Putting Health First

Our Putting Health First programme of work, which ran from March 2004 to February 2005, aimed to raise the profile of public health among policy-makers and professionals.
The research, discussion and partnership activities carried out as part of the programme included:

Understanding public attitudes

Public Attitudes To Public Health Policy cover With support from the Health Development Agency and the Department of Health, we commissioned new research from Opinion Leader Research to find out what people think about health, as distinct from health services.

Corporate citizenship

Building on our 2002 report Claiming the Health Dividend, we are working to help public bodies, including the NHS, implement socially responsible policies in relation to employment, procurement, capital build, waste, energy and transport. We also held a conference on corporate citizenship in the NHS in January 2005.

The role of lay health advocacy

Building Bridges for Health cover We built on a major King's Fund programme to develop black and minority ethnic health advocates across London, map wider health advocacy initiatives in the capital, and consider how these might play a greater role in improving the health of communities.

Building the knowledge base

Finding Out What Works cover We published new thinking about the nature of evidence and its use in effecting complex change within communities, and the relationship between research, policy and practice.

London works for better health

We sponsored a programme, run by the London Health Commission, to encourage health, employment and regeneration stakeholders across the capital to develop strategies to improve health and reduce health inequalities through employment and enterprise; and promote healthy and sustainable employment practices.

Managing for health

Managing For Health cover We carried out research revealing that if NHS managers are to focus on wider public health issues, incentives need to be realigned.

Putting Health First conference

On 14 May 2004, the King's Fund held a conference to launch a new programme of work, Putting Health First. More than 100 delegates, including politicians, leaders of think tanks and pressure groups, and senior managers from the NHS, local government and the voluntary sector attended the event, which explored the evolving public health agenda.