These short sessions cover a wide variety of public health topics and aim to develop professionals’ awareness and practice around the subjects covered.
At a typical 'Want to know more about...' session you will:
- learn how to identify the public health issue being covered
- discover local services that are working to improve the issue
- understand ways you can help, should you choose to
The sessions are free of charge and are presented by friendly and knowledgeable facilitators who are experts in their fields, including specialists from the Leeds Public Health team.
Upcoming sessions
Want To Know More About... Cancer awareness
Monday 17 November, 10am to 11am
Join Leeds Health Awareness for a friendly and light-hearted online session that will raise awareness of different types of cancers, their symptoms, and screening programmes.
1 in 2 people in the UK will face cancer in their lifetime. Early detection is key and it can save lives. This session aims to give you the confidence to talk about cancer and encourage those you support to attend screening or see their GP about symptoms.
Let’s break the stigma, share knowledge, and support each other in staying healthy.
The session will cover:
- breast, lung, bowel, prostate and cervical cancer
- symptoms
- cancer screening programmes
- barriers to screening
This webinar will be delivered by Darren and Megan from the Leeds Health Awareness Service.
Want To Know More About... Type 2 diabetes
Monday 1 December, 11am to midday
Join Leeds Health Awareness for a friendly and light-hearted online information session about type 2 diabetes.
Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is rising in the UK. Many people are confused about the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and are not aware that, in many cases, type 2 diabetes can be avoided if people make certain life changes before they develop the condition. This information session is for anyone who would like to learn more about type 2 diabetes and is presented in a style that makes it accessible to a wide audience.
The session will cover:
- the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- what is happening when someone is pre-diabetic
- what we can do to minimise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
This webinar will be delivered by Darren and Megan from Leeds Health Awareness Service and will last approximately 1 hour, which will include time for questions and answers at the end of the presentation.
Want To Know More About... Health in Cities
Wednesday 17 December, 1pm to 2pm
Chris Whitty's Annual Report in 2024 focused on "Health in Cities" and included a chapter on Leeds written by the public health team. This session will provide a summary of the report, identify key learning on the features of cities, and consider how understanding of these can shape our work to improve and protect health. The session is suitable for anyone who works to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in Leeds.
This session will cover:
- background on the CMO annual report
- a summary of the Leeds chapter, including the geography and population of Leeds, examples of public health work and our priorities for public health in a large, diverse city
- key findings from the wider report, including the features of cities and impacts on health and wellbeing
- implications for work to improve and protect health
The webinar will be delivered by Pippa Bird from Leeds City Council's Public Health team.
Want To Know More About... Young People, Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll
Friday 13 February 2026, 1pm to 2:30pm
This informal session by Forward Leeds is aimed at supporting workers to have positive conversations with young people around all things drugs, sex and sexual health.
The session will cover:
- context and statistics around young people and drugs and alcohol
- what young people could look out for in terms of substances and sexual wellbeing and staying healthy and looking after each other, including continued consent
- how drugs and alcohol can affect sex, bodies, contraception, transmission of infections, feelings, relationships, communication and more
- how young people can protect themselves, assess situations and respond to risk
- how workers can have positive conversations about sex, drugs and alcohol
- where workers can get advice if they are unsure how to respond
You will also receive lots of guidance for young people and workers, recommendations for resources and games, and find out about further free training and support for workers, teams and young people.
Content note whilst this is a positive and light session generally, there may be references to last moments of life, sexual assault, substance use and other challenging experiences people may have in relation to sex and substance use. If you have any needs in relation to this to enable your access, please let us know by emailing trace.myers@leeds.gov.uk
This session will be delivered by Lewis Edwards from Forward Leeds and supported by T (Trace) Myers and Kerrie Burton at the Public Health Sexual Health Team / Well Wave
Want to know more about... films
Some of the 'Want to know more about…' sessions are recorded and published to YouTube.
You can watch recorded webinars and other training films on the Leeds Public Health Training playlist on YouTube, at a time that is suitable to you. If you attended a session that was recorded, this is where it will be published.
Leeds Public Health training playlist
Delivering a want to know more about… session
If you are interested in delivering a 'Want to know more about...' session to raise awareness of a particular public health issue or service, please contact us at phforall@leeds.gov.uk for a discussion.
