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Showing results for tags 'Health Disparities'.
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Content ArticleThe rapid uptake of digital healthcare channels offers huge benefits, but evidence also suggests a close correlation between digital exclusion and social disadvantage. People with protected characteristics under the Equality Act are among those least likely to have access to the internet and the skills needed to use it. Experts from across health and care came together to contribute to "Access Denied", a new whitepaper on digital health inequalities. This whitepaper sets out recommendations to ensure that those innovating in digital healthcare can do so in a way which addresses healthcare inequalities.
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Content ArticleThe UK health system is under unprecedented strain. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these pressures, but it did not create them. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and its member organisations believe that as a country we are not facing up to the scale of the current challenges and we are not producing any coherent strategy to tackle the problems. Only when we confront these challenges will we be able to begin to fix the NHS. A combination of pressures means that the system is providing care and services which are sub-standard, threaten patient safety and fall below what should be expected in a country with the resources of the United Kingdom. If we do not act with urgency, we risk permanently normalising the unacceptable standards we now witness daily, to the detriment of us all.
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Content ArticleThe aim of the Patient safety inequalities Task and Finish Group (PSIT) is to develop an understanding of solutions to improve patient safety healthcare inequalities. Attached is the group's Terms of Reference.
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Content ArticleGender is emerging as a significant factor in the social, economic, and health effects of COVID-19. However, most existing studies have focused on its direct impact on health. Here, we aimed to explore the indirect effects of COVID-19 on gender disparities globally. The most significant gender gaps identified in our study show intensified levels of pre-existing widespread inequalities between women and men during the COVID-19 pandemic. Political and social leaders should prioritise policies that enable and encourage women to participate in the labour force and continue their education, thereby equipping and enabling them with greater ability to overcome the barriers they face.
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Content ArticleWomen are 50% more likely to receive a wrong initial diagnosis; when they are having a heart attack, such mistakes can be fatal. People who are initially misdiagnosed have a 70% higher risk of dying. The latest studies have similarly shown that women have worse outcomes for heart operations such as valve replacements and peripheral revascularisation. As well as being misdiagnosed, women are less likely to be treated quickly, less likely to get the best surgical treatment and less likely to be discharged with the optimum set of drugs. None of this is excusable, but is it understandable? What is behind this bias and how can how it be fixed? Sian Harding, emeritus professor of cardiac pharmacology at Imperial College London, looks at the evidence in this Guardian article. Related reading Dangerous exclusions: The risk to patient safety of sex and gender bias Gender bias: A threat to women’s health Medicines, research and female hormones: a dangerous knowledge gap
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Content ArticleThere is evidence that certain subgroups of the population have a higher risk of developing dementia than others. Aside from the most important risk factor—age,—other risk factors include ethnicity, sex, learning disability and socio-economic status. This report by the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) details the impact of scientific research on health inequalities for people affected by dementia. In order to make sure dementia diagnosis and treatments are effective for everyone, we need to understand how and why different groups are affected differently, so that we can target interventions where they are most needed and maximise their benefit. The report was produced by leading dementia scientists from the UK DRI who are taking action to reduce health inequalities through their own research. This includes: Researching “blood biomarkers” to pave the way for a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Ensuring both male and female mice are used equally in animal research so that findings can be applied to the whole population. This is policy across the UK DRI. Broadening understanding of the implications of ethnicity on risk of Alzheimer’s disease through genetic studies. Working to make clinical trials more accessible to all. Pioneering accessible, scalable, and affordable new therapies. Investigating rarer forms of dementia to plug the knowledge gap and support people living with these diseases. Addressing the environmental and lifestyle factors that impact brain health to better understand the link between socio-economic status and dementia risk.
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Content ArticleNaaheed Mukadam and colleagues investigated the incidence of diagnosed dementia and whether age at diagnosis and survival afterward differs among the UK's three largest ethnic groups. They used primary care electronic health records, linked Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data for adults aged ≥65 years. They compared recorded dementia incidence 1997–2018, age at diagnosis, survival time and age at death after diagnosis in White, South Asian, and Black people. The study found that dementia incidence was higher in Black people. South Asian and Black people with dementia had a younger age of death than White participants and Black participants. The authors concluded that South Asian and Black peoples’ younger age of diagnosis and death means targeted prevention and care strategies for these groups should be prioritised and tailored to facilitate take-up.
