Information for health and care workers 

We aim to understand the health of people in Southwark, how this compares to other areas in the country and how this changes over time. We gather, analyse and interpret information. This informs what we do and the decisions we make in developing policies and strategies and commissioning services.

We’re involved in the implementation of local policies that improve the health of people in Southwark. We develop local strategies for health and work with other council teams to make sure that health and wellbeing is promoted in all local policies.

We identify priorities and needs in Southwark and make sure that services meet these needs effectively and are good value for money. We commission services for: children, sexual health, substance misuse, stopping smoking and  healthy weight, among others. 

We contribute to the evidence base for public health interventions, working in partnership with world-class academic institutions, for example, Imperial College London and King’s College London. Recent publications include:

Haylock S, Boshari T, Alexander E.C. et al. Risk factors associated with knife-crime in United Kingdom among young people aged 10 to 24 years: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 20, 1451 (2020).

Boshari T, Sharpe CA, Poots A et al. An observational study of the association between diverse licensed premises types and alcohol-related violence in an inner-London borough. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2020;74:1016-1022.

Sharpe CA, Poots A, Watt H, Williamson C, Franklin D, Pinder RJ. An observational study to examine how cumulative impact zones influence alcohol availability from different types of licensed outlets in an inner London Borough. BMJ Open 2019.

Green K, Cooke O'Dowd N, Watt H, Majeed A, Pinder RJ. Prescribing trends of gabapentin, pregabalin, and oxycodone: a secondary analysis of primary care prescribing patterns in England. BJGP Open 17 September 2019.

Sharpe CA, Tang S, Hogan G, Robinson S, Williamson C, Pinder RJ, Fenton K et al. Developing the role of Public Health in responding to mental health and wellbeing needs after mass casualty incidents: experience at London Bridge and Borough Market. 2017. Public Health Science Conference, Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Pages: 14-14, ISSN: 0140-6736 

Boshari T, Sharpe CA, Poots A, Watt H, Pinder RJ et al. Public Health and alcohol licensing policy in local government: an observational study of licensed premises and alcohol-related violence in London, UK. Public Health Science Conference, 2018. Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Pages: 12-12, ISSN: 0140-6736

Sharpe CA, Poots AJ, Watt H, Franklin D, Pinder RJ et al. Controlling alcohol availability through local policy: an observational study to evaluate Cumulative Impact Zones in a London borough. J Public Health (Oxf), Vol: 40, 2018. Pages: e260-e268

We attend and present at various conferences each year, for example: 

• the Lancet Public Health Science
• Public Health England Annual Conference
• British Association for Sexual Health and HIV

The work we present covers a broad range of public health topics, from healthcare public health and health improvement.