Background

In 2021 the Institute of Health Equity was commissioned by the Population Health Board of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership to support work to reduce health inequalities through action on the social determinants of health and to Build Back Fairer from COVID-19.

IHE are providing added focus and priority to existing work on health inequalities in the Region and developing new momentum and recommendations for effective action in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Specifically, the ambition is to: 

• Provide an overview of inequalities in health and the social determinants of health including the impacts of COVID-19 infection, mortality and impacts of containment measures on inequalities in health and in the social determinants of health.
• Develop tools and strategies to place health inequalities and the social determinants of health at the centre of the Health and Care Partnership.
• Recommendations for mechanisms to facilitate strong partnerships with stakeholders to take action.
• A set of indicators for monitoring inequalities in health and the social determinants of health.
• Clear prioritisation at the centre of the Population Health Board, Local Authorities and the Health and Care Partnership. 

Watch the recording of the launch event and read more about the event and its presentations via this link.

Watch Professor Michael Marmot's presentation - this is a direct link to the recording of Michael Marmot's presentation.

In October 2021 UCL IHE produced an executive summary that will support the Cheshire and Merseyside subregion’s place-based workshops.

The summary details key messages from an interim report, produced after the initial scoping process. Headline key messages include:

• Life expectancy in Cheshire and Merseyside is lower than the average for England.
• Health inequalities in the Region are wider than for the rest of England.
• COVID-19 has exposed and amplified health inequalities in England and in the Region, life expectancy is declining, and health inequalities are widening.
• To reduce health inequalities action is needed on the social and economic factors which drive health – the social determinants of health.
• Inequalities in the social determinants of health are high in the Region and have increased during the pandemic.
• Action to reduce health inequalities must involve partnerships and collaborations between local government, the voluntary and community sector, public services, the health and care sector and businesses.
• These collaborations could be geared towards building community resourcefulness in the area, supporting better health.

Read more about the collaboration and check for updates at CHAMPS Public Health Collaborative website, including details about place based workshops (November/December 2021). 

Workshop findings will inform completion of a final report in March 2022, which will recommend the key system priorities to reduce inequalities in health and the key social determinants of health. 

Read about our partnerships with other regional groups in the UK and our #BuildBackFairer work:

• Lancashire and South Cumbria
• Greater Manchester
• Coventry
• #BuildBackFairer - Post COVID-19