Public Health
Help people stay healthy and live their best life. Working in public health gives you the chance to improve the lives of thousands of people while having the individual at the heart of everything you do.
You'll look at the 'bigger picture' and be passionate about making change for the better.
Health visitor
Health visitors are specialist community public health nurses (SCPHN,) registered midwives or nurses who work with families with a child aged from birth to five. They aim to identify needs as early as possible and improve health and wellbeing, prevent ill health and reduce inequalities.
You will usually provide individual support and advice for families in their homes. But you will also run clinics and groups with different professionals, including early years practitioners, children’s social care professionals, GPs, school nurses, allied health professionals, and voluntary services to support the needs of children and families.
Your day-to-day role may vary from area to area, but will typically include:
supporting parents during their transition to parenthood and in the weeks following the birth of their baby
providing support and advice for the initiation and duration of breastfeeding, infant feeding and healthy eating for young children
assessing children’s growth and development needs
delivering health reviews to assess children’s growth and development needs, including the two-year health review and to be ready for school
promoting the best start in speech, language and communication including identification of need and additional support to be ready to learn
supporting maternal and infant mental health
supporting healthy weight and healthy nutrition conversations to prevent childhood obesity through behaviour change techniques.
advising on minor illness, home safety, safer sleep and accident prevention.
Occupational health nurse
Occupational health nurses are qualified and registered nurses, many of whom have chosen to gain additional training and qualifications as specialist community public health nurses (SCPHN – OHN). They specialise in the care and wellbeing of people at work.
Employees often see their occupational health nurse to seek advice on various matters, such as:
a non-work-related condition
where to get the best advice on a health issue or personal problem at home
health and safety at work
Your role will include:
identifying and preventing work-related health problems
promoting healthy living and working conditions
understanding the effects of work on health and of health on work
providing advice on first aid management
providing health screening services
workforce and workplace monitoring and health needs assessments
health promotion
education and training
counselling and support
risk assessment and risk management
travel health.
Public health manager
Public health managers work across all three areas of public health – health improvement, health protection and healthcare public health.
They are experienced and qualified in public health and management, and they work with others across the health system to lead and implement programmes of work that have a focus on public health. Their areas of work can be immensely varied depending on the organisation they work in. For example, they may be managing and supporting teams; providing public health expertise and advice to organisations; or commissioning services and managing public health budgets.
Public health nurse
Public health nurses are qualified and registered nurses or midwives who have then chosen to gain experience or training to specialise in areas such as health protection or sexual health.
They play a vital role in promoting and protecting the public’s health by promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing the likelihood of ill-health, supporting people who have long-term illness, or preventing illness through immunisations or screening interventions.
They are employed in a variety of settings including the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, local councils and the NHS.