Writing Excellence – General

Summary of work

The expert Advisory Group on Contraception (AGC) was concerned about pressures on contraceptive The expert Advisory Group on Contraception (AGC) was concerned about pressures on contraceptive services provided by primary care and community settings. Anecdotal evidence suggested that public health cuts were impacting women’s access to contraception but there was little firm data on how care had been affected. It was recognised that a strong evidence base was essential to enable the AGC to advocate on behalf of all women of reproductive age who need access to high-quality contraceptive choices to avoid unplanned pregnancies.

To address this gap, Private lives, public health utilised findings from Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to 152 councils to create a powerful impact report. Alongside new evidence and detailed analysis of the challenges, charts and graphics were used to aid understanding and highlight variation across the country. AGC members, who include commissioners, GPs, parliamentarians and women’s advocates, ensured the report was well-balanced, accurate and impactful.

The AGC’s policy recommendations were used to engage with a range of political and policy stakeholders. The report and its findings were widely covered by influential national print and broadcast media outlets, as well as on social media and through health community networks.

Judges' comments

We liked its positive impact on public services - this should be particularly commended because it's just these kinds of services that are rapidly disappearing at the moment. The work took a great idea and brought it to life with good writing that they’d obviously put a lot of work into. All in all it’s a great concept for an important issue.