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Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF 2025)



 Published: 16 September 2025

Latest news

  • In this iteration, the following indicators have been updated: Gap in employment rate for those with a long term health condition; Vaccination rates at age 4; (NI) Low birth weight; Breastfeeding at 10 days; Avoidable mortality by cause; Life expectancy by WIMD (Wales only); The gap in life expectancy by WIMD (Wales only); Healthy life expectancy by WIMD (Wales only); The gap in healthy life expectancy by WIMD (Wales only); Teenage conceptions

    Additionally, we have made some improvements to the indicator selection and search function, to make it easier for users to find the indicators that they are looking for.

  • Since before the Covid pandemic (2017-19), life expectancy has fallen by one year from 78.9 to 77.9 years in females living in the most deprived fifth of areas.  The fall in males living in those areas has been slightly smaller over this period, from 74.2 to 73.5 years. This follows consistent gains in life expectancy within Wales throughout the 20th century and early 2000s, before those improvements ceased around 2010, from which point life expectancy remained largely unchanged until the pandemic. Other European countries such as France, Germany and Italy also saw life expectancy stop rising during the years leading up to the pandemic.

  • Males born in the most deprived areas of Wales can now expect to live 7.8 fewer years than those born in the least deprived areas, rising from 6.8 years in 2011-13.  This gap has also widened in females, from 5.8 years in 2011-13 to 6.5 years in 2020-22.

  • Since 2013-15, healthy life expectancy (HLE) has fallen from 52.7 to 47.9 years in females living in the most deprived fifth of areas. There has also been a fall of around two years in HLE since 2013-15 in females living in the least deprived areas, reaching 68.1 years in 2020-22. In males living in the most deprived  areas, HLE is similar in 2020-22 to 2013-15 at around 52 years, having risen and fallen during the period. It should be noted however that the Office for National Statistics has removed accredited official statistics status from outputs based on the Annual Population Survey, which is used in the calculation of HLE. This follows decreases over time in the survey's response rates.

  • Females living in the most deprived fifth of areas can now expect to live 20 years less in good health than those living in the least deprived areas, the widest gap since 2013-15. The gap is narrower in males at around 16 years, but this has grown by around three years since 2018-20. It should be noted however that the Office for National Statistics has removed accredited official statistics status from outputs based on the Annual Population Survey, which is used in the calculation of HLE. This follows decreases over time in the survey's response rates.

  • The percentage of babies being exclusively breastfed at 10 days has been increasing over time in Wales but is still only at 38.8% as at 2024.

  • There is a clear and statistically significant gradient in the percentage of babies being exclusively breastfed at 10 days by deprivation fifth in 2024. Each fifth shows a significantly different percentage than the fifth adjacent to it, highlighting a clear pattern of lower breastfeeding rates in more deprived groups and higher rates in less deprived groups. While there is a 19.2 percentage point difference between babies being breastfed in the most deprived fifth (48.9%) and least deprived fifth (29.6%), data from the last decade suggests that breastfeeding at 10 days has been on the increase in both groups (although only data from 2021 are presented due to data quality issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic).

  • The percentage of babies born with low birth weight remains higher among those in the most deprived fifth of the population (7.8%), compared to those from the least deprived fifth (5.0%): more than 50% higher in the most deprived fifth. Smoking, and passive smoking, are thought to increase the risk of low birth weight — but this is a risk factor that could be avoided.

  • Teenage conceptions in Wales have fallen consistently over the past decade, with 2020–2022 showing a rate of 15.0 per 1000, less than half the rate seen in 2011-2013.

  • In 2022, teenage conception rates varied significantly across health boards, with Cwm Taf Morgannwg reporting the highest rate (21.1 per 1,000 females under 18) and Cardiff and Vale the lowest (10.2), compared to the Wales average of 15.7. The equivalent figure in England was 13.9 per 1,000 females under 18.

  • Vaccination rates in children aged 4 years saw a drop to 84.5% in the 2022/23 (post-COVID) period. The latest data shows a slight increase in rates for Wales in the latest period, rising from 84.3% to 85.3%, though still below the national target of 95%. Powys THB retains the highest rates of vaccination (88.5%).

  • The gap in employment rate between Wales as a whole and those with a long-term health condition was 12.0% in 2024. The gap has gradually decreased over the last 10 years, mainly driven by an increase in employment rate in those with a long-term health condition.

  • The gap in employment for health boards varies from 9.1% in Swansea Bay to 13.2% in Aneurin Bevan, although these differences are not likely to be statistically significant due to the wide confidence intervals around the rates.

