Supporting professionals to address health inequalities

This page contains information and resources to help health and care professionals to understand health inequalities, and ways in which you can address them through your work.

What are health inequalities?

The King's Fund describes health inequalities as ‘unfair and avoidable differences in health across populations and between different groups within society’.

The unequal distribution of the social factors which affect our health – such as education, housing and employment – drives inequalities in physical and mental health, reduces people’s ability to prevent sickness, or to get treatment when ill health occurs.

These inequalities are complex and rooted in society, but they can also be prevented. The dimensions of health inequalities are overlapping. They include:

  • Socioeconomic groups and deprivation (e.g. unemployed; low income; deprived areas)
  • Inclusion health and vulnerable groups (e.g. homeless people; Gypsy, Roma and Travellers; sex workers; vulnerable migrants; people who leave prison)
  • Protected characteristics in the Equality Duty (e.g. age; sex; religion; sexual orientation; disability; pregnancy and maternity)
  • Geography (e.g. urban; rural)

Addressing inequalities in health and care

As a result of the pandemic, we are all more aware of what is meant by health inequalities and the ways in which they impact on people’s lives.

Therefore, it is vital to act now and drive forward work programmes that reduce inequalities, prevent poor health and improve people’s opportunities for better health.

It is vital too that the structural inequalities in our society – unemployment, overcrowded housing, and a lack of green space, as a few examples – are tackled because it is changes at the root cause that will reduce health inequalities in the long term.

Health inequalities are the result of a complex range of interrelated causes – and the causes of those causes.

In some cases, actions will be primarily in the hands of one partner within the local health and care system.

In other cases, reducing inequality will require close collaboration between several organisations across the system.

Integrated Care System partners are committed to taking action at all levels and these are set out in Northamptonshire’s Population Health Management Strategy.

Taking a system-wide approach to addressing health inequalities

At each level, Integrated Care Northamptonshire partners – not just the NHS and the local authorities, but the voluntary and community sectors too – will need to come together to plan in ever finer detail the actions they are going to take, individually and collectively, to reduce health inequality.

The actions will involve working together to ensure effective action on:

  • Determinants of health: education, employment, housing and poverty-reduction programmes
  • Health and wellbeing services: smoking, alcohol, nutrition, physical activity and recreational drug use, promoting parity between mental and physical health
  • Ill-health prevention programmes: vaccinations, screening programmes
  • Health care services (mental and physical health): diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation programmes
  • Social care programmes: care in the community including hospital at home, domiciliary support and residential care support
  • End of life support: services that support a dignified and pain-free death.

The Core20PLUS5 approach

Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England and NHS Improvement approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and at integrated care system level. The approach defines a target population cohort – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. The NHS England website has more information about Core20PLUS5

Northamptonshire Health Inequalities Plan

The Northamptonshire Health Inequalities Plan describes how we plan to work with communities so that everyone in our county has the chance to thrive and to access quality services providing excellent experiences and the best outcomes for all.

The long-term ambition set out in the Northamptonshire Health Inequalities Plan is to see:

  • An increase in people’s healthy life expectancies
  • A reduction in health inequalities
  • A reduction in early death
  • Improved community cohesion

To achieve these ambitions, the plan outlines a set of guiding principles for how we need to work together as an integrated care system to understand and address health inequalities. These principles will be embedded across all our health and care organisations working across Integrated Care Northamptonshire.

Alongside these principles, specific actions are being developed at every level of our integrated care system – from county-wide down to local neighbourhoods – to address health inequalities. The key areas of focus for 2022/23 are set out in the plan and will be reviewed every year.

Northamptonshire Health Inequalities Plan 2022/23-2025/26 [pdf] 3MB

Information and resources

To enable partners across our health and care system to consider health inequalities in everything that they do, a suite of information and resources is available.

If you have any information which you think would be useful to include on this page, please contact Chloe Gay by emailing chloe.gay@northnorthants.gov.uk

Data

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Data

There are a range of data sources available to help you understand the local population and to ensure that your services are appropriate to meet local needs.

Northamptonshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

Northamptonshire’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, or JSNA, is a process that looks at the current and future health, care and wellbeing needs of Northamptonshire residents to inform and guide the planning and commissioning of health, wellbeing and social care services.

Northamptonshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

Local Health | Office for Health Improvement & Disparities

The Local Health website offers quality assured small area health-related data visualised in maps, charts, area profiles and reports.

