Health

What is the meaning of life?  Measuring National well-being in the UK

A group of people looking happy, they have their arms around each other and are in a park type setting with sunlight behind them

This week, ONS has published a range of data on what people tell us matters most to them when it comes to living a good and meaningful life.  Here Tim Vizard looks at what we’ve discovered, why it is important and our plans to continue exploring beyond purely economic measures to get a fuller picture of how our society is doing.

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Creating a coherent picture of health in the UK

Ambulances outside hospital

How do we create an overall picture of health in the UK, when the data produced by each of the four nations can be different? Statistical coherence is about bringing together statistics on the same topic to give a better understanding of the part of the world they describe. In this blog, Becky Tinsley explains how the ONS, the devolved administrations, and health bodies, are working together to improve the comparability of UK health data, allowing us to better join the pieces of the puzzle.

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Celebrating 75 years of the NHS and a history of ONS collaboration

Health data is a key part of the ONS’ work and an important part of this is our use of NHS data, which allows us to build an increasingly insightful understanding of the nation’s health. As the NHS marks its 75th anniversary, Jonny Tinsley looks at this long-standing relationship of NHS data linkage and discusses future work in this crucial area.

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Listening to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Colourful artwork drawn by a child

Today (19 June 2023) is the start of Learning Disability Week. This annual event, organised by Mencap, aims to educate, spread awareness, and increase understanding of learning disabilities. It is all about making sure the world hears what life is like if you have a learning disability. Here Amber Jordan and Emma Jones from the ONS’s Centre for Equalities and Inclusion explain some of the work the ONS has been doing, looking at the educational experiences of young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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The Health Index 2021 – Taking a deep dive into the nation’s health

What are the trends in health where you live? Are factors such as mental health and economic and working conditions improving? And what is the national picture telling us about health? The ONS’ Health Index for England shines a light on these questions. Greg Ceely discusses the value of this rich dataset and looks ahead to its next publication.   

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