009.

Thumbnail image for Consultation on the Wider Use of Patient Information
Consultation on the Wider Use of Patient Information
A link to the NHS Connecting for Health website that is conducting a consultation with the public and healthcare professionals on the use of patient information for purposes such as health research and managing and planning care.

Thumbnail image for ChiMat relaunches as a theme-based Observatory
ChiMat relaunches as a theme-based Observatory
Access the latest evidence, information and interactive planning tools through our new website.

Thumbnail image for A PROFILE OF THE NATION’S HEALTH – Wake-up call on health inequalities
A PROFILE OF THE NATION’S HEALTH – Wake-up call on health inequalities
Health Profiles for every local authority and region across England were published today by the Department of Health and the Association of Public Health Observatories. The Profiles use key health indicators to capture a picture of the nation’s health down to local level, providing areas across England with valuable information to improve their population’s health. This year’s data also includes new information on child health inequalities.

Thumbnail image for The Public Health Skills and Career Framework Guidance, Job and Person Specifications.
The Public Health Skills and Career Framework Guidance, Job and Person Speci …
A suite of job descriptions and person specifications (JDs & PSs) and guidance has been developed to support the Public Health Skills and Career Framework based on Agenda for Change (AfC) bandings and in line with the national NHS job evaluation scheme.