Local Health website

Health Inequalities Dashboard | Office for Health Improvement & Disparities

This online tool has been developed to present evidence of health inequalities in England. Measures of inequality are provided for key indicators being used to monitor progress on reducing inequalities within England.

Health inequalities dashboard

Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE)

Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE) is a web enabled, evidence based application that informs and supports the strategic planning of services and assets across a whole health economy. Its analytical and presentation features can help service commissioners to determine the service configuration that provides the best affordable access to care.

Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE)

Health Inequalities Improvement Dashboard

The Health Inequalities Improvement Dashboard builds on learning from the COVID-19 pandemic around the importance of good quality data to provide insights to drive improvements in tackling health inequalities.

The dashboard is available to regions, systems, primary care networks, NHS providers and local authorities to see their own local data.

The dashboard requires a log-in to use. The Future NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Network workspace provides details of how to access the dashboard.

Health Inequalities Improvement Dashboard

Inequality Tools | Office for Health Improvement & Disparities

This page contains data on health inequalities at England and local level, including the Health Inequalities Dashboard and Segment Tool interactive web tools.

Inequality Tools

NHS RightCare Equality and Health Packs

These packs have been developed by NHS England to support health and care systems to design and deliver services that work to reduce health inequalities in access to services and health outcomes for their diverse local populations.

NHS RightCare Equality and Health Packs

Public Health Profiles | Office for Health Improvement & Disparities

This is a large public health data collection where data is organised into themed profiles.

Public Health Profiles

Global Burden of Disease Tools

Explore regional data for the East Midlands from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Global burden of disease tools

Northamptonshire local health reports

View and explore custom dashboards from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities

North Northamptonshire

West Northamptonshire

West / North Northamptonshire side by side

Primary care data

National General Practice Profiles

These profiles from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities are designed to support GPs, primary care networks (PCNs), Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local authorities to ensure that they are providing and commissioning effective and appropriate healthcare services for their local population.

National General Practice Profiles

Northamptonshire Primary Care Network profiles

These Primary Care Network (PCN) profiles have been produced by Public Health Northamptonshire, with support from the NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board Primary Care team, in order to support PCNs to deliver strategies that promote illness prevention and address health inequalities.

Templates and tools

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Templates and tools

Health Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT)

The Health Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT) is a practical framework that enables multiple audiences to systematically embed action on health inequalities and equalities in their work programme or service. The resources consist of:

  • HEAT executive summary
  • HEAT tool – full version
  • HEAT tool – simplified version
  • Case studies demonstrating practical application of the tool and the main benefits of applying it in different work areas.

Health Equity Assessment Tool

Health inequalities: placed-based approaches to reduce inequalities

These guidelines from Gov.UK to support local action on health inequalities aim to:

  • Reinforce a common understanding of the complex causes and costs of health inequalities
  • Provide a practical framework and tools for places to reduce health inequalities

Health inequalities: placed-based approaches to reduce inequalities

Community-centred public health: taking a whole system approach

These resources enable local systems to implement and embed community-centred approaches to health and wellbeing at scale. They are intended for use by local authority, NHS and voluntary and community sector decision makers to help them to:

  • improve the effectiveness and sustainability of action to build healthy communities
  • embed community-centred ways of working within whole systems action to improve population health

Community-centred public health: taking a whole system approach

Leadership Framework for Health Inequalities Improvement

The Leadership Framework for Health Inequalities Improvement programme is an NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) programme to ensure that the NHS better prevents and responds to the health inequalities which many communities experience.

Leadership Framework for Health Inequalities Improvement

How to complete a health equity audit

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How to complete a health equity audit

Local guidance - How to Complete a Health Equity Audit

This slide deck from Integrated Care Northamptonshire sets out useful guidance on how to complete a Health Equity Audit.

How to Complete a Health Equity Audit [pdf] 500KB

VCSE Inclusion Health Audit Tool

This online tool from the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance helps organisations to audit their engagement with Inclusion Health groups. These are the groups identified as experiencing the worst health inequalities in the UK.

The tool consists of five sections and takes around 15 minutes to complete. Once you have completed the audit tool, you will be provided with a unique and tailored guide which will help your organisation to embed action on tackling health inequalities into its everyday activities.

VCSE Inclusion Health Audit Tool

Engagement and co-production

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Engagement and co-production

Start the Conversation: A Guide to Community Engagement

A guide has been created to help colleagues across our integrated care system to understand and lead engagement activities effectively and productively, with the support of the Integrated Care Northamptonshire Communications and Engagement Team. It has been created by a wide variety of community members, in collaboration with the team.

