A slow death or eternal life? Future directions for annual public health reports

Several years after their reintroduction, district public health reports continue to face questions about purpose, content and evaluation. As public health embraces the wider vision of the World Health Organisation's 'Health for All' strategy, and the consequent need for collaboration with other sectors and participation with communities, there is a need for the reports to respond accordingly. This theme is explored in relation to the needs of the report's diverse audience, the type of local research required to make the report relevant and effective, and approaches to evaluation. A growing local research function has resource and training implications for Departments of Public Health. The demands of producing a report every year suggest that biennial publication of the main report, with other targeted products over the intervening period, would be a more realistic and effective option.