  • In females, cancer is the most common cause of avoidable mortality, leading to around 1,200 deaths per year. However, whilst the age-standardised rate of avoidable mortality from cancer has been falling in recent years, the rate of avoidable mortality from circulatory disease has risen from 43.3 per 100,000 in 2017-19 to 49.0 per 100,000 in 2021-23. The rate of avoidable mortality from alcohol- and drug-related mortality has also risen, from 15.3 per 100,000 in 2011-13 to 20.3 per 100,000 in 2021-23. This represents a 33% increase.

  • In males, circulatory disease is the most common cause of avoidable mortality. This leads to around 1,600 deaths per year, with the rate rising from 103.9 per 100,000 in 2017-19 to 111.4 per 100,000 in 2021-23. The rate of avoidable mortality from alcohol- and drug-related mortality has also risen, from 31.6 per 100,000 in 2011-13 to 43.6 per 100,000 in 2021-23. This represents a 38% increase.

  • It is thought that the Covid pandemic has affected circulatory disease trends in a number of ways, and could be a key driver of these increasing mortality rates in under 75s. However, it is not clear how much other factors might also be contributing, for example NHS waiting times and ongoing population health issues such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

  • This recent Public Health Wales report presents stark inequalities in drug and alcohol-related deaths within Wales.  The report authors highlight the importance of access to substance misuse services, whilst also calling for investment in prevention.

Indicator Map 

 


Feedback

Included in the reporting tool is a comparison table to gauge how individual areas compare to one another, including Wales, as well as improved navigation to make it easier to find the indicators that matter to you.  We are always looking to improve on the products we produce to ensure that they are user-friendly.  If you have any comments or feedback, then please get in touch with us by emailing:  publichealthwalesobservatory@wales.nhs.uk OR use our questionnaire
 
We welcome calls and correspondence in Welsh. We will respond in Welsh without delay.

 


What’s next?

We’re developing the tool in an iterative way, and so we’ll be updating it regularly.  A publication timetable for the updates can be found below.

Technical report

NI = National Indicator

Data source Indicator Published Publication Quarter
PHM Life expectancy at birth Q2
Healthy life expectancy at birth Q2
The gap in life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived Q2
The gap in healthy life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived NI Q2
Premature death from key non communicable diseases Q1
Deaths from injuries Q1
Deaths from road traffic injuries Q1
Suicides Q1
PEDW Hip fractures among older people Q1
NSW Mental well-being among adults NI Q4
The gap in mental well-being between the most and least deprived among adults Data not available N/A
People able to afford everyday goods and activities NI Q4
A sense of community NI Q4
People who volunteer NI Q4
People feeling lonely NI Q4
Adults eating five fruit or vegetable portions a day Q4
Adults meeting physical activity guidelines Q4
Adults who smoke Q4
Adults drinking above guidelines Q4
Working age adults in good health Q4
Working age adults free from limiting long term illness Q4
Life satisfaction among working age adults Q4
Working age adults of healthy weight Q4
Older people in good health Q4
Older people free from limiting long term illness Q4
Life satisfaction among older people Q4
Older people of healthy weight Q4
SHRN/HBSC Adolescents of healthy weight Q4
Physical activity in adolescents Q4
Adolescents who smoke Q4
Adolescents using alcohol Q4
Adolescents drinking sugary drinks once a day or more Q4
ONS Teenage pregnancies Q4
LFS/APS People in education, employment or training NI Q4
Gap in employment rate for those with long term health condition Q3
VPDP Vaccination rates at age 4 Q3
HBMD Smoking in pregnancy Q4
NCCHD Low birth weight NI Q3
Breastfeeding at 10 days Q3
Data not identified Mental well-being among children and young people NI Data not available N/A
Gap in mental well-being among children and young people Data not available N/A
SW Children living in poverty Q2
FPF Young children developing the right skills NI Data not available N/A
WED School leavers with skills and qualifications NI Data not available N/A
Data not identified School leavers with essential literacy and numeracy skills Data not available N/A
HLCC Quality of housing NI Q1
DEFRA Quality of the air we breathe NI Q1
CMP Children age 5 of healthy weight Data not published yet N/A
WDS Tooth decay among 5 year olds N/A

 

 

Domains
Overarching outcomes
Living conditions that support and contribute to health now and in the future
Ways of living that improve health
Health throughout the life course

 

 

All the data presented in this reporting tool are for Wales residents, and the geographies within the 7 Welsh Local Health Boards and 22 Local Authority areas.  

