Prevention better than cure? Health consumer and patients’ organisations and public health

Previous studies of groups representing patients, users and carers in the UK indicate that their principal focus is on health care and treatment services. In recent years, UK government policy has emphasised prevention and health promotion as part of its wider public health agenda. This paper investigates how this might have affected health consumer and patients’ organisations (HCPOs) by presenting findings from an online survey of 312 UK groups undertaken in the summer of 2010. The sample was identified using the publicly available membership lists of a number of large alliance organisations. The survey achieved a 39% response rate. The findings suggest that the main focus of lobbying and campaigning remains on health care rather than public health issues. However, a significant minority of groups stated they prioritised public health campaigning and lobbying. Possible explanations for engagement with the public health agenda include: the presence of public health on the government’s agenda, the influence of other, more powerful interests in the health policy process, and growing awareness among groups of health promotion, prevention and environmental causes of illness. The paper argues that although HCPOs may be more active in the public health policy arena, more research is needed – notably with regard to their relationship with devolved governments, EU institutions and the current UK government’s public health and voluntary sector agenda. The reasons why some groups engage more than others with the public health agenda also merit closer investigation. Moreover, not enough is currently known about the influence of HCPOs on the public health agenda and policies in this field.