Public Health is the art and science of promoting and protecting health and well-being, preventing ill-health and prolonging life through organised efforts of society.

Public Health takes an approach which sees people through critical life stages or the life course – these stages are starting well, developing well, living and working well, and ageing well.

Public Health cover four domains of health, these include: Improving the wider determinants of health, which means making improvements in factors which affect health and wellbeing and inequalities, such as children in poverty, school readiness, domestic abuse, fuel poverty, homelessness, offender health.  Health Improvement means working around issues such as breastfeeding, teenage pregnancy, smoking prevalence, diet, weight and nutrition, drug and alcohol treatment, cancer screening and wellbeing.

Health protection is the third domain and includes air pollution, vaccinations and screening and responding to incidents and emergencies. Finally, domain 4 is Healthcare public health and preventing premature mortality which seeks to reduce the numbers of people living with preventable ill health and people dying prematurely. This work includes children’s dental and oral health, mortality from liver disease, cancer and respiratory diseases as well as winter deaths, suicide and dementia.  All of this and much more… Public health is everywhere!

Locally, we work with partners in the voluntary sector, local businesses and enterprises, community groups, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust Opens in a new window, One Devon, Healthwatch Torbay Opens in a new window, Devon County Council Opens in a new window and many more - health is everyone’s business!