Health inequalities and health systems

This project will evaluate a series of interventions commissioned by the MSE-ICB with the aim to reduce regional health inequalities (such as befriending, blood pressure, social prescribing, green prescribing) and improving access to services.

Using both qualitative and quantitative methods ad hoc evaluation tools are used to provide the evidence needed for scaling-up services and future investments.

Researchers

• Dr Shadi Rahimzadeh - Postdoctoral research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex
• Tracey Johns - Senior Research Officer in the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex
• Dr Sara Jalali-Farahani - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex
• Dr Honor Bixby - Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex
• Natalie Evans - Postgraduate Research Student in the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex
• Prof. Mariachiara Di Cesare - Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex

This project aims to examine the ways in which growing up in a Coastal Town can impact on young people’s life chances – that is, their likelihood of having good outcomes int adulthood in terms of education, work, and health/wellbeing.

Researchers

• Dr Emily Murray, Centre for Coastal Communities, University of Essex.

We're working to examine the ways in which growing up in a coastal town can impact on young people’s life chances; that is, their likelihood of having good outcomes in adulthood in terms of education, work, housing, and health and wellbeing. We focus on coastal towns as some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK are now in coastal areas.

Further information can be found here.

Researchers

• Dr Emily Murray - Director of the Centre for Coastal Communities, University of Essex
• Prof. Avril Keating - Associate Professor of Education, Practice and Society, University College London
• Prof. Stephen Jivraj - Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London
• Prof. Claire Cameron - Professor at the Social Research Institute, University College London
• Dr Sam Whewall - Research Fellow in education, Practice and Society, University College London

This project will capture the experiences of two groups of people; LGBT+ people and carers living with Dementia, and people under 65 living with dementia and their carers.

We take a Rights-Based research approach to empower participants to further present their experiences to commissioners or providers and/or undertake further research conversations as Expert Researchers. And we seek to identify microaggressions, heteronormative structures, and symbolic interactions to identify the components and processes to ensure Person-Centred Support in provision.

Further information can be found here.

Researchers

• Clare Hammerton, School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex

Our researchers will design the evaluation strategy for the University of Essex Health, Wellbeing and Care Hub and develop an innovative evidenced-based research approach being applied to all services and interventions.

Researchers

• Srinidhi Koya - Research Fellow in the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex
• Prof. Mariachiara Di Cesare - Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex
• Prof. Victoria Joffe - Dean of the School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex
• Prof. David O'Mahony - Professor at the Essex Law School, University of Essex

This project will explore collaborative working opportunities between 3 ICSs in Essex County and aim to deliver a joined-up intervention to address health inequalities in the county.

Researchers

• Ben Gould, School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex

Currently, the right to access healthcare in the UK for Gypsy, Roma, Showmen, and other Traveller communities is not being met. These communities live on average 10 years less than the general population, and they continue to experience deep and persistent exclusion, discouraging and preventing access to healthcare.

There are a series of interacting barriers to access, including a lack of trust, which create a wide range of health inequalities as well as other issues of social and material disadvantage.

This project applied principles of involvement to develop methods for including the most persistently marginalised groups in healthcare research and provision. The team spent 18 months working with community groups to develop collaborative ways of working that are culturally competent.

Dr Emily Murray, Director of the Centre for Coastal Communities, has used data from Understanding Society, the UK Household Panel Survey hosted at the University of Essex, to explore the relation between young people’s place of residence and later physical and mental health outcomes.

Analysis found that self-rated health as well as long-term illness were significantly worse 11 years later, for those who lived in coastal areas as teenagers. When coastal areas were separated out by area deprivation categories, further analysis found that teenagers living in deprived coastal areas had significantly worse mental health 11 years later than their peers in equally deprived area inland.

In the UK, 100,000 people suffer from strokes annually, with two-thirds suffering disability upon hospital discharge.

The School of Health and Social Care is working with East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust to identify inequalities in effective stroke care, their negative health outcomes, and their determinants.

The project has three primary work streams, and has already identified several key areas for improving stroke care.