Public Health Webpage
What Is Public Health?
Public health is all about helping people stay healthy and preventing illness before it starts. It’s about creating the conditions where everyone no matter who they are can live longer, healthier lives.
Rather than focusing on just one person, public health looks at the health of entire communities locally, nationally, and globally.
In Grampian, this work is led by the Public Health Directorate Team.
A Shared Responsibility
Public health is a team effort. It involves:
- Public health professionals
- Governments and local councils
- Charities and community groups
- Businesses and workplaces
Together, we work to make health fair and equal for everyone, especially those affected by poverty, racism, or discrimination.
What Does Public Health Do?
Here are just a few examples of public health in action:
- Preventing and controlling infections
- Detecting diseases early
- Supporting healthy lifestyles
- Ensuring access to good food and safe housing
- Tackling climate change
- Responding to emergencies and disasters
The goal? Helping people live long, healthy lives.
Our Approach: Five Drivers of Health & Wellbeing
We focus on five key areas to guide our work:
- Prevention-Focused Systems
- Social and Economic Factors
- Places and Communities
- Enabling Healthy Living
- Equitable Access to Health and Care
Health Improvement in Grampian
The NHS Grampian Health Improvement Team works across Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, and Moray to support healthier lives.
We focus on:
- Tackling issues like poverty, housing, education, and working conditions
- Creating environments that make it easier to live healthily
- Shaping policies and services that support good health—especially for those who need it most
How We Help
We provide:
- Training, services, and resources
- Support for local projects, campaigns, and community activities
- Expert advice for groups, communities, and organisations
Our aim is to make sure everyone in Grampian has the knowledge and opportunities to take control of their health and wellbeing.
Contact: gram.nhsgpublichealth@nhs.scot
Health Protection
What do Health protection focuses on?
The Health Protection Team delivers the health protection function on behalf of NHS Grampian which is a legislative responsibility under the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 by protecting the Grampian population from communicable disease and environmental hazards.
How do health protection help the population?
This involves the surveillance, investigation, management and control of communicable and infectious disease in individual cases and outbreaks, and other hazards which have direct impact on the public health of the Grampian population such as chemical, radiological and environmental. The Health Protection Team also, use surveillance data to identify risk factors, conduct research, understanding disease process (epidemiology) and conduct contact tracing.
Contact information
Please click here https://www.nhsgrampian.org/your-health/health-protection/about-us/