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Content ArticleThis review by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) looks at current NCEPOD data to identify themes relating to healthcare inequalities. It was was commissioned by Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) on behalf of the Healthcare Inequalities team at NHS England and NHS Improvement, as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). The review identifies four area of healthcare inequalities: Protected characteristics - age and disability Socioeconomic deprivation Inclusion health groups Organisation of healthcare services
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Content ArticleA handful of immunologists are pushing the field to take attributes such as sex chromosomes, sex hormones, and reproductive tissues into account.
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Content ArticleThe Institute of Health Equity (IHE) is working with local authorities up and down the country to help them implement the right approaches to reduce health inequalities. The public health department of Luton Borough Council commissioned IHE to support the local authority and other partners to act on health inequalities and become the first ‘Marmot Town’. This report is based on an assessment of data and local evidence and makes recommendations to reduce health inequalities and make Luton a fairer place to live, work, grow up and grow old in.
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Content ArticleResearch suggests that there is a wide gap in knowledge about how medical conditions affect men and women differently, and about the conditions that only affect women. As a result, women are receiving poorer medical advice and diagnosis, often leading to worse outcomes. This handbook published by digital healthcare provider Livi looks at some of the evidence surrounding sex-based health inequalities and how they are affecting women in the UK.
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Content ArticleGPOnline Editor, Emma, speaks with Dr Carey Lunan, a GP in Edinburgh and chair of the Deep End GP Group in Scotland, and Dr David Blane a GP in Glasgow and clinical research fellow in General Practice, University of Glasgow, who is the academic lead of the Deep End GP Group. The Deep End Group covers the 100 most deprived practices in Scotland and the discussion highlights what the group is doing to tackle health inequalities, the impact of COVID-19 and what other practices can learn from their work.
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Content ArticleThe Patients Association has put together a jargon buster dictionary designed to give straightforward explanations for many healthcare terms. The document was developed by the Patients Association's lived experience advisory panel, Patient Voices Matter. During its meetings, it became clear that members didn't always know the meanings of some of the words and terms they were hearing during consultations with doctors and other healthcare professionals. Letters from the NHS were identified as a source of a lot of jargon. You can also suggest words and phrases to add to the dictionary.
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Content ArticlePatient Voices Matter (PVM), a lived experience advisory panel set up by The Patients Association, has highlighted how important it is to make information accessible to all potential users. In this blog, Sarah Tilsed Head of Patient Partnership, and Ray, a member of PVM, talk about the impact of jargon on health inequalities and the accessibility of health services. They also discuss their presentation in August 2022 to the NHS Health Inequalities Improvement Network.
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Content ArticleThe Women’s Health Strategy promises to address the poor experiences and worse health outcomes that women endure. The underlying cause of these issues is that the health system has historically been built by men for men. Consequently, women are often not listened to or believed by the health and care system. So, the crucial question is, will this strategy change the culture in the NHS of women not being listened to about their health and wellbeing?
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Content ArticleThis report revisits the conclusions of The Health Foundation's Covid-19 impact enquiry, which found that poor health and existing inequalities had left parts of the UK more vulnerable to the virus and had influenced its devastating impact. A year on from the impact inquiry, more than 90% of the UK population have had at least one Covid-19 infection, and 74% of adults had received three vaccinations by April 2022. This report considers: the further direct impact of Covid-19 on health outcomes. the broader implications for social determinants of health. the extent to which previously highlighted risks to health have been addressed. the implications for the country of ‘living with Covid-19’.
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Content ArticleThis report by Richard Norrie, director of the Statistics and Policy Research Programme at Civitas, aims to scrutinise the Race and Health Observatory (RHO) rapid evidence review into ethnic inequalities in healthcare published in February 2022. The report highlights inconsistencies in the review's use of research and data and argues that its conclusions do not reflect the full body of evidence available concerning race and health outcomes. The author suggests that the review makes a false assumption that the needs of all ethnic groups are the same, which leads to its potentially inaccurate conclusions about the prevalence and causes of health inequalities.
