£5m for county-wide partnership to tackle health inequalities

University of Essex researchers have been awarded £5m for a collaborative project which will help reduce health inequalities across the county of Essex.

The new Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) is one of 11 funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to boost research capacity and capability in some of the UK’s most deprived areas.

In partnership with Essex County Council, Thurrock Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council and Anglia Ruskin University, University of Essex health and socioeconomic experts will study public health improvements across Greater Essex. Together, they will receive £1m every year for five years.

The partnership will focus on areas of Greater Essex where health outcomes are poorest and where health inequalities are most acute.

Professor Alejandro Quiroz Flores from the Department of Government is Chief Scientific Adviser to Essex County Council. He co-led the application and will sit on the partnership advisory board. He said: “Socioeconomic circumstances in which someone is born and lives affect individual health and can result in avoidable health inequalities. Across Essex there are significant health inequalities, with women in more affluent areas living 16 years longer than those in poorer areas. For men, the difference is around 22 years.

“Health inequalities are largely due, but also contribute, to poverty, lack of education, unemployment or poor living conditions. This partnership will make it easier to undertake research and apply the lessons learned to improve health and reduce wider inequalities.”

Together, the HDRC team will undertake research that will inform policy and the way services are run and share research findings in ways that can benefit everyone.

Professor Mariachiara Di Cesare, Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, who also co-led the application and is Principal Investigator for the University of Essex team, will also sit on the advisory board. She said: “We are extremely pleased to be part of this partnership. Local authorities and universities working together to secure this funding, which will result in reduced health inequalities for the people in our region, is very exciting.

“We are exactly where we want and need to be to ensure the achievement of our mission to improve people’s lives, transform communities and benefit society. Through this partnership we will be able to generate the evidence needed for policy and decision-makers and to ensure research becomes a common good for our community of residents.”

The project will include four workstreams, with teams studying specific factors that affect health. Professor Matteo Richiardi from the Institute for Economic and Social Research will lead the team looking at economic factors that affect health and Professor Ewen Speed, a medical sociologist from the School of Health and Social Care will lead the vulnerabilities affecting health team. Professor Chris Greer, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research will also sit on the Leadership Board.