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Showing results for tags 'Social determinants of health'.
Found 100 results
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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 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 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 ArticleRecent data shows that people aged 10–25 in the poorest areas of the UK will die earlier than those in richer areas. It’s also predicted that people aged 10–14 living in the most deprived areas will live 18 more years in ill health than their peers in the least deprived areas. In this blog for The Health Foundation, Association for Young People's Health (AYPH) policy fellow Rachael McKeown outlines data recently published by AYPH that shows the scale and complexity of young people’s health inequalities, and the need for action.
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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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Content ArticleYoung people from different backgrounds with different lived experiences can have different physical and mental health outcomes. This briefing document by the Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH) offers a definition for health inequalities that is specific to young people, and a conceptual framework to help identify key causes and factors that influence health outcomes. As well as highlighting the impact of Covid-19 on young people's health and wellbeing, the paper focuses on different factors that will affect young people's health outcomes now and in the future, including education, employment, housing, geographical area, development of behaviours and relationships.
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Content ArticleThis briefing paper by thinktank The Centre for Mental Health explores evidence about the links between factors that worsen mental health, showing that living in poverty increases people’s risk of mental health difficulties, and that more unequal societies have higher overall levels of mental ill health. It also demonstrates that poverty and economic inequality intersect with structural racism to undermine the mental health of racialised and marginalised groups in society. Among other things, it highlights inequalities in access to primary care and mental health services across the UK.
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Content ArticleThis report by NHS Wales summarises the ways in which the cost of living crisis can impact on health and well-being. It takes a public health lens to identify actions for policy makers and decision-makers to protect and promote the health and well-being of people in Wales in their response to the cost of living crisis, outlining what a public health approach to the crisis could look like in the short and longer-term.
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Content ArticleThe UK continues to feel the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, both through its impact on the nation’s health, as well as the prolonged impact on the UK economy. Yet despite this, there isn’t enough attention on boosting population health, the NHS and social care to build resilience to future shocks and support economic recovery. For the 2022 REAL challenge lecture, Andy Haldane, Chief Executive of the RSA and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England, explored the relationship between health and wealth. He drew lessons from the pandemic and argued for a more holistic economic growth strategy where health and wealth are inextricably linked.
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Content ArticleThis interactive tool developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) can be used to explore how health changed in each local authority area across England between 2015 and 2020, according to the Health Index.
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Content ArticleThis document describes the development of the The Northumbria Local Health Index, a collaborative project between Northumbria Healthcare Trust and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Health Index aims to produce a more holistic measure of health, recognising health as an asset to the nation and communities. It is a composite measure of 56 indicators across three over-arching domains—healthy people which covers health outcomes, healthy lives which includes behavioural risk factors and healthy places which captures social and wider determinants of health. The Northumbria Local Health Index has created a deeper understanding of how health and the drivers of health differ between areas within the local authorities of Northumberland and North Tyneside and provides a data driven framework that could enable effective and collaborative work to tackle health inequalities. It demonstrates the potential for the Health Index to become a ‘small area’ health tool for planning health and healthcare provision.
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Content ArticleAccording to a recent research study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, over a million people with diabetes in the US rationed their insulin in the past year. When people with diabetes ration their insulin, either by taking less than they need or skipping doses, it poses a serious safety risk and has a negative impact on their long-term health. This article highlights that the main cause of insulin rationing is the high cost of insulin in the US, with pharmaceutical companies increasing prices annually even though the product remains the same. It outlines the main issues caused by insulin rationing and looks at the need for reform to ensure that all Americans with diabetes are able to access adequate insulin. The author speaks to Stephanie Arceneaux who has had type 1 diabetes for 30 years. Stephanie describes her experiences of deciding whether or not to eat and therefore use more insulin, and of having to ration blood glucose test strips.
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Content ArticleThis tool developed by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities aims to provide intelligence about the wider determinants of health to help improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Wider determinants, also known as social determinants, are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors which impact on people’s health. They are influenced by the local, national and international distribution of power and resources which shape the conditions of daily life, and they determine the extent to which different individuals have the physical, social and personal resources to identify and achieve goals, meet their needs and deal with changes to their circumstances. The tool is updated on an ongoing basis and provides data on the wider determinants, as well as resources to help organisations take further action to tackle health inequalities.
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Content ArticleThis article by the consultancy firm Carnall Farrar looks at the opportunity the newly established Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have to improve health outcomes, tackle inequalities, enhance productivity and support broader social and economic development. The relationship between deprivation and health outcomes is well known and evidenced, and by working collaboratively, the NHS, local authorities and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations can address the wider determinants of health outcomes, starting with the impact of deprivation.
