Expanding role for genetics in public health: Wanless report 26/2/04. By the Public Health Genetics Unit The report 'Securing Good Health for the Whole Population', by Government adviser Derek Wanless has been published.

The Wanless report follows the earlier 2002 report 'Securing Our Future Health: Taking A Long-Term View', which assessed the resources required for long-term provision of health services, and instead focuses on measures needed to improve public health.

For the purposes of this review, public health was defined as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals". The report refers to a changing climate for public health in the UK, with growing concern among the public about issues such as smoking, diet and obesity making the potential for public engagement in health promotion and disease prevention greater.

Mr Wanless noted that: "Achieving the goal of a population 'fully engaged' in improving health, to avoid becoming sick rather than treating sickness, is a major prize for the whole community", but warned that although the ultimate responsibility for health lay with individuals, the government needed to provide a suitable framework for success.

The report also cites the increasingly important role of genetics in public health, as understanding of genetic predisposition to disease, the effect of gene-environment interactions in health and disease and the genetics underlying disease processes increases.

Knowledge of genetics and individual risk factors is predicted to have a prominent role in future moves towards individualised health care and disease prevention. The call for more active support to enable people to make better decisions about their own health and welfare, including the need for provision of adequate information and the wider implications of particular behaviours, is of particular relevance to public health genetics.

It is envisaged in the report that primary care trusts will bear the bulk of the workload in developing this 'self-care' approach, and that this will require improvements in resources for areas including information systems, risk assessment and monitoring and education and advisory services.

Health secretary John Reid has announced that a WhitePaper on Public Health will be produced later in 2004.

Article courtesy of the Public Health Genetics Unit .

Further reading

HM Treasury Report: Securing Good Health for the Whole Population