Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is an independent, multi-disciplinary charity dedicated to the improvement of the public's health. RSPH helps inform policy and practice, working to educate, empower and support communities and individuals to live healthily. Its vision is that everyone has the opportunity to optimise their health and wellbeing. RSPH's Chief Executive is William Roberts, while its current president is Professor

Lord Patel of Bradford Kamlesh Kumar Patel, Lord Patel of Bradford, (born 28 September 1960) is a member of the House of Lords. Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours, he was created a life peer as Baron P ...

; current vice presidents are

Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...

OBE and

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

OBE. It has a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

, and is governed by a Council of Trustees, all of whom are RSPH members.

History

The Sanitary Institute was established in 1876 following the landmark

Public Health Act Public Health Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to public health. List *The Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict c 63) *The Sanitary Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict c 90) is sometimes called the Public Health A ...

of 1875. In 1904, it was tagged Royal Sanitary Institute which name it held until 1955. The Sanitary Institute was created during a period of great change within the areas of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

provision and sanitary reform to which it contributed significantly. During its first fifty years, the (Royal) Sanitary Institute became the leading public health organization both in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the rest of the world. It was soon renowned for events and conferences on pioneering and topical issues, and developed qualifications for people working in public health professions. It established a meat and food inspection course in 1896, and in 1899 a separate meat inspectors examination. In 1955, the name was changed to Royal Society of Health. By the 1950s, the Society was a leading authority in its field, and was regularly consulted by governments and the international press on health-related issues. Since the 1970s, the Society has focused its activities on the most successful areas of its work - examinations, certification, and the journals ''

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

'' and '' Perspectives in Public Health''. RSPH was formed with the merger of Royal Society of Health and

Royal Institute of Public Health Royal Institute of Public Health merged in 2008 with the Royal Society for Health to form Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). History The institute was the amalgamation of a few societies. The Metropolitan Association of Medical Officers of ...

in October 2008, under a previous Chief Executive, Professor Richard Parish, CBE. Royal Society of Health was also known as the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. Today, RSPH is the longest-established

organisation in the

. It is incorporated by

completely independent of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and of any special interest. Members are academics, health professionals and practitioners who share an interest in promoting health through their daily work, and come together through RSPH membership to provide cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary perspectives on current health questions.

Membership

RSPH has a membership of over 5,000 public health professionals, with representation from over 90 countries worldwide, encompassing a wide range of sectors and roles including health promotion, medicine, environmental health and food safety trainers. Membership is open to anyone working in the area of public health or with an interest in it. It is a widely recognised mark of commitment to public health and brings real professional benefits. There are four grades of RSPH membership, each aimed at supporting public health professionals at the different stages of their careers: Student; Associate (AMRSPH); Member (MRSPH); and Fellow (FRSPH).

Qualifications

RSPH provides a wide range of vocationally related qualifications that are directly relevant to the workplace and national health priorities. Around 40,000 students qualify through a network of UK-wide registered training centres in qualifications in the following subjects: * Anatomical pathology technology *

Built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

Emergency planning Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

Food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from t ...

HACCP Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe and designs mea ...

Health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...

* Health improvement *

Meat inspection Meat inspection is a crucial part of food safety measures and encompasses all measures directed towards the prevention of raw and processed meat spoilage. Relevant regulations include: *Federal Meat Inspection Act *Wholesome Meat Act These are e ...

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

Pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...

Practice management Practice management is the term used in General practice for the person who manages the finance and administration of a doctor's office or an office of a medical professional in one of many types of specialties in medicine. This is distinct from ...

* Young Health Champions Recognised and regulated to award accredited qualifications by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual),

Qualifications Wales Qualifications Wales ( cy, Cymwysterau Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for the recognition of awarding bodies and the review and approval of non-degree qualifications in Wales. It was established by the Qualifications ...

and the

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is a Non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Education (Northern Ireland). Its function and purpose is described in Part VIII of the Education (NI) Order 1998. CCE ...

(CCEA), RSPH is widely acknowledged for its high level of quality assurance, stability, experience and expertise.

Conferences and training

RSPH hosts an annual programme of conferences, webinars, events and training in subjects including water hygiene, infection control, food safety and mental wellbeing. RSPH also runs a two-week intensive preparation course for the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's Diploma exam.

