Strategic Priorities

Public Health Wales’ ambition is to achieve a healthier, happier and fairer Wales by working together with various partners. This includes empowering people to protect and improve their own health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities by engaging, informing, advising and speaking up for them.

The organisation’s strategic plan for 2017-2020.

 Shared strategic priorities for an integrated approach to public health across NHS Wales:
  • Working collaboratively and providing system leadership to improve our population's health.
  • Working across sectors to improve the future health and wellbeing of our children.
  • Developing and supporting primary and community care services to improve the public’s health.
  • Supporting the NHS to improve healthcare outcomes for people using services.
Strategic priorities specific to Public Health Wales:
  • Influencing policy to protect and improve health and reduce inequalities.
  • Protecting the public and continuously improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of the services we deliver. 
  • Developing the organisation to be the best it can be.

Public Health Wales Research Strategy

Public Health Wales recently developed its Research Strategy. This outlines the commitments for Public Health Wales to foster a research active culture, and with external partners to encourage the generation of new research ideas and development of high quality research. In addition to supporting staff to develop and strengthen their research skills and capabilities to use research efficiently and effectively in everyday practice. Public Health Wales is committed to develop and engage in high quality research that:

  • Is expected to make a difference to public health outcomes.
  • Is conducted in an ethical manner and in accord with the appropriate research permissions.  
  • Is relevant to current research priorities and attracts appropriate funding.
  • Uses a range of methods appropriate for the purpose of the research (including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods).
  • Fosters research collaborations internally and externally across different agencies, disciplines and partnership working with government departments wherever possible.
  • Is conducted collaboratively with those likely to be affected by the research by linking researchers with policy-makers, practitioners and the public.
  • Is aligned with the strategic priorities for Public Health Wales as outlined in the Public Health Wales strategic plan.

To deliver the Research Strategy, attention will focus on four principal areas:

  1. Developing and supporting Public Health Wales’ research capacity.
  2. Facilitating the generation of new knowledge.
  3. Strengthening our public engagement as well as collaborations with academic institutions, NHS Trusts in Wales, third sector and other agencies that have a wider public health research interest in Wales.
  4. Increasing the profile of Public Health Wales’ research by communicating widely with our stakeholders and promoting the translation of research into public health policy and practice.