Development of public health guidance on the prevention of alcohol misuse and cardiovascular disease: the work of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, England

Abstract

In 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in England was asked to extend its work from clinical practice to public health. It has since produced 35 pieces of public health guidance on interventions ranging from the specific (such as the use of pedometers to promote exercise) to major public health issues (such as behaviour change and community engagement). The workshop agreed that research on many public health interventions was lacking, particularly for population-level interventions, which might be more powerful than those targeted at individuals. Epidemiology could make a particular contribution to the evaluation of natural experiments, which have great potential for contributing to this evidence base.