Health Profiles in Barnsley

2010 Health Profile Released

The 2010 Health Profile is now available and is as an update on the 2009 version (this and all previous versions can be accessed below). The aim of this work is to provide a broad overview of the health status of each local authority in England, using key public health measures. Profiles are issued annually and are designed to inform work involving health and local government to improve health and tackle inequalities.

The 2010 Profile reveals that although the health of people in Barnsley is improving it is generally worse than the regional or national average. Major public health issues for the borough continue to be smoking and other lifestyle factors which contribute to the high premature mortality rates. Teenage pregnancy, childhood obesity and over 65s 'not in good health' are also significant issues. However, homelessness and violent crime are significantly lower than the national average and rates of physically active children are better than the England average.

The deprivation chart shown on page 2 of the Profile shows the proportion of residents within England, the Yorkshire and Humber region and Barnsley living in neighbourhoods belonging to each of the five national deprivation quintiles. The data shows that 1.5% of Barnsley residents live in quintile 1 (least deprived in England) compared to 37.4% of residents living in quintile 5 (most deprived in England).

It is important to understand the data used in the Profile. For instance, the indicators included in the 'Adults' health and lifestyle domain (smoking prevalence, binge drinking, healthy eating and obesity) are all synthetic estimates. This means that rather than being measured locally they are simply modelled from national survey data using the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the local population. Therefore, they will not reflect any particular local interventions and they cannot be used for monitoring change.