Funding boost to tackle county health inequalities

Millions of pounds of government cash to help carry out wide-ranging research to identify the health needs for people in Leicestershire has been confirmed.

Leicestershire County Council, in partnership with local universities, has secured £5.25m of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) project.

De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), Loughborough University, The University of Leicester, and University of Nottingham, as well as Leicestershire Academic Health Partners, which includes the NHS and health-focused academic organisations, are key partners for the innovative collaboration.

The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people's health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.

Some areas of the county have an average living age of up to six years lower compared to others, with health factors influenced by education, employment, housing and air quality.

The five-year programme will unlock the ability to work with partners in the university, voluntary, community, and health sectors to improve the health of Leicestershire residents.

Using the money, the Leicestershire HDRC will:

•     Fund research on local health topics to see how they impact residents, and how to reduce health inequalities
•     Invest money to talk to residents and local groups about health issues that matter and affect them
•     Ensure that local authority decisions impacting health are fully understood and evidence based
•     Enable research with communities and universities to inform key projects on a wide range of topics that will impact health, such as transport, employment, and air quality
•     Ensure research becomes a part of the day-to-day business of the county council across all departments to enable long-term culture change in Leicestershire

The NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and the £5.25m is given specifically to the council for this project.

DMU's work will be led by Professor Bertha Ochieng, who is Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care. She said: "We are delighted to be part of this important work to investigate the causes of health inequalities across the county. We have significant expertise in working with marginalised communities to support public health initiatives and we hope that by working together with partners we can make a real difference to improving the lives of patients in Leicestershire."

To ensure research is guided by the health needs and priorities of residents and local communities a Citizen's Assembly will take place in March. More information about taking part and shaping the work to make researchers aware of the challenges that matter most to local people and communities, visit the website.