Review of Social Determinants and the Health Divide in the WHO European Region

The WHO Regional Office for Europe commissioned this review of social determinants of health and the health divide to identify actions needed to address health inequities within and between countries across the 53 Member States of the European Region.

This review was carried out by a cross-disciplinary consortium of Europe’s leading experts, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot and supported by a joint secretariat from the Institute and the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

The final report was published on the 30th October 2013. The executive summary is available along with press releases and other documents on the WHO European Review project page.

Working for Health Equity: The Role of Health Professionals

IHE have produced a report and are launching a programme of work on what health professionals can do to tackle health inequalities. This report and programme has received contributions and commitments from 19 royal colleges and other organisations.

The full report and executive summary are available on this page.

An Equal Start: Improving Outcomes in Children's Centres

Today the IHE is launching an outcomes framework for children's centres, which calls for a renewed focus on supporting good parenting and the environment in which parents live and work. It builds on existing frameworks and draws the best available evidence of what is important in early years, the views of practitioners and parents, and the work that government continues to take forward around the early years.

Both the executive summary (which includes the outcomes framework), and the full evidence review, are available to download here.

The press release is available here.

Action Needed to Reduce Impact on Health Inequalities from Recession and Welfare Changes

The UCL Institute of Health Equity is calling for action by local and national government to reduce a potential increase of health inequalities in London as a result of the economic downturn and welfare changes.

To find out more, please read our report, ‘The impact of the economic downturn and the welfare reforms on health inequalities in London’.

There is also a press release available here.

'Two Years On' Data

To mark the two year anniversary since The Marmot Review ('Fair Society, Healthy Lives') was published, on the 15th of February we released new data on key health inequalities indicators at local authority level.

To find out more, please read:

- The press release, including key figures and main findings.

- A blog by Michael Marmot about the data and it's implications.

- Press coverage of the data in national and local newspapers and websites.

- A powerpoint presentation on the key findings.

Or to see the data in more detail, go to the the LHO website.

The Institute of Health Equity

We are very pleased to announce the establishment of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. This will build on previous work to tackle inequalities in health led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot and his team, including the ‘Commission on Social Determinants of Health’ and ‘Fair Society Healthy Lives’ (The Marmot Review).

The new Institute receives support from the Department of Health, UCL and the BMA. It will seek to increase health equity through action on the social determinants of health, specifically in four areas: by influencing global, national and local policies; by advising on and learning from practice; by building the evidence base, and; by developing capacity.

Current work includes leadership of a review of Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide for the WHO European Regional Office, EU Reviews  and a programme of work in England to develop and embed social determinants approach to health inequalities in the health system and beyond.  Please see the 'Institute work' section for more details on the work the Institute is currently undertaking.