The Director of Public Health highlights the importance of communities to enhance health and wellbeing in Southampton

Southampton’s Director of Public Health, Dr Debbie Chase, has published her latest annual report, which this year focuses on how taking a community-centred approach can protect and improve residents’ health and wellbeing

REPORT OVERVIEW: Watch an overview of the report with Dr. Debbie Chase, Director of Public Health for Southampton

Taking a community-centred approach, also known as an asset or strength-based approach, involves using assets within communities such as community centres, promoting social connectedness and equity, and increasing people’s control over their health and lives.

Communities are given centre stage in this report and recommendations are included to enhance the power of this approach in Southampton. This report draws on insights from other regions in the country, where long-term strategic commitments have been made to support a community-centred approach. This can improve life chances for residents, whilst promoting efficient use of limited public sector funds.

Dr Debbie Chase sets out four recommendations on the ways in which community-centred approaches can be achieved and includes case studies of approaches that are already underway or being developed in Southampton.

The recommendations are:

• Identify strengths and enable communities to take control
• Build support around families, communities and neighbourhoods, not professions, and focus on prevention and early intervention
• Prioritise communities with poorer health outcomes to reduce health inequalities and assess the impact of a community centred approach
• Shift mindsets to embed a different relationship between communities and organisations

Dr Debbie Chase, Director of Public Health at Southampton City Council said:

“Communities are a coming together of people, perhaps with shared values and/or purpose, of experience and/or place. They have a shared identity and can be strong influencers of health and wellbeing through achieving social connectedness, in different activities such as physical activity and most importantly through building confidence and self-esteem. This in turn can build capability and independence.

"We have some wonderful community assets, be they community groups, voluntary sector organisations, parks, cultural opportunities and buildings and there are examples of harnessing these and the vibrancy and opportunity that has come with them. What I am seeking to achieve with this report is identifying more of these assets and further developing those community strengths.

"It is timely that we focus on a community centred approach, given the challenges for our health and care system and what we know about increasing health inequalities and their impact in Southampton.”

View the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2023-24 on the Southampton Data Observatory, where you can also find previous reports.