NHS Wales health boards:

Local authorities (LA’s) in Wales:

 

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (UHB)

 

Blaenau Gwent

Caerphilly

Monmouthshire

Newport

Torfaen

Betsi Cadwaladr UHB

 

Conwy

Denbighshire

Flintshire

Gwynedd

Isle of Anglesey

Wrexham

Cardiff and Vale UHB

 

Cardiff

Vale of Glamorgan

Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB

 

Bridgend

Merthyr Tydfil

Rhondda Cynon Taf

Hywel Dda UHB

 

Carmarthenshire

Ceredigion

Pembrokeshire

Powys Teaching Health Board (THB)

 

Powys

Swansea Bay UHB

 

Neath Port Talbot

Swansea

 

Some indicators are split into 2011 urban and rural classification.  Settlements that fall outside of more than 10,000 resident population are categorised as rural.

Further developments to the tool in the latter end of 2023 aims to split indicators further into sub-local authority geographies include upper, middle and lower super output areas.

 

 

National Survey for Wales:

The NSfW involves around 12,000 people each year and covers a broad range of topics. The main purpose is to provide information on the views and behaviours of adults in Wales.

Data presented in the tool is by financial year, although presented in the trend tab, direct comparisons over time are not possible due to the significant change in methodology each year. Additionally, not all questions were asked during each survey period. 

Useful links

 

Patient Episode Database for Wales:

The Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) comprises records of all episodes of inpatient and day case activity in NHS Wales hospitals. Hospital activity for Welsh residents treated in other UK nations (primarily England) is also included.  The data is collected and coded at each hospital. The records are then electronically transferred to Digital Health Care in Wales, who validate and merge into the main database.

From 2019/20 onward, there was a reduction in total emergency admissions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  This should be given due consideration when analysing trends in hip fracture admissions among older people.

Please note that there is an issue with diagnostic coding in several health boards. Table 1 illustrates how the missing codes are distributed by financial year and health board, as at August 2022. Counts of specific diagnoses will be underestimated, but to an unknown extent, therefore caution should be exercised when interpreting trends for these health boards. Additionally, where the percentage of missing diagnoses is over 10%, the value has been suppressed.

Table 1 Missing diagnostic codes within trauma and orthopaedics, emergency admissions (excluding transfers), persons aged 65+, by area and financial year

 

Area

Financial year

Missing Records

Aneurin Bevan UHB

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

20%

15%

17%

12%

16%

22%

Betsi Cadwaladr UHB

2023/24

15%

Cardiff and Vale UHB

2011/12

2022/23

2023/24

25%

21%

18%

Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB

2019/20

2022/23

16%

11%

Hywel Dda UHB

2017/18

2019/20

2020/21

21%

21%

16%

Swansea Bay UHB

2022/23

2023/24

14%

16%

Blaenau Gwent

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

11%

17%

15%

11%

13%

26%

Caerphilly

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2022/23

2023/24

17%

10%

16%

12%

16%

Cardiff

 

2011/12

2022/23

2023/24

26%

23%

20%

Carmarthenshire

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2023/24

38%

19%

37%

20%

17%

Ceredigion

2017/18

2019/20

2020/21

13%

19%

27%

Conwy

2023/24

20%

Denbighshire

2023/24

14%

Flintshire

2023/24

10%

Gwynedd

2023/24

18%

Isle of Anglesey

2009/10

2023/24

11%

19%

Merthyr Tydfil

2011/12

2019/20

2022/23

11%

21%

11%

Monmouthshire

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

10%

17%

15%

18%

16%

18%

28%

Neath Port Talbot

2022/23

2023/24

15%

16%

Newport

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

13%

33%

18%

19%

11%

18%

20%

Rhondda Cynon Taf

2019/20

2020/21

2022/23

24%

10%

14%

Swansea

2022/23

2023/24

13%

16%

Torfaen

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

11%

17%

19%

18%

13%

19%

26%

Vale of Glamorgan

2011/12

2022/23

2023/24

22%

17%

15%

Wales

2019/20

2022/23

2023/24

10%

10%

14%

 

Figure 1 Missing diagnostic codes within trauma and orthopaedics, emergency admissions (excluding transfers), percentage, Wales, 2009/10 to 2023/24

 

 

Useful links

ICD-10 codes

NHS Wales Data Dictionary

PEDW Statistical publications, data products and open data

 

Life expectancy (LE)/ Healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth:

Life expectancy (LE) at birth is an estimate of the average number of years that newborn babies could expect to live, assuming that current mortality rates for the area in which they were born applied throughout their lives.  It is calculated using the abridged life table method which is the preferred method of the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  As all LE calculations are based on current mortality rates, average life expectancy will change over the course of a lifetime irrespective of other factors.  These should therefore be considered as comparative population measures of mortality during a period of time rather than as predictions of actual individual life expectancy.

Healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth is an estimate of the average number of years that newborn babies could expect to live in good health, assuming that current mortality rates and levels of good health for the area in which they were born applied throughout their lives.  Healthy Life Expectancy is calculated using the Sullivan method which is the preferred method of the ONS for calculating healthy life expectancy at birth.  Its calculation involves combining health status data from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and Census with the mortality and population data used for LE. ‘Healthy’ is judged to be a response of very good or good to the APS question “How is your health in general; would you say it was … Very Good, Good, Fair, Bad, Very Bad”.

 

Within the current version of the Public Health Outcomes Framework reporting tool, the following work is presented:

More information is available:

ONS website: Life Expectancy releases and their different uses.

ONS website: Health state life expectancies, UK quality and methodology information: 2021 to 2023

 

Annual Population Survey (APS), ONS

The APS is a continuous household survey covering the UK, with topics including employment and unemployment, as well as housing, ethnicity, religion, health and education. Its purpose is to provide information on the UK labour market. The APS is used to estimate the following proportions: 

  • Labour market status of those in full-time education; 

  • Labour market status of those in part-time education; 

  • Full-time and part-time employment of those in Work Based Learning, who are employed; 

  • Employer sponsored 'off-the-job' training for those in employment.  

The number of survey respondents has generally fallen across the UK since 2014. The number of respondents across Wales in 2024 was around 15,200 people, compared with around 36,000 in 2014. 

Figure 2 APS survey respondents over time, count, Wales, 2014 to 2024

Since the last update of this indicator, data quality issues have come to light with the Annual Population Survey. As a result, the Office for National Statistics has removed the accredited official statistics status from outputs based on this survey. This primarily affects data at lower geographic levels, such as local authorities and health boards. Caution should be taken when interpreting results at those levels. Further information on the change in status can be found via the correspondence regarding the suspension of APS estimates’ accredited status.

Although presented in the trend tab, direct comparisons over time are not possible due to the change in methodology between 2020 and 2023. This is illustrated in the sectioning of the trend chart periods by survey methodology.

 

Useful links

Overview

 

Welsh Government Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR)

The LLWR is used to estimate the following proportion:

• Labour market status of those engaged in Work Based Learning.

These proportions are then applied to the numbers known to be in education, work-based learning and the total population to derive estimates of participation by education and employment.  For Work Based Learners, the labour market status at the start of the learning programme collected via the LLWR is used with the addition of some APS data to estimate the proportions in full-time and part-time employment.

As the data comes from a survey, the results are sample-based estimates and are therefore subject to differing degrees of sampling variability, i.e. the true value for any measure lies in a differing range about the estimated value.

Data is published annually, 2020 data is provisional at this point.  The dataset can be accessed via stats wales.

 

Conception statistics (ONS)

Conception statistics are estimates of all pregnancies of women usually resident in England and Wales.  Figures are derived from maternity, birth and abortion notifications. As there are legal requirement to record this data, it is one of the most reliable data sources available. This dataset combined with the ONS mid-year population estimates is used to estimate conception rates per 1,000 females (15-17 year olds) in Wales.

Quality and methodology information

User guide to conception statistics

Dataset

 

Public Health Mortality

Public Health Mortality (PHM) is a dataset containing each individual death of a resident that is registered in the particular year. Individual records for death registrations are sent on a weekly basis from the Registrars’ offices across England and Wales to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS collates and validates the data. The data are based on the underlying cause of death e.g. if an individual dies from pneumonia but had been made vulnerable to that disease by end-stage cancer, then cancer (rather than pneumonia) is recorded as the underlying cause of death.

There have been revisions to the manner in which the death certificates are translated by the ONS into International Classification of Diseases codes (10th revision). These changes mean that unrevised data are not comparable across years. The main change relates to the rules that govern which cause of death detailed on the death certificate is selected as the underlying cause. Comparability ratios have not been used in these analyses and therefore caution should be exercised when interpreting trends.

Cause of death is based on the medical certificate of cause of death. This is completed by the certifying doctor for about three quarters of deaths and by a coroner for the remainder. Most of the deaths certified by a coroner do not involve an inquest or any suspicion of violence, but are referred to the coroner because they were sudden and unexpected, or because there was no doctor in attendance during the deceased’s last illness. There will be a long delay in registering a small number of deaths for which a coroner’s ruling is required e.g. suicide, homicide, undetermined intent.

