ABSTRACT
In April 2005, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) merged with the Health Development Agency and took on a new responsibility for producing public health guidance. The guidance would promote good health, prevent ill health and reduce health inequalities. This chapter describes how NICE has involved the public in the public health programme, and some specific challenges that people faced. NICE's Patient and Public Involvement Programme supports individuals and organisations that bring community perspectives to the guidance development process. The client group will have views on the outcomes that are important to them in relation to specific public health interventions. The groups developing public health guidance include public health and other relevant professionals and researchers as well as lay/community members. The chapter focuses on the involvement of the public at the stages of scoping, developing and validating NICE guidance.
