This blog explores the rise of private health care in the UK and its impact on creating a two-tier system. It highlights regional disparities in access to orthopaedic procedures and discusses the implications for patients, the NHS, and policymakers.
Quality improvement (QI) seeks to enhance care but does not consistently consider equity, leading to potential intervention-generated inequalities. This brief summarises the evidence on what works to ensure that QI addresses inequalities, categorising approaches that improve or worsen them.
Displaying 10-18 of 49 results.
Mortality rates are higher in areas of greater deprivation, and life expectancy a decade shorter in the least affluent areas compared to most affluent areas in England. Addressing inequalities through funding is crucial given its impact on service provision, workforce distribution and consequently patient outcomes. This brief examines the evidence on how health care funding can be structured to reduce health and care inequalities.
Digital health literacy is becoming increasingly important as more health information is shared through digital platforms. However, many individuals face challenges in accessing digital devices and understanding or critically evaluating digital health information. This evidence brief examines effective strategies for improving health and digital health literacy, particularly among disadvantaged groups.
The NHS Constitution states that access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay. Most NHS services are free of charge. There is a large evidence base describing the problems that people with low incomes face accessing healthcare; much of the international literature relates to insurance premiums. However, there is little research describing how to ensure people on low incomes are not inadvertently excluded from healthcare services.
Tackling chronic disease risk factors requires a systemic approach that addresses the structural barriers that disadvantaged groups face in managing their health. In this evidence brief, we focus on how health care services, as part of this system, can improve behavioural interventions aiming to tackle chronic disease risk factors like smoking, obesity, or hypertension, so that they better address the needs and preferences of disadvantaged groups.
Millions of people in England have an undiagnosed health problem, with people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas more likely to be unaware of a health problem. In this evidence brief we explore what works to improve case finding for disadvantaged groups, specifically those lower socioeconomic and ethnic minority groups.
The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is a widely used measure in public health research and policymaking relating to health inequalities. By identifying areas with the greatest levels of deprivation, resources can be allocated more effectively to tackle systemic issues that contribute to unequal health outcomes. This blog provides an overview of the IMD and it’s use in public health research.
In this blog, Sharon Cumberbatch, an NHS nurse, shares her life story as a first-generation black British Caribbean, a health care trainee and a health care professional. In honour of Black History Month, Sharon reflects on the aspirations that have driven her in life, her experiences of systemic racism but also experiences of solidarity. She highlights the importance of learning – about the world but also about our own and others’ histories – as the cornerstone of caring communities.
