A public health debate which began at the UKPHA 17th Annual Forum in March 2009.

At the UK Public Health Association's 17th Annual Forum on 26 March 2009, the UKPHA Health and Sustainable Development Action Group hosted a workshop "Health and Wealth in the 21st Century - what role will public health play?"

Sustainable community
A sustainable community?

How will we create communities with a focus on people - their contentment, wellbeing, resilience and fulfilment? Will it be possible within current economic systems and the impacts of climate change? What role should public health play?  Speakers William Bird (Natural England), Anna Coote (New Economics Foundation) and Jonathan Harris (DH East Mids) kicked off discussion.  As a society, can we shift our measures of success from those of economic growth and life expectancy to the more complex but important wellbeing?  And how do we measure this?

This connection has been set up to share insights from the workshop and to invite continuing debate on this important area of policy development - please visit the opinion and discussion pages, and give your views!