Health Counts 2023

Brighton & Hove City Council’s Public Health team have commissioned University of Brighton researchers to run Health Counts 2023, a survey of the health of Brighton & Hove’s adult residents. 

Dr Catherine Aicken, Co-Principal Investigator and Senior Research Fellow in the School of Sport and Health Sciences, said: “Public health data collection is advanced in England, but what we sometimes lack is fine-grained data which allows us to explore what’s going on in local populations. A detailed understanding of local health needs and health inequalities is essential for informing local public health policy and health service planning.”

She added: “My colleagues and I are delighted to be working with Brighton & Hove City Council, and to be doing research to inform action in the area where we work, and where many of us live.”

Similar public health surveys have been run in Brighton & Hove each decade since the 1990s, together providing data on change in health behaviours and health inequalities over time. Health Counts 2023 is planned for early autumn 2023 and it will be the first time the University of Brighton is leading the project.

The team plan to recruit to the confidential online survey by asking GPs to send out a link to their patients, and the survey will also be promoted through community engagement activities to include people who are digitally excluded, marginalised groups, and those who are not registered with primary care services.

The project is jointly led by Dr Catherine Aicken and Professor Nigel Sherriff, Professor of Public Health and Health Promotion and Associate Dean (Research and Knowledge Exchange) in the School of Sport and Health Sciences.

Also involved are the University of Brighton’s Professor Kate Galvin, Professor of Nursing Practice; Professor Jörg Huber, Professor of Health Sciences; and Dr Alex Sawyer, a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Sport and Health Sciences; as well as Brighton & Sussex Medical School’s Professor Carrie Llewellyn.

Residents of Brighton & Hove, including students living here during term-time, are included, as they can use local services. If you live in the city, we hope you will take part!