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Content ArticleThey play a vital role in society, but workers in adult social care – who are mostly women – are among the lowest paid in the UK and experience poor working conditions. This report by The Health Foundation analyses national survey data from 2017/18 to 2019/20 to understand rates of poverty and deprivation among residential care workers in the UK. It then compares these rates to other sectors including health, retail, hospitality and administration. The analysis demonstrates that: over a quarter of the UK’s residential care workers lived in, or were on the brink of, poverty. Nearly 1 in 10 experienced food insecurity. Around 1 in 8 children of residential care workers were ‘materially deprived’, meaning they may not have access to essential resources such as fresh fruit and vegetables or adequate winter clothing. the prevalence of poverty and deprivation in residential care is similar to hospitality, retail and administration. But residential care workers experienced much higher rates than most workers – and were at least twice as likely to experience poverty and food insecurity than health workers. Their dependent children were nearly four times as likely to experience material deprivation than children of health workers. The report highlights that political and economic conditions have changed since the data they looked at was collected, meaning that the situation is likely to have worsened for many social care workers. The poorest households in the UK are being disproportionately affected by sharp rises in inflation and poverty is set to increase. The report also highlights chronic underfunding in the social care sector, particularly in England, and calls on the new Government to make it a priority to ensure social care workers are paid fairly.
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Content ArticleSocial prescribing is a way of linking people with complex needs to non-medical supports in the community. There are different models of social prescribing, ranging from online signposting services to individual support from a link worker to access community resource. The aim of this study from Kiely et al. was to establish the evidence base for the effects on health outcomes and costs of social prescribing link workers (non-health or social care professionals who connect people to community resources) for people in community settings focusing on people experiencing multimorbidity and social deprivation. The study found that there is an absence of evidence for social prescribing link workers. Policymakers should note this and support evaluation of current programmes before mainstreaming.
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Content Article
NICE and health inequalities (October 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in NICE
Health inequalities are differences in health across the population, and between different groups in society, that are systematic, unfair and avoidable. This webpage from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) outlines a definition of health inequalities. highlights factors that cause them, explores their effects and talks about how NICE can help health services tackle health inequalities. -
Content ArticlePolicymakers are increasingly emphasising the role of health services in addressing social and economic factors that shape health, but guidance on how this should be done in practice is limited. This long read from The Health Foundation outlines a framework to understand potential approaches for NHS organisations to address social factors that shape health, focusing on local and regional action. It describes four categories of potential approaches, from more narrow interventions focused on improving care for individual patients, to broader partnerships to improve health of populations.
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Content ArticleThis blog by Professor Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology, University College London looks at the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic both exposed and amplified underlying inequalities in society. He highlights the link between higher Covid mortality rates, race and deprivation that demonstrates the striking health inequalities that exist in the UK. He asks the question, "Can the UK learn the lessons of the pandemic, and build back fairer?"
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Content ArticleRealistic Medicine is Scotland's approach to a sustainable health and social care system. The Realistic Medicine Podcast shares the stories, experiences and projects of teams and communities across Scotland. In this episode, Dr Graham Kramer, National Clinical Lead for Self Management and Health Literacy, talks about health literacy and the importance of people being able to understand and engage in their own health and healthcare.
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Content ArticleIn England, around 10 million adults and 12,000 children have a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition. Ethnic minority groups, people from lower income households and those living in areas of high deprivation are most affected. In this guest blog for the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA), Bola Owolabi, Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, highlights the role that MSK health inequalities play in people's lives. She looks at the link between socio-economic disadvantage and poor health outcomes, and discusses the wider implications of disability due to MSK conditions. She describes work being done by the NHS, and highlights ARMA's work to narrow MSK health inequalities through listening to the experiences of underserved communities and working in partnership to improve care.
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Content ArticleThe gap in healthy life expectancy is being driven by the increasing numbers of people managing a long-term condition (LTC) and, increasingly more than one – known as multi-morbidity. This situation affects a higher proportion of the population facing systemic discrimination and marginalisation, and those experiencing higher levels of deprivation. This report from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy raises awareness of health inequities in rehabilitation and recovery services across the UK
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Content ArticleThe Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is issuing the UK’s paediatricians with detailed advice on how they can help households in poverty. It has drawn up a series of resources, including advice for doctors treating children to use appointments to talk sensitively to their parents about issues that can have a big impact on their offspring’s health. These include diet, local pollution levels, socio-economic circumstances and difficulties at home or school, which are closely linked to children’s risk of being overweight, asthmatic or stressed.
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Content Article
Blog - introducing No Wrong Door (22 September 2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Mental health
This blog describes No Wrong Door (NWD), an adult community mental health transformation programme being rolled out across Hampshire, Southampton, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth. The NWD model takes a partnership approach and recognises that mental health is affected by quality of housing, employment, family and personal contacts, leisure and cultural activities, technological solutions and other community resources such as green spaces. Mental health services will work together with the community to ensure that care can be provided locally, and that support can be received in several settings for multiple aspects of a person’s life. -
Content ArticleThis report by NHS Digital presents findings from the third in a series of follow up reports to the 2017 Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey, conducted in 2022. The sample includes 2,866 of the children and young people who took part in the MHCYP 2017 survey. It looks at the mental health of children and young people aged 7 to 24 years living in England in 2022, as well as examining their household circumstances, and their experiences of education, employment and services and of life in their families and communities.
