New report opens debate on the potential impact of the wider public health workforce in England

A new report published by the Centre for Workforce Intelligence and the Royal Society for Public Health has found that around 15 million people in England have the opportunity or ability to impact health and wellbeing through their work.

Understanding the wider public health workforce in England is the first report of its kind to look at the wider public health workforce and how they can contribute towards the health of the nation. The report was commissioned following last year’s Five year forward view by the NHS.

Within the report, it was found that the 225,000 people who work within the sport and fitness sector are active or interested in engaging with public health.

Some of the occupations within the sector include sports coaches, fitness instructors, personal trainers and leisure centre employees. The report highlights how these types of jobs contribute towards improving people’s health through improving their diet, weight or levels of physical activity, as well as through helping to reduce someone’s chances of premature mortality and improving their mental health.

The report also features a case study about the Workplace Challenge, created by the County Sports Partnership Network. The Workplace Challenge, recognising that adults spend 60% of their waking hours at work, aims to increase physical activity levels of staff through a range of products and services specifically designed for the workplace. The results have so far indicated an increase in participation of inactive people who took part in the challenge.

To read the full report please click here.