Please note that suicides have been counted by date of registration. There is a known delay between date of occurrence and the date of registration; further delays are likely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Please be aware that data is likely to be incomplete, particularly for the most recent periods.  See ONS for more information:

Impact of registration delays on mortality statistics in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

 

Hazards and licences data collection, Welsh Government (WG)

This dataset provides information on the condition of residential properties assessed by local authorities under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), including the number of hazards by hazard type, dwelling and category. Category 1 hazards are considered high risk and where a condition is classified as Category 1, the local authority has a duty to take the appropriate enforcement action. Category 2 hazards are lower risk, and local authorities may take enforcement action. Assessments may be carried out for a number of reasons. For example, an HHSRS assessment is carried out when licensing a house in multiple occupation or when a complaint about a property is received from the occupier or a neighbour. Whilst it can cover all residential premises, it is more commonly used to assess standards in private rented housing.  Dwellings can be assessed more than once during each reporting period. 

 

The quality of housing indicator is defined as the percentage of assessments which are free from category 1 hazards according to the Housing Health and Safety rating system hazards.  It does not cover all dwellings but just those that are assessed by local authorities.

 

Note that, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, data on housing hazards and licences in Wales for 2019-20 were not collected.

 

Occasionally a local authority is unable to provide data for a variety of reasons. The table below lists instances of this:

 

Data Collection Period

Area

Reason for missing data

Result

2023 - 2024

Neath Port Talbot

 

2021 - 2022 data used as an estimate

2022 - 2023

Neath Port Talbot

 

2021 - 2022 data used as an estimate

2022 - 2023

Gwynedd and Isle of Anglesey

 

Resubmitted data due to corrections

2021 - 2022

Pembrokeshire

 

2020 – 2021 data used as an estimate

2020 - 2021

Wales

COVID-19 pandemic

Fewer inspections carried out; higher-risk premises prioritised

2019 - 2020

Wales

COVID-19 pandemic

No data collected

2018 - 2019

Neath Port Talbot

 

Estimated figure calculated based on previous 3 years

2017 - 2018

Cardiff

 

2016 - 2017 data used as an estimate

2016 - 2017

Wrexham and Denbighshire

Changes to data recording systems

2015 - 2016 data used as an estimate

2014 - 2015

Flintshire

 

2013 - 2014 data used as an estimate

Data

Quality report

Data collection

 

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) & UK Air Information Resource (AIR)

Air Quality Exposure Indicators - average NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations across local authority areas and health board areas, derived from modelled data for each square kilometre in Wales, measured in µg/m3 (DEFRA data).

Each year the UK Government’s Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) model calculates average pollutant concentrations for each square kilometre of the UK. Each year the Pollution Climate Model (PCM) which underpin the background maps is refined and improved (to account for latest available science and understanding e.g. changes in emissions factors, improved activity data etc.). These method changes are usually only applied in the latest year's figures.  

The model is calibrated against measurements taken from the UK’s national air quality monitoring network.  The Welsh Government has used this published data to assign a concentration of NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 to each residential dwelling in Wales based on which square kilometre of Wales it sits in. 

For each census output area (statistical geographic units comprising around 150 properties), the pollutant concentrations associated with each dwelling within it were averaged to give an average NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentration across the census output area.

The quality of air we breathe indicator in this tool is defined as the annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentration levels at residential dwelling locations (µg/m³).

 

Air Quality in Wales

Data

 

National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD)

The National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD) includes details relating to maternal and child health related indicators such as births, immunisation screening, safeguarding children and breastfeeding.    

Each of the seven health boards in Wales has a Child Health System database which they manage locally. Anonymised records for all children born, resident or treated in Wales and born after 1987 are collated from each of the local databases each quarter to create the NCCHD.

The statistics relate to live births born to Welsh residents during the relevant calendar year. The analyses are for live births only and do not include stillbirths. Births occurring in Wales (whether to Welsh or non-Welsh residents) can also be counted by the NCCHD but only Welsh residents are included in these statistics.

The ‘low birth weight’ and ‘breastfeeding at 10 days’ indicators are created using this dataset.

Breastfeeding data has been suppressed if it is less than 80% complete.  

To note breastfeeding also includes chestfeeding.

 

School Health Research Network (SHRN)

The School Health Research Network (SHRN) is a partnership between Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, and Cardiff University established in 2013. They aim to improve young people’s health and wellbeing in Wales by working with schools in both primary and secondary education to generate and use good quality evidence for health improvement. This includes surveys, capturing key health and wellbeing metrics. These metrics are referenced in many national policies and strategies, including the Whole School Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing (2021) and Estyn’s Healthy and Happy Report (2019).

