Health in Dorset

Each year Health Profiles are produced by the Association of Public Health Observatories with funding from the Department of Health.

They are designed to help local government and health services identify problems in their areas and decide how to tackle them.

They provide a snapshot of the overall health of the local population, and a highlight of potential problems by national and regional comparisons.

The profiles are produced at local authority level for relevance to their key audiences, including Local Councillors, Directors of Public Health, and Local Authority Officers, who use them to identify priorities and challenge plans. They are now an established part of planning for health improvements.

Each Health Profile document includes:

• an ‘At a glance’ summary description of people’s health in the area
  Maps and charts that show how the health in the area compares to the national and local view
• trended changes in death rates over ten years period of time
• a 'spine chart' health summary showing the difference in health between the area and the average for England/Region/SHA for 32 indicators

This information is also provided via interactive maps which additionally allow for comparisons of several areas by all indicators in the spine chart.

Updated Health Profiles are released every summer. They are distributed to their key stakeholders and are published in an electronic form on this website. You can access the Dorset Health Profile or search for other profiles using the links on the right.