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Public Opinion Surveys

In September 2009, the Agency asked over 1,500 adults aged over 15 years across England what they knew and understood about health protection issues and the Agency.  This was a repeat of a survey conducted in 2007.

Awareness of the HPA had grown by 2009 with two in five (44%) of people saying they had heard of us compared to one in three (33%) in 2007. 

More people said they knew about the measure to protect themselves from infectious diseases in 2009 3 in 5 (57%) a 20% increase on 2007.  And confidence in these measures had risen by nearly 10% to 66%.

Nine out of ten people said that they consider the HPA's responsibilities to protect people from infectious diseases and provide advice on chemical hazards and poisons to be important.  And that they would follow the HPA's advice in an emergency.

Age is still a factor in whether people are concerned about a health issue. Older people are generally more concerned than young people.

The top three public health concerns in 2009 were swine flu, healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and skin cancer while back in 2007 HCAIs were the top concern followed by air pollution and infectious diseases like TB.

You can download the full report hereGeneral Public Awareness and Branding Research (PDF, 462 KB),

or if you would like a copy posted to you,

email publicinvolvement@hpa.org.uk

or write to us at

Health Protection Agency
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SZ

Technical Detail

  • Representative of England adults aged 15+
  • Public health issues: 1,670 adults aged 15+ in England; Branding: 1,679 adults 15+ in England
  • Face-to-face, in home, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing)
  • Fieldwork: 18-24 September 2009 (HPA Branding); 25 September - 01 October 2009 (Public Health Issues)
  • Split-sample technique: 'Infectious diseases' v 'Health hazards from chemicals, poisons or radiation'
  • Data weighted to reflect the England population profile

This information is also available in leaflet form

Health Protection and You (PDF, 617 KB)


Last reviewed: 27 March 2012