Exploring the views of planners and public health practitioners on integrating health evidence into spatial planning in England: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND: This study explored barriers and facilitators to integrating health evidence into spatial planning at local authority levels and examined the awareness and use of the Public Health England ‘Spatial Planning for Health’ resource. METHODS: A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews followed by an online survey of public health, planning and other built environment professionals in England. RESULTS: Views from 19 individuals and 162 survey responses revealed high awareness and use of the Spatial Planning for Health resource, although public health professionals reported greater awareness and use than other professionals. Key barriers to evidence implementation included differences in interpretation and the use of ‘evidence’ between public health and planning professionals, lack of practical evidence to apply locally and lack of resource and staff capacity in local authorities. Key facilitators included integrating health into the design of local plans, articulating wider benefits to multiple stakeholders and simplifying presenting evidence (regarding language and accessibility). CONCLUSION: The Spatial Planning for Health resource is a useful resource at local authority level. Further work is needed to maximize its use by built environment professionals. Public health teams need support, capacity and skills to ensure that local health and well-being priorities are integrated into local planning documents and decisions.