Since 2017, all mainstream secondary schools in Wales have become registered SHRN members with over 90% of schools completing SHRN’s Student Health and Wellbeing Survey in 2021/22.

The definition for the healthy weight indicator has changed to only include children reporting a 'healthy range' BMI category. The previous definition included children reporting either 'underweight' or 'healthy range' BMI categories. The indicator is therefore not comparable to data published in the 2021 SHRN national report. Calculation of healthy weight indicator:

Characteristic

'Healthy' BMI range

11 year old, male

>=15.15 to <20.85

11 year old, female

>=15.30 to <21.12

12 year old, male

>=15.59 to <21.54

12 year old, female

>=15.91 to <22.05

13 year old, male

>=16.11 to <22.24

13 year old, female

>=16.55 to <22.90

14 year old, male

>=16.68 to <22.95

14 year old, female

>=17.16 to <23.60

15 year old, male

>=17.26 to <23.59

15 year old, female

>=17.68 to <24.13

16 year old, male

>=17.79 to <24.18

16 year old, female

>=18.08 to <24.53

 

 

Maternity Indicator Data set (MIds)

Statistics on smoking at birth are limited by the way in which the data is collected.  If carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring is not available, data reliability is dependent on the mother self-reporting accurate information. CO monitoring has largely been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic began, so data for 2020 and 2021 is mainly self-reported.

E-Cigarette use should not be recorded in this data item and would not be detected by a CO monitor; however, in practice some mothers may self-report as a smoker if they use e-cigarettes and be incorrectly recorded as a smoker.  Likewise, some mothers who do smoke may self-report as a non-smoker and be incorrectly recorded as a non-smoker. 

In 2021, 82% of records had valid data recorded at the Wales level.   This was largely due to Hywel Dda health board not supplying any smoking at birth data, while there was only 68% complete data for Cwm Taf Morgannwg.  There were also low levels of completeness in 2020 for Hywel Dda (30%), Cwm Taf Morgannwg (70%) and Powys (76%).  However, in all years prior to 2020, more than 90% of records had valid data for smoking status at birth, across nearly all health boards.

Full details of every data item available on both the Maternity Indicators dataset and National Community Child Health Database are available through the NWIS Data Dictionary.

More detailed information on the sources of data and analyses in this statistical release are provided in the quality report.

Stats Wales data.

 

Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID)

The Registration and Population Interactive Database (RAPID) provides a single coherent view of citizens’ interactions with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within a tax year for the UK. RAPID provides a basis for analyses of children, the family unit, and gross personal incomes (benefits/tax credits, employment, self-employment, occupational pensions) from which estimates of the number of children in low income families can be derived calibrated to HBAI regional estimates on Absolute and Relative definitions.

The children in poverty indicator presented in PHOF uses relative low income, which measures the number and proportion of children (aged 0-15) in households below 60 per cent of the UK average income, before housing costs are paid. Please note that this differs from the Wellbeing of Future Generations national indicator which measures the proportion of children living in poverty after housing costs are paid. Percentages are calculated using ONS mid-year population estimates.

Basing the indicator on income "before housing costs" may understate poverty levels compared to “after housing costs”, however, the latter data are not currently available at subnational level.

Data for financial years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Following concerns about the quality of 2020/21 estimates, these have been suppressed in the PHOF dashboard. 

From the June 2025 publication onwards, figures are calibrated to single-year Households Below Average Income (HBAI) UK estimates, replacing the previous approach using two- or three-year averages. This change results in a revised back-series and means the data is not directly comparable with earlier publications.

Further information on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on these statistics can be found in the children in low income technical report.

 

COVER - National childhood immunisation uptake data

Data is received from the preventable disease programme and communicable disease surveillance centre. The number of children who received the scheduled vaccinations is divided by the number of children aged 4 multiplied by 100. This measure is calculated using appropriate booster immunisation or final course doses. Figures are calculated for children living and resident in Wales as at the end of March in each year.

Latest quarterly data report.

Immunisation and vaccines resource page.

 

NHS Wales Dental Epidemiological Programme 

The Dental Epidemiology Programme for Wales measures the extent, severity and impact of dental disease for Year 1 children (5-year-olds), Year 7 children (12-year-olds) and adult groups living across Wales.

Public Health Wales is responsible for the coordination of the Dental Epidemiology Programme for Wales. We are responsible for the design, conduct and delivery of the programme, working alongside the Welsh Oral Health Information Unit. The Community Dental Services in every health board across Wales participate in the programme. 

