Public health
Why public health matters
Public health is about the health of the population in collective terms. The field of public health is constantly evolving in response to the needs of communities and populations around the world.
The underlying mission of public health is to improve the conditions and behaviours that affect health so that all people can attain it. That mission includes not only the practice of public health policy, but the research of public health issues and the education of future leaders who will eventually translate that research into practices and policies to improve the health of people regionally, nationally, and globally.
One of the main principles of public health is to improve quality of care and patients’ safety, in which the University of Hertfordshire has a great interest and research expertise.
What we offer
The academics and public health practitioners at the University of Hertfordshire have expertise which covers a wide spectrum of public health and patient safety activities in research, learning and teaching, consultancy and commercial work.
The Public Health work stream brings together this expertise not only across the School of Life and Medical Sciences but also from the School of Health and Social Work and the Hertfordshire Business School as well as research centres such as Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC).
Dr Marvelle Brown leads the Public Health lead within the School of Life and Medical Sciences. For more information on what we do, please contact her on +44 (0) 1707 284954 or by email at m.brown24@herts.ac.uk
Studying for postgraduate qualification
Our Master of Public Health course is tailored implicitly towards the needs of diverse health professionals including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and allied health, social care and environmental health professionals, as well as the wider public health workforce in the non-governmental sector. The programme supports managerial, policy and practitioner career pathways.
Find out more about this course, including how to apply.
We also offer both accredited and non-accredited short courses and modules for professionals who are interested in keeping abreast of the latest developmental public health work nationally and globally.
Research and scholarly activities
In the School of Life and Medical Sciences, the expansive expertise of academics in public health translates into coverage of a wide spectrum of research interest and activities. These include:
- Public Health and Pharmacy
- Patient and medication safety
- Health economy
- Pharmaco-epidemiology
Business Support and Consultancy
The public health team at the University works closely with all the stakeholders including NHS, Local Authorities and third sectors to support improvement of population health at local, national and international level.
Public health working group
This is a committee chaired by Professor Richard Price with membership from the University as well as the Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire Local Authority, Professor Jim McManus.
The remit of this committee is to identify the areas where the two organisations can collaborate and to inform the University of Hertfordshire Public Health team of the priorities of the NHS and local authorities.
Examples of consultancy work undertaken:
- Pharmaceutical Needs assessment for Bedford Borough 2015
- Pharmaceutical Needs assessment for Central Bedford 2015
- Pharmaceutical Needs assessment for Milton Keynes 2015
- Evaluation of Healthy Living Pharmacy for Hertfordshire LPC, 2014
- Assessment of fitness for purpose, Regional joint prescribing committee, Bedfordshire and Luton, 2012
- Individual funding process and procedures, Bedfordshire PCT, East of England 2013