Health Inequalities

What are health inequalities?

Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population, and between different groups within society. These include how long people are likely to live, the health conditions they may experience and the care that is available to them.

The conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age can impact our health and wellbeing. These are known as the wider determinants of health.

Wider determinants of health

Wider determinants of health are often linked. For example, someone who is unemployed may be more likely to live in poorer quality housing with less access to green space and less access to fresh, healthy food. This means some groups and communities are more likely to experience poorer heath than the general population. These groups are also more likely to experience challenges in accessing care.

The reasons people may experience challenges in accessing care are complex, and may include:

• The availability of services in their local area
• Opening times for services
• Access to transport
• Access to childcare to help with attending appointments
• Language (spoken and written)
• Literacy
• Poor experiences in the past
• Misinformation
• Fear.

People living in areas of high deprivation, those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and those from inclusion health group, for example the homeless, are most at risk of experiencing these inequalities.

Addressing inequalities

The COVID-19 pandemic identified some of the wider health and wider inequalities in our society. NHS England issued guidance setting out eight urgent actions for tackling health inequalities. This was later refined to five key priority areas which underpin the work of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme.

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB) is working with partners across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System (ICS) to help tackle health inequalities in our communities.

Read how we will do this in our Tackling Health Inequalities Strategy (2024–2029).

We have also made a larger version of the diagram on page 13.