Individualism and social solidarity in vaccination policy: some further considerations.

This commentary, in response to the paper by Boas et al [IJPHR December 2016], considers some of the wider ethical, cultural and practical factors that may influence the official response of a polio-free nation following the identification of introduced wild virus within its borders. It looks at factors influencing vaccine uptake internationally, using examples of nations striving to improve childhood vaccine uptake, the relevance of mandatory versus voluntary immunisation and the role of public education and misinformation.

Teaching Public Health Networks: connecting with Shaping the Future.

Teaching Public Health Networks (TPHNs) are nine new entities, established by the Department of Health in late 2006 in the English regions. They are intended to encourage and facilitate enhanced public health teaching, with a view to improving public health capacity and capability across a wide range of disciplines. These include far more than those traditionally viewed as part of the public health workforce. This paper considers, from the viewpoint of the London Teaching Public Health Network, progress so far and the potential involvement of specialized health promotion professionals, both in terms of influencing and benefiting from the activities of the TPHNs.

Origin and development of the UK Voluntary Register for Public Health Specialists.

This paper describes the milestones, challenges and achievements in establishing the UK Voluntary Register for Public Health Specialists (UKVRPHS), which was launched in 2003. Developments in the UKVRPHS since 2003 are described in the context of the continuing development of the UK multidisciplinary public health workforce as a whole.