Scotland's Population Health Framework: Island Communities Impact Assessment

2. Policy aims

After many decades of improvement in life expectancy, progress has stalled. Austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the cost-of-living crisis have eroded the health of our population and widened inequalities.

The Population Health Framework (PHF) is one of the three core reform products set out by the First Minister in January 2025 on public service reform. Co-authored between Scottish Government and COSLA and co-developed in partnership with Public Health Scotland and Scottish Directors of Public Health, this Framework takes a refreshed cross-government and cross-sectoral approach to health.

Focused on prevention this approach aims to promote wellbeing, reducing health-harming behaviours and improving equitable access to care. Most importantly, reflecting our shared commitment to addressing the social and economic conditions that, more than anything else, shape people’s health and drive inequalities.

With the aim of the Framework being two-fold – to improve life expectancy whilst reducing the life expectancy gap between the most deprived 20% of local areas and the national average by 2035.

The Framework is based on five key primary prevention drivers of health:^[1]

• Social and Economic Factors
• Places and Communities
• Enabling Healthy Living
• Equitable Access to Health and Care
• Prevention Focused System

The Framework sets out initial actions across these drivers. It also identifies two initial evidence based priorities – embedding prevention in our systems and improving healthy weight.

Complementing upon current policies, like the 2023 Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Drugs and Alcohol National Mission the Framework shall seek to build upon this work with additional actions, as part of a coherent approach to address population health challenges. Targeting our action to areas and communities most in need to ensure equity in our approach to avoid widening inequalities further.