Core Components of Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies: a pan-London audit study of all 33 local authorities

Abstract Background In the UK, Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (H&WS) were introduced to identify and help address the health needs of local communities. H&WS translate JSNAs into actionable outcomes and prioritise areas of focus, but their content and approach may vary across different local authorities (LAs) due to demographic and priority differences. Objective Characterise the key health and wellbeing components of existing and emerging health and wellbeing strategies of 33 local authorities in London. Design Audit study with content assessment. Methods An online search was conducted to identify extant H&WS documents. This search was supplemented with outreach to health and wellbeing boards to ensure that the latest documents were retrieved. A set of 62 health and wellbeing themes and words to be captured spanning 13 categories was developed by a team of researchers, and data collection was independently carried out by two researchers. Occurrences of words in the strategy documents were recorded, and a configuration matrix was created and used to determine data trends across the local authorities. A broad search of the context in which the search terms appeared was also performed to understand the trends. Results Thirty-three H&WS were analysed to identify key search term frequencies. The analysis encompassed strategies from 2015 to 2030, ranging from 7 to 94 pages. Mental health and youth terms emerged as the two top priorities across all strategies. Other frequent terms were related to access to healthcare, inequality, employment, smoking, housing, carers, and elderly individuals. Conversely, terms related to dental health, pollution, nutrition, sexual health, green spaces, breastfeeding, and climate were less cited. Conclusion This analysis provides insights into regional health priorities and a comprehensive overview of health and wellbeing strategies across London's local authorities. Despite certain limitations, the findings offer valuable insights for local authorities' strategic planning and future research.