Dental caries experience (d3mft) was defined as one or more teeth with visually obvious dentinal decay (d3t); a tooth judged to have been extracted due to caries (mt); or a tooth with a restoration (ft). The 2022/23 inspection was the first since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Children examined as part of this inspection were born in the 2016/17 academic year and so would have been two-to-three years of age in March 2020. To fully assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and severity of dental caries in Wales, another inspection of school year one children is recommended for the academic year 2024/25. 

For 2022-23 insufficient examinations were conducted in Ceredigion County Council area of Hywel Dda University Health Board and therefore estimates for these areas are not available for this period. Estimates for Wales for this period do not include Ceredigion County Council area and should be interpreted cautiously.

 

Other key data sources:

Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 (WIMD) (used to calculate fifths of deprivations).  It is the Welsh Government’s official measure of relative deprivation for small areas in Wales.  It is made up of eight separate domains/types of deprivation.

ONS Mid-year estimates (MYE) are the official source of population sizes, produced annually, covering populations of local authorities, counties, regions and countries of the UK by age and sex.  This data source is used as the denominator when calculating crude and age-standardised rates.

Table 1 Indicator changes responding to user input.

Date of change Indicator name Previous description New description Reason for the change

12th July 2024

Children living in poverty

Children living in poverty after housing costs

Children living in poverty before housing costs Following user feedback on the usability of the data. We’re now able to show data at local authority and health board breakdowns.
12th July 2024

Adolescents of healthy weight

Percentage of children reporting either 'underweight' or 'healthy range' BMI categories. Percentage of children reporting a 'healthy range' BMI category Following user feedback that it wasn’t appropriate to include ‘underweight’ BMI category data.

Please find guidance on how to interpret the following terms used in the tool:

  • Confidence intervals

    Confidence intervals show the natural variation that would be expected around a rate.  The wider the confidence interval, the more the rate would be expected to vary over time by chance alone.  If the confidence intervals are relatively wide, this makes it harder to draw conclusions about the difference in rate between area X and area Y, or the change in area X over time. 

    The size of the confidence interval is dependent on the number of events occurring and the size of the population from which the events came. Generally speaking, rates based on small numbers of events and small populations are likely to have wider confidence intervals, indicating greater uncertainty. Meanwhile, rates based on large populations are likely to have narrower confidence intervals, indicating greater precision. 

    In the Public Health Outcomes Framework reporting tool, we use 95 per cent confidence intervals. This represents a range of values that we can be 95 per cent confident contains the ‘true’ underlying rate within the population.  

  • Making comparisons: statistical significance

    Comparisons are often made between two or more estimates, for example between different areas or time periods (Figure 1).  In such cases, we need to test whether the differences are ‘statistically significant’, i.e. unlikely to be due to the play of chance alone. 

    There are different ways of testing for statistical significance: 

    1. Comparing the confidence intervals of the estimates to see if they overlap. Non-overlapping confidence intervals are considered to be statistically significantly different (Figure 1b). Whilst it is safe to assume that non-overlapping confidence intervals indicate a statistically significant difference, overlapping confidence intervals are inconclusive (Figure 1c) and would require a further statistical test as described in point 2 below.

    2. Calculating the ratio of the two estimates, or the difference between them, and constructing a test or confidence interval around that figure. Such methods are not covered in this technical guide, but can be found in a standard textbook. 

    3. Observing whether the confidence interval of the local area estimate (e.g. Carmarthenshire) touches the estimate for Wales (Figure 1a), which is treated as a ‘Target’ value.  This is the chosen method for establishing statistical significance within the ‘Comparison table’ section of the PHOF reporting tool, due to being relatively simple to calculate and to understand. 

Figure 1. Using confidence intervals for making comparisons a) & b) Non- overlapping confidence intervals are considered as statistically significant c) Overlapping confidence intervals do not always indicate a difference that is not statistically significant

 

  • Local and national deprivation fifths

    The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) is an official measure of relative deprivation for small areas in Wales and a National Statistic. It identifies areas with the highest concentrations of deprivation. Ranking these areas, and dividing them into five equally sized groups produces fifths of deprivation.

    For all national level analysis and most of the analysis at health board and local authority, fifths are calculated at the Wales level (national fifths). There are some indicators where local fifths are used, specifically the life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Local fifths differ from the national fifths in that the five equal bands of deprivation are recalculated just for the small areas within each health board and local authority boundary, rather than inheriting the national fifths. This is useful for a more localised approach to producing health expectancies.

  • National Indicators (NI) represent the outcomes for Wales, demonstrating progress towards seven well-being goals. There are 50 NI's in total, ten are reported in the Public Health Outcomes Framework.

