Official Statistics

Public Health Outcomes Framework: commentary, May 2023

Published 3 May 2023

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-health-outcomes-framework-may-2023-data-update/public-health-outcomes-framework-commentary-may-2023

Background

The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) sets out a high level overview of public health outcomes, at national and local level, supported by a broad set of indicators. An interactive web tool makes the PHOF data available publicly. This allows local authorities to assess progress in comparison to national averages and their peers, and develop their work plans accordingly.

New in this update

The latest update includes data for 19 indicators. This summary provides the main messages from indicators updated with data new to the public domain. For a complete list of indicators that have been updated please see Public Health Outcomes Framework: indicator updates.

Adults eating at least ‘5 a day’ fruit and vegetables: indicator C15

Fruit and vegetables are part of a healthy, balanced diet and can help the public stay healthy. Evidence shows there are significant health benefits to getting at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. Understanding the data, the trends and patterns enables us to make the case for national and local action, and approaches to create health-promoting environments.

The method for this indicator has changed to reflect a change to the methodology of data collection in Sport England’s Active Lives Adult Survey (ALAS).

The previous estimates of fruit and vegetable consumption from the ALAS were derived from 2 separate questions:

  • How many portions of fruit did you eat yesterday?
  • How many portions of vegetables did you eat yesterday?

Since November 2020 the ALAS has included a single fruit and vegetable consumption question: ‘How many portions of fruit and vegetables did you eat yesterday?’

The indicator has been renamed C15 - Percentage of adults aged 16 and over meeting the ‘5-a-day’ fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations (new method).

Due to the methodology changes data from 2020 is not comparable with previous timepoints.

In England in 2021 to 2022, 32.5% of adults reported eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables on the day before responding to the survey. This is less than in 2020 to 2021, when 34.9% of adults reported eating at least 5 portions.

These values using the new method are closer to those reported by the Health Survey for England, where the estimated proportions of adults in England who eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day have varied between 26% and 29%.

Preventable sight loss: indicators E12a, E12b, E12c and E12d

These indicators are included in the framework to ensure that avoidable sight loss is recognised as a critical and modifiable public health issue. Prevention of sight loss will help people maintain independent lives as far as possible and reduce the need for social care support, which would be necessary if sight was lost permanently.

Certifications of visual impairment (CVIs) are provided by the Certifications Office of Moorfields Eye Hospital, who are contracted by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists to be responsible for certifications. It is important to note that as these indicators measure certifications, the values can be affected by the availability of treatment and the number of people who are sight impaired who do not seek treatment or diagnosis, and not just the numbers of people with sight loss. The 4 PHOF indicators cover sight loss certifications from all causes (preventable and non-preventable) and the 3 most common causes of preventable sight loss:

  • age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (ages 65 and over)
  • glaucoma (ages 40 and over)
  • diabetic eye disease (ages 12 and over)

The values for 2021, a crude rate of new certifications per 100,000 population, were calculated using Office for National Statistics 2021 Census based mid year population estimates. The rebased population estimates for previous years are not available yet, therefore there is only one data point displayed for each of these indicators.

In England in 2021 to 2022 there were:

  • 10,865 new CVIs due to AMD, a rate of 104 per 100,000 population aged 65 and over
  • 3,614 new CVIs due to glaucoma, a rate of 12.6 per 100,000 population aged 40 and over
  • 1,344 new CVIs due to diabetic eye disease, a rate of 2.8 per 100,000 population aged 12 and over
  • 22,552 new sight loss certifications, a rate of 39.9 per 100,000 population

Responsible statistician and product lead: Kathryn Morgan.

For queries relating to this publication contact pha-ohid@dhsc.gov.uk.

The next planned update is August 2023.

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