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Covid-19 has posed a huge challenge to the delivery of safe care, both when infection rates were at their highest levels and in terms of its long-term impact on health and social care systems.[1] The pandemic has magnified existing patient safety issues, created new ones, and exposed safety gaps which require systemic responses. This month the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new report, Implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for patient safety: A rapid review.[2] The review aims to create a greater understanding of the impact of the pandemic on patient safety, particularly in relation to diagnostic services, treatment and care management. In this blog, Patient Safety Learning, one of the international organisations who contributed to this review, provides an overview and reflections on some the key themes and issues raised in this review. -
Content ArticleNon-communicable illness is responsible for 88% of the burden of disease in England, with the majority falling most heavily on the poorest in society. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted pervasive socioeconomic, ethnic and geographical health inequalities in our society. But quantifying health inequalities can be difficult due to the complexities of comparing people with multiple different long-term conditions (multimorbidity) and assessing the implications for their health care needs. In this analysis from the The Health Foundation, a novel tool known as the Cambridge Multimorbidity Score was used to assess the relative impact of different patterns of diagnosed illness on people and their use of the health care system.
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Content ArticlePatients and providers often don't recognise skin cancer on darker skin. Medical school faculty and students are trying to change that.
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Content ArticleRAND Corporation and MedStar researchers examined the intersection of patient safety and racism, focusing on patient safety and health equity from clinician leaders' perspectives. An overarching emphasis of the work concerned the impact of racism and other related factors (i.e., bias) on patient safety events and potential interventions or changes (such as creating a culture of speaking up about racism in care) that can help prevent such events.
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Content ArticleHealth inequalities are not inevitable and are unfair. Many people from different backgrounds across our society suffer health inequalities which can negatively impact the whole community, not just those directly affected. Birmingham and Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR) set out to urgently reveal and explore the background to health inequalities experienced by the Black African and Black Caribbean communities. Birmingham is home to 8% of the Black African and Black Caribbean populations in England and 23% of Lewisham’s population is Black African or Black Caribbean (ONS 2011). The main aim of the Review is to improve the health of Black African and Black Caribbean people in the communities by listening to them, recognising their priorities, discussing, and reflecting on the findings and coproducing recommended solutions for the Health and Wellbeing Board and NHS Integrated Care Systems to consider and respond to.
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Content ArticleThe US's response to monkeypox fails to put patients and their care at its centre, writes Eric Kutscher in the BMJ opinion article. As a primary care and addiction medicine physician, Kutscher has been dismayed by the number of patients he has treated over the past few weeks who’ve been infected with the vaccine-preventable monkeypox virus. Most have been in considerable pain and required strong analgesics, with some unable to even sit because of their skin lesions. Yet for many, the most agonising and scarring aspect of their infection is not their physical symptoms, but the complete removal of their humanity by the medical response to monkeypox. As a medical and public health community, we are exhausted after Covid-19, and our compassion fatigue is showing in our policies and procedures for monkeypox. The spread of the virus to previously non-endemic countries was only recently declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. Unlike with Covid-19, this is not a novel virus—we have the appropriate diagnostic testing, treatment, and even vaccines that we need. Yet, just as we have failed to deploy these tools to assist in outbreaks in African nations, we are now also failing our patients from a sexual minority—patients who are already underserved and justifiably mistrusting of a medical system.
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Content ArticleThe Commission on Young Lives (COYL) was set up in September 2021, to propose a new settlement to prevent marginalised children and young people from falling into violence, exploitation and the criminal justice system, and to support them to thrive. Its national action plan will include ambitious practical, affordable proposals that government, councils, police, social services and communities can put into place. This detailed report by COYL examines the state of children and young people's mental health, describing the current situation as "a profound crisis." It examines the impact of the pandemic on young people's mental health, as well highlighting the lack of capacity and inequalities present in children and young people's mental health services. It then looks in detail at factors that contribute to mental health issues in children and young people and prevent marginalised groups from accessing mental health support.
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Content ArticleChronic (persistent or long-lasting or recurrent) pain is life-changing and can significantly impact individuals, their families and carers. This paper sets out the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance's (ARMA's) position on how pain affects people with musculoskeletal conditions, and how their pain should be managed.
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