 

The Evidence Service produces systematic reviews, evidence maps and rapid summaries, on various health topics, which may support findings in this tool.

What’s available in other UK nations?

Across the UK nations there are similar tools to the Welsh Public Health Outcomes Framework, none of which are wholly comparable.

In England, the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) is made up of four domains and is produced by the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. The domains making up the English PHOF include wider determinants, health improvement, health protection and healthcare and premature mortality. Almost 200 indicators populate the domains, most, but not all differ from those presented in the Welsh version.

Northern Ireland don’t produce a Public Health Outcomes Framework. However, they have developed a Public Health strategy called ‘Making Life Better a whole system strategic framework for Public Health’. The strategy is broken into six themes, including ‘giving every child the best start, equipped throughout life, empowering healthy living, creating the conditions, empowering communities and developing collaboration.

Scotland don’t produce a Public Health Outcomes Framework, however Public Health Scotland and its predecessor bodies have adopted outcome planning approaches across national policy and as such have produced National Performance Framework and National health wellbeing and outcomes framework, both include public health outcome indicators.

 

Stakeholder engagement

Public Health Wales works closely with stakeholders from local public health teams and Welsh Government to produce this reporting tool. Developed in an agile way, we meet our stakeholders regularly to agree how the reporting tool looks, is navigated and indicators are broken down.

We’re always trying to improve the reporting tool, and so any feedback can be emailed to Observatory.AnalyticalTeam@wales.nhs.uk.

This accessibility statement applies to the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) Dashboard. 

This is run by Public Health Wales. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.  AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.


Accessibility on this website is guided by government standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG are widely accepted as the international standard for accessibility on the web.
 

Whilst we aim to make this website accessible to all users and achieve a WCAG conformance level 'AA'; we continually work with stakeholders to ensure that conformance level 'A' is adhered to as a minimum.

The Recite Me translation and text-to-speech features on this website are automated. There may be inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the translations. The official text is the English/Welsh version of the website. If you experience any accessibility issues on this site or have any comment, please contact us.

How accessible this website is
Version 7, published 12/07/2024
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Parts of some pages may not work well with Assistive Technologies such as screen readers
  • Some menus are not fully accessible
  • Some buttons and links do not have accessible descriptions
  • Some pages are not fully usable with the keyboard
  • Some pages have an illogical focus order

Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us in the first instance and we will pass your request onto the relevant team.  We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us.

Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility
Public Health Wales is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2  AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.  

Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Version 7, published 12/07/2024
Whilst we endeavour to meet ‘WCAG 2.2 AA’ we currently have the following non-compliance issues:

1.1 Text alternatives

            1.1.1 Non-text Content

1.3 Adaptable

           1.3.1 Info and Relationships

1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence

1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics

1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose

1.4 Distinguishable

           1.4.1 Use of Colour

1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)

1.4.8 Visual Presentation

2.1 Keyboard Accessible

           2.1.1 Keyboard

2.4 Navigable

          2.4.3 Focus Order

          2.4.4 Link Purpose

          2.4.6 Headings and Labels

3.1 Screen reader accessibility

          3.1.1 Language of Page

3.3 Input assistance

          3.1.1 Redundant Entry

4.1 Compatibility

          4.1.2 Name, Role and Value

Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in July 2024. It will be reviewed in July 2025.
This website was last tested in June 2024 by ourselves using the FastPass Accessibility Insights for Web extension.

                   

APS (Annual Population Survey - managed by ONS)                    

CDSC (Public Health Wales Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre)         

CMP (Child Measurement Programme - managed by Digital Health Care Wales)

DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - managed by WG)

DHCW (Digital Health and Care Wales)   

DWP (Department for Work and Pensions)    

FPF (Foundation Phase Framework - managed by Welsh Government)  

HBMD (Health Board Maternity Dataset - managed by DCHW)                        

HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study)                       

HLCC (Hazards and licences data collection - managed by Welsh Government)

HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs)

LFS (Labour Force Survey - managed by ONS)                            

NCCHD (National Community Child Health Database, managed by DHCW)         

NSW (National Survey Wales - managed by Welsh Government)                     

ONS (Office for National Statistics)                     

PEDW (Patient Episode Database Wales - managed by DHCW)                       

PHM (Public Health Mortality - managed by ONS)                        

SHRN (School Health Research Network)                          

SW (StatsWales - managed by Welsh Government)                    

VPDP (Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme - managed by CDSC)

WDS (Welsh Dental Survey - managed by Welsh Oral Health Information Unit)

WED (Welsh Examinations Database - managed by Welsh Government)