The NIHR is launching a new call for health inequalities research as part of its Policy Research Programme (PRP). The call will fund research to provide evidence to inform health and social care policy aimed at reducing health inequalities.
Health inequalities are differences in health between different population groups. These inequalities can be the result of social inequalities; for example, differences in living conditions, wealth, income, education, and the ways in which these factors interact.
The Department of Health and Social Care has made a commitment to reducing health inequalities across the health and care system, to reduce unjustified variations in physical and mental health outcomes and give everyone the same opportunities to live a healthy life, regardless of where they live or who they are.
This new NIHR funding call will support research on how to make existing policies more effective so that they can improve the health of the poorest fastest. The call will also fund research to understand why some local areas do well, and some less well, on health inequality measures.
The new funding call will focus in particular on research in the following areas:
- Finding ways to improve existing health policies so they reduce health inequalities, or do not exacerbate inequalities
- Identifying which health system interventions designed to reduce inequalities are effective and cost effective
- Assessing the effectiveness of whole-system approaches at reducing health inequalities in deprived communities
- Identifying opportunities and risks of advancements in digital technology, and practical ways to ensure this technology does not exacerbate health inequalities
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care, said:
“Those in less wealthy neighbourhoods in England die on average 7 years earlier than those in the richest, and have around 17 fewer years of disability-free life. Health research should benefit everyone in our society, and the health system has a part to play in addressing health inequalities. This call for research will ensure that we are funding projects to improve the health of the most disadvantaged more quickly so that health inequalities are reduced.”
Funding will be available for projects between £250,00 and £750,000 – although lower cost projects are also encouraged. Projects should last no longer than 36 months, with the expectation that 4-6 projects will initially be funded. PRP will run at least two Commissioning Rounds, with a second call expected to be advertised in 2019.
Projects may draw on a range of methodologies, including documentary analysis, evidence reviews, secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, and primary data collection (e.g. qualitative research with stakeholders and users).
Find out more and see the full specification for further information
Article Source: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/nihr-launches-new-call-for-health-inequalities-research/9106
