The Social Determinants of
Health and Wellbeing:
What does it mean for FE?
Stefi Barna MPH
Teaching Public Health Network
University of East Anglia
School of Medicine
Healthy ‘Settings’
“Health is created and lived by people
within the settings of their everyday life;
where they learn, work, play and love.”
WHO, 1986
Healthy Schools, Universities, Workplaces, Prisons
Barton and Grant (2006) based on
Whitehead & Dahlgren (1991)
A Sample of Workforces with the Potential to
Influence Determinants of Health
Political and Global Leaders,
Scientists, Business Leaders
Waste management, Gardeners,
Landscapers
Restaurant owners,
Transportation
departments, Taxi
drivers, Bus drivers,
Teachers, Business
owners/Employers,
Airline workers/
Pilots, Engineers,
Scientists
Religious leaders,
Local Leaders,
School teachers
The Health Map. Barton & Grant 2006
Based on a public health concept by Whitehead & Dahlgren. The Lancet 1991
Architects, Traffic engineers,
Electricians, Plumbers, Builders
Employers,
Businessmen,
Employees,
Bankers
Families, Friends,
Extended Families,
Doctors, Nurses,
Pharmacists
National Healthy FE Programme
• Strategic, co-ordinated, corporate ‘whole
college’ approach
• Not new initiatives or bureaucracy; rather,
build on the health and wellbeing services
already offered
• College-generated: identify priorities and
develop local service and community
partnerships to address them
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/hfep
Health & Sustainability
in Further Education
Climate Change and Health
“Climate change the biodiversity loss are the
biggest health threats of the 21st century”
Lancet 2008
"Climate change is the cholera of our era"
NHS Chief Knowledge Officer, 2009
Climate Change and Health
•
Climate change and peak oil
•
Health improvement and low-carbon agendas:
‘Health Co-benefits’
•
Adaptation and Mitigation
‘…to improve our country’s health in a sustainable way
(a)ctions in two areas are particularly important: diet
and exercise.’
CMO, 2009 Annual Report ‘Climate Change & Health’
Active Travel Sustainable Food
Active Travel Health gains from walking and cycling
Obesity: risk correlates with time spent in a car; walking or cycling to school or
work is one of the most consistent ways to increase physical activity.
Cardiovascular disease: walking >1.5 miles per day is associated with a 50%
lower risk of myocardial infarction in older men
Mental health: regular exercise is effective in the prevention and treatment of
depression
Road deaths: accident rates go down when walking and cycling rates go up
Air quality: reduced emissions from car travel reduce cardiovascular and
respiratory morbidity
Noise reduction: road traffic noise is associated with hypertension
Sustainable food Health gains
Eating (and buying) fewer calories:
lower risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease
Less red and processed meat:
lower risk of obesity, colon cancer
Less processed food, more vegetables and grains:
lower risk of obesity, hypertension, healthy bowel
Locally sourced, seasonal food:
better nutritional status, boost local employment
Breastfeeding:
protects babies against infection, obesity, asthma, diabetes
Sustainable Food How FE can support it
1. Health education: make the link between
environmental and health benefits
If everyone in the UK stopped eating meat 1 day a week, the greenhouse
gas savings would be equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road
2. Sustainable food procurement
local, fair trade
3. Healthy and sustainable menus
What does it all mean for FE?
Regional Workforce:
We need a skilled workforce, across
disciplines, with the capacity to stop
people falling in ‘upstream’
Synergy with Other Agendas:
Take a holistic, ecological, strategic
approach (health, sustainability, fiscal
and corporate responsibility)
Student & Staff Experience:
Setting student habits for life;
supporting staff health
How does the work you do affect people’s
health and wellbeing?
In what ways might your students go on to
influence health through their work?
How does your college currently affect
(positively and negatively) the community’s
health and wellbeing?
www.eetphn.org
Stefi Barna
s.barna@uea.ac.uk
Fiona Wilson
fiona.r.wilson@uea.ac.uk