NHS England: Communications and engagement toolkit for socio-economically deprived areas (March 2023)

Summary

People living in deprived areas experience the most significant health inequalities in terms of access, experience and outcomes. There are large reductions in life expectancy for those living in the most deprived areas compared to people living in the least deprived areas.

NHS England commissioned a research project into access, experience and outcomes related to health services in socio-economically deprived communities. This communications and engagement toolkit is an output of the research.

The toolkit is designed to be used by communications and engagement professionals and others across the NHS with a responsibility for communicating to and engaging with people in the most deprived areas. 

Content

This toolkit provides:

• Information on who lives in the most deprived areas – for example by age, ethnicity and education.
• General principles to consider when developing communications and engagement materials for people living in deprived areas.
• Guidance to use when communicating about specific services – for example accessing GPs or mental health services.
• Considerations regarding opportunities to use communications to improve interactions between healthcare professionals and patients living in deprived areas.
• A communications and engagement checklist to use when developing materials.

It is not necessary to read the whole toolkit. You can access what is most relevant to you. Click the boxes at the top of each slide to navigate to the sections that are useful to you. Click the ‘home’ icon in the top right of the page to return to the start and select a new topic.