Accreditation

RSPH has been running accreditation services continuously since 1904, endorsing products, services and more recently campaigns, which contribute to improvements in hygiene, public health and safety. It has three accreditation services: one for campaigns, one for training programmes and one for university modules, which are either in-house or provided by third sector organisations. The common theme is maintaining high standards of hygiene, public health and safety.

Campaigning

Public health encompasses all aspects of health protection and health promotion and this is reflected throughout RSPH's projects, policy work, reports and campaigns. RSPH is dedicated to raising awareness of issues that affect the public's health and, through high-profile campaigns, it draws attention to particular issues, calling a wide range of organisations, local authorities and government to make changes that will improve health and wellbeing for all. Campaigns include: * Health on the High Street. The objective of this campaign was to help businesses and local authorities to improve the health of their communities. * Life on Debt Row. Backed by a report examining the effect of debt on health and wellbeing, this campaign called for action from the UK government and industry to protect the health and wellbeing of credit users. * #StatusOfMind. Supported by a report examining the positive and negative effects of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

on young people's health, this campaign called for action from government, social media companies and policy makers to help promote the positive aspects of social media for young people, whilst mitigating the potential negatives. * Taking a New Line on Drugs. With reference to the wider ‘drugscape’ of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, the report underpinning this campaign sets out a new vision for a holistic public health-led approach to drugs policy at a UK-wide level. * #LidonLoots. The RSPH-led Gambling Health Alliance called for loot boxes in video games to be classed as a form of gambling.

Programmes

RSPH works with a range of national and regional partners to develop, support and implement programmes and initiatives aimed at supporting the public's health and wellbeing. RSPH's key programmes include: * Alcohol Health Champions. RSPH has supported the implementation of the Communities In Charge of Alcohol (CICA) scheme in Manchester which trains local volunteers to become accredited ‘Alcohol Health Champions’ and provide opportunistic advice and mobilise action on alcohol availability at a community level. It is the first time that a devolved UK region has attempted to coordinate an approach to building health champion capacity, presenting an opportunity to grow its implementation and impact at scale. * Connect 5. Connect 5 is an education programme that is designed to increase the confidence and core skills of front line staff so that they can have more effective conversations about mental health and wellbeing, help people to manage mental health problems, and increase their resilience and mental wellbeing through positive changes. RSPH has trained over 200 Connect 5 trainers across England who are currently cascading training with their colleagues, service users and communities. * Healthy Living Pharmacies. RSPH manages the national Healthy Living Pharmacy Level 1 register which holds over 9,000 Healthy Living Pharmacies in England, as well as quality assuring the profession-led self-assessment process. Developed by the Pharmacy and Public Health Forum and

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

, the scheme is aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of the local population through the consistent delivery of interventions through community pharmacies. * Young Health Champions. The Young Health Champions (YHCs) initiative is a peer-driven approach to raising public health awareness among young people, providing them with the skills and knowledge to act as health mentors in their local communities. YHCs are required to achieve the RSPH Level 2 Young Health Champion Award and there is now a national network of over 2,000 YHCs across the UK.

Alliances

RSPH leads Gambling Health Alliance, which brings together organisations and individuals who have a shared interest in reducing the damage caused to health and wellbeing from gambling.

Journals

RSPH publishes three widely respected peer-reviewed journals on public health, ''Perspectives in Public Health'', ''Public Health'' and ''Public Health in Practice''. *

. ''Public Health'' is one of the world's oldest public health journals, having been in continuous publication since 1888. ''Public Health'' publishes original research papers and reviews on all aspects of public health and is aimed at public health practitioners and researchers. It has an International Editorial Board made up of a distinguished panel of public health experts from around the world. * Perspectives in Public Health. ''Perspectives in Public Health'' combines peer-reviewed research and reviews with practice-based current topic and opinion articles, news, case studies, book reviews, and updates on our latest work. It has both an editorial board and an International Advisory Board. * Public Health in Practice. ''Public Health in Practice'' is a gold open-access journal in the field of population health, and the sister journal to Public Health.

References

External links

RSPH
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