Imperial College MPH

Research led by Dr Chris Millett, Deputy Course Director for the MPH programme, that was published in the journal Pediatrics showed that the introduction of smoke-free legislation in England was immediately followed by a fall in the number of children admitted to hospital with asthma symptoms, a new study has found. NHS statistics analysed by researchers at Imperial College London show a 12.3 per cent fall in admissions for childhood asthma in the first year after the law on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces came into effect in July 2007. The researchers found that asthma admissions continued to fall in subsequent years, suggesting that the benefits of the legislation were sustained over time.

Sarah Payne, a former MPH student, was awarded the prize for best oral presentation at the Association of Schools of Public Health forum at the EUPHA conference in November 2012. The presentation was based on her MPH research project (Achieving comprehensive childhood immunization: an analysis of obstacles and opportunities in The Gambia).