Download Start the Conversation (PDF)

Six principles for engaging people and communities | National Voices

The six principles were developed by the People and Communities Board, in conjunction with the new models of care ‘vanguards’ sites, to give practical support to services as they deliver the ‘new relationship with people and communities;’ set out in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View. These ‘six principles’ set out the basis of good person-centred, community-focussed health and care.

Six principles for engaging people and communities

Think Local Act Personal – support for co-production

Co-production can improve people’s wellbeing and has a positive impact on the workforce. The National Co-production Advisory Group supports TLAP, councils and providers to co-produce their work and these pages include further information and guidance about co-production.

Think Local Act Personal – support for co-production

Healthwatch – your spotlight on health and social care

Healthwatch North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire listen to the issues that really matter to local communities and hear about your experiences of using health and social care services. The website contains information and resources on engagement as well as reports and insights from their engagement activity.

Healthwatch – your spotlight on health and social care

Training

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Training

For information and support, including training, on health inequalities, please contact Chloe Gay by emailing chloe.gay@northnorthants.gov.uk

Leadership Matters Conversations - Health Inequalities

This Integrated Care Northamptonshire Leadership Matters Conversations webinar is about delivering exceptional quality care for all while ensuring equitable accesss, excellent experience and optimal outcomes.

Health Education England elearning for healthcare (elfh) modules

Health Education England provides a whole range of training on topics relevant to health inequalities and other areas. These include the modules listed below. Please note you will need a Health Education England elfh log-in to access these training modules.

Other e-learning

Key sources of information

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Key sources of information

Health equity

Evidence, resources and guidance from Public Health England and partners to help support national, regional and local areas to reduce health inequalities.

Health equity

Equality and health inequalities legal duties

This guidance is to support Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and NHS England in meeting their legal duties in respect of equality and health inequalities. CCGs and NHS England play key roles in addressing equality and health inequalities; as commissioners, as employers and as local and national system leaders, in creating high quality care for all.

Equality and health inequalities legal duties

Reducing inequalities in local areas

Guidance to support local action on health inequalities to improve outcomes.

Reducing inequalities in local areas

NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Hub

Within this hub you will find information about NHS England’s statutory responsibilities around equalities and health inequalities and the national NHS programmes in these areas. Programmes work across the NHS and with other agencies, people and communities to advance equalities; and achieve equitable access, excellent experience and optimal outcomes for the people we serve and the colleagues we work with.

NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Hub

Reasonable adjustments for people with a learning disability

Guides on how reasonable adjustments should be made to health services and adjustments to help people with learning disabilities to access services.

Reasonable adjustments for people with a learning disability

NHS entitlements for migrant health

Advice and guidance for healthcare practitioners on the health needs of migrant patients.

NHS entitlements for migrant health

Friends, Families and Travellers Policy and Publications

Policy, publications and information on issues affecting Gypsies and Travellers from the Friends, Families and Travellers website.

Friends, Families and Travellers Policy and Publications

Reducing health inequalities through new models of care

This report from the Institute of Health Equity urges the development of an ambitious local health system – which focusses on population health needs and good health for all as well as provision of treatment and services.

Reducing health inequalities through new models of care

Supporting named leads for health inequalities on NHS boards

  • ublished by the independent NHS Race & Health Observatory with The King’s Fund and setting out recommendations to help ensure senior NHS officials responsible for improving health inequalities are able to make a difference (2021)

Supporting named leads for health inequalities on NHS boards

NHS Reset: A New Direction for Health and Care

NHS Confederation members’ views on the COVID-19 pandemic and a possible direction for health and care in the aftermath of the pandemic.

NHS Reset: A New Direction for Health and Care

Local Government Association Health Inequalities Hub

The Local Government Association Health Inequalities Hub explores different themes in detail, shining a spotlight on case studies from councils across the country and exploring how COVID-19 exacerbated existing health inequalities.

Local Government Association Health Inequalities Hub

Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health

Information to help front-line health and care staff use their trusted relationships with individuals, families and communities to take action on inclusion health.

Inclusion Health: applying All Our Health

Future NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Network

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Future NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Network

The Future NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Network is a highly recommended resource hub for information and updates about health inequalities.

By joining this workspace and you can sign up to receive updates when new information is added to the space.

Future NHS Equality and Health Inequalities Network

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