Glossary

Terms and abbreviations used in public health

Public Health uses a lot of acronyms. Where possible we will avoid doing this.  The list below provides some of the commonly used acronyms you may see in our documents. It also gives more information on what some of them mean.

  • ACS – Adult and Community Services
  • APHR – Annual Public Health Report
  • APS – Annual population survey
  • ASC – Adult Social Care
  • CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. A talking therapy
  • CIPFA - the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. CIPFA produce "nearest neighbours" - groups of local authorities based on statistical similarity in 40 socio-economic measures. These comparisons can be more informative than comparisons with all authorities in England, for example where rurality may have an impact
  • CMD - common mental disorders. A term used in the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey
  • CMHP - Common mental health problems. A term used by NICE, for example Common mental health problems: identification and pathways to care
  • COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Core20PLUS5
    A national NHS England and NHS Improvement approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. Core20PLUS5 was the focus of the 2022 APHR
  • CSP – Community Safety Partnership
  • CYP – Children and Young People
  • ESNEFT – East Suffolk and North East Essex NHS Foundation Trust
  • HES – Hospital episode statistics
  • HLE - Healthy Life Expectancy
  • HOSC – Health Scrutiny Committee (Suffolk County Council) 
  • HS – Healthy Suffolk
  • HWB – Health and Wellbeing Board
  • HWS – Healthwatch Suffolk
  • IAPT - Improving Access to Psychological Therapies was an NHS programme providing psychological therapies to "people experiencing the most common mental health problems: anxiety and depression". In 2023, after consultation, the service was renamed "NHS Talking Therapies, for anxiety and depression". A blog post explains the name change from IAPT
  • ICB – Integrated Care Board
    These are statutory bodies that are responsible for planning and funding most NHS services in an area. Covers the same area as an ICS
  • ICP – Integrated Care Partnership
    A statutory committee jointly formed between the NHS integrated care board and all upper-tier local authorities that fall within the ICS area. The ICP will bring together a broad alliance of partners concerned with improving the care, health and well-being of the population, with membership determined locally. The ICP is responsible for producing an integrated care strategy on how to meet the health and well-being needs of the population in the ICS area
  • ICS – Integrated Care System
    Partnerships of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined-up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area. Covers the same area as an ICB
  • INT – Integrated Neighbourhood Team (also known as Connect areas)
    A typical Integrated Neighbourhood Team (INT) will consist of staff from a number of different teams/ professions: social care for adults and children/families, health, police, mental health, district and borough teams, along with the voluntary sector
  • JHWS – Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy
  • JSNA – Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
  • LEAR – Local Energy Asset Representation
  • LTLA – Lower tier local authority
  • LSOA – Lower (layer) Super Output Area - ONS geography for census statistics
  • MSOA – Middle (layer) Super Output Area - ONS geography for census statistics
  • NHS – National Health Service
  • NSFT – Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, providing mental health and learning disability care for people across Norfolk and Suffolk
  • NW – Norfolk and Waveney
  • OHID – Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
  • ONS – Office for National Statistics
  • PANSI - Projecting 
  • POPPI - Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information. Originally developed for the Department of Health, this system estimates projected numbers of people aged 18 to 64 with certain health conditions, including Down's syndrome, diabetes, and depression. Sister project to POPPI
  • PBNA – Place-based needs assessment
  • PCN – Primary Care Network
    These are groups of GP practices working together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in their local areas
  • PH – Public Health
  • PHC – Public Health and Communities (Suffolk County Council directorate)
  • PHE – Public Health England. Ceased on 1 October 2021, when it was replaced by UKHSA and OHID
  • PHM – Population Health Management
  • Population Health Management (PHM) –  A way of working to help frontline teams understand current health and care needs and predict what local people will need in the future. PHM uses historical and current data to understand what factors are driving poor outcomes in different population groups. Local health and care services can then design new proactive models of care that will improve health and wellbeing today and in years to come
  • PHOF – Public Health Outcomes Framework
  • PNA – Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 
  • POPPI - Projecting Older Person Population Information. Originally developed for the Department of Health, this system estimates projected numbers of older people, e.g. living alone, in care homes, providing unpaid care, as well as estimating the impact of health conditions.  Sister project to PANSI
  • QOF – Quality and Outcomes Framework
  • QOL – Quality of Life
  • RGS – Recovery Grant Scheme
  • SCC – Suffolk County Council
  • SH – Sexual Health
  • SMI – Severe (sometimes called Serious) Mental Illness 
  • SNEE – Suffolk and North East Essex
  • SO – Suffolk Observatory
  • SOCIS / SOCS – State of Children in Suffolk, part of the JSNA. It was retired in July 2024 as it duplicated content in the main JSNA.
  • SODA – Suffolk Office of Data and Analytics
  • SoS / SOS – State of Suffolk. This was part of the JSNA and was retired in July 2024 as it duplicated content in the main JSNA.
  • STP – Sustainability and Transformation Partnership
  • UKHSA – the UK Health Security Agency
  • UTLA - Upper Tier Local Authority
  • VCSE – Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise. Sometimes VCSFE to include Faith groups