From evidence to impact: making prevention stick (In-person)

The UK continues to face a profound population health challenge. An ageing society, persistently poor health outcomes and widening inequalities are placing increasing strain on individuals, communities and public services. While prevention remains a central aspect of the government’s reform agenda and the 10 Year Health Plan, it remains slow to deliver and easy to sideline when pressure mounts.

As ambition turns to delivery, difficult questions arise: are we genuinely prioritising prevention when political, fiscal, and commercial pressures pull in the opposite direction? How do we protect evidence-based prevention when it becomes uncomfortable or contested? How do we make prevention happen and make it stick?

Making this shift cannot be achieved by the NHS alone; it requires coordinated action across national and local government, the voluntary sector, employers, communities and individuals themselves. It also demands a fundamental rethink of how we allocate money, measure success, and value long-term outcomes.

This conference will take a human and evidence-led look at whether we are serious about prevention in 2026 with planned sessions on:

• Why prevention struggles to survive pressure – setting the scene on rising demand, political cycles and fiscal constraint
• How and why prevention gains stall or reverse – examining fragility, pushback and unintended consequences
• Leadership choices under pressure – how prioritisation decisions shape whether prevention is protected or dropped
• What needs to change now to make prevention stick – system design, workforce support and near‑term actions, not long‑term aspiration

Through keynote talks, panel discussions, and interactive breakouts, we will challenge participants to move beyond aspiration. Join peers from across the sector to explore the forces threatening progress and work together on the practical, political, and moral choices required to shift the dial on prevention.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher The King's Fund