Tens of millions of people feel their health and wellbeing is being negatively affected by their workplaces, their homes and even the public spaces and high streets within their communities, according to a report.
The study, ‘A Place for Health’, published by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), has drawn on polling data of nearly 2,000 adults, and looks at how health and wellbeing is influenced by the six environments people spend the most time in: their homes, schools, parks and leisure facilities, workplaces, high streets, and cultural facilities such as libraries.
The research concluded that, of the six areas, one in three people says that at least one of these has a negative impact on their health. This translates to tens of millions of people across Britain, the RSPH argued.
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Drilling down in detail, three million people (5%) say they live in homes that are negatively affecting their health and wellbeing. Only one in eight says their workplace is “very” good for their health and wellbeing.
As many as 11.6 million people think that their local high streets negatively affect their health and wellbeing. Three-quarters of a million children are in schools that are bad for their health, according to their parent or carer.
The polling data also shows a clear divide across socio-economic status, the RSPH argued, showing that people with incomes of under £34,000 are more likely to say that their health and wellbeing are negatively affected by the places around them. By comparison, people in higher socio-economic brackets are much more likely to feel positive.
The report has called for a step change in how policymakers formulate health policy by looking at the six environments as target settings to improve the public’s physical and mental health – which it argues will be key to reducing pressure on the NHS.
Commenting on the report, William Roberts, RSPH chief executive, said: “As the evidence shows, where we live, work, learn and play has a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. If the government is serious about turning the rhetoric around health prevention into reality, it needs to think beyond the NHS.
“Put simply, we need to meet people where they are. In practice this means using the places we all spend time in to become facilitators of better health and wellbeing, rather than barriers.
“We need to look at how the patchwork of institutions, settings, and places that shape our everyday lives can build health. This is exactly what we will be doing over the coming years,” Roberts added.
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