Launching our strategy: Health equity for health security

Health equity is defined as “the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups.” These groups can be defined socially, economically, demographically or geographically.

These differences can be due to living and working conditions, access to and uptake of vaccination, testing and treatment, and underlying illnesses. Each of these risk factors can increase the chance of contracting an infection or being impacted by an environmental hazard and becoming unwell once exposed.

For example:

1. TB notification rates in 2022 were strongly associated with deprivation. Using the index of multiple deprivation, the notification rate is 13.5 per 100,000 in the 10% of the population living in the most deprived areas compared with 2.6 per 100,000 in the 10% of the population living in the least deprived areas

2. In the 2022 to 23 winter season, uptake of the flu vaccine through GP practices in those aged over 65 years was 83.6% in the white British group compared to 48.5 % in the Black or Black British – Caribbean group

The UKHSA Health Equity for Health Security strategy outlines a roadmap to build the agency’s capacity and capability in delivering better health outcomes for people who experience health inequalities. In delivering the strategy, we contribute to the work of our partners in addressing health inequalities: equipping our national, regional, and local partners with the right data, evidence, and advice to effect positive change.

Strategic Areas of Focus

We’ve identified 4 key areas to strengthen our efforts:

1. Increasing Visibility in our Science and Data

Data is the cornerstone of our work. However, not all people and places are routinely represented in existing data and surveillance. We are improving the visibility of people and places who experience health inequalities in our science and data so that, across the health system, we enhance our understanding of how diseases affect different communities and what interventions are effective. In addition, we are building our evidence base: taking an equity approach across our science and research and partnering with academia to identify and address specific evidence gaps to inform tailored approaches.

2. Adopting a ‘People and Place’ Approach

Communities who experience health inequalities often face a disproportionate impact across health threats. By considering the person or the place first, we can identify interventions that allow us address multiple health threats simultaneously in the same group. We equip the health system with evidence on what works by piloting people and place approaches and sharing best practice. For example, over the last two years, we commissioned a biobehavioural survey in prisons and places of detention which has provided a snapshot of the risk of TB, blood borne viruses, STIs and immunity to measles and rubella in these settings. We also captured risk factors that may influence the likelihood of infection. This is being used to inform future policy on people and place approaches in PPD settings.

3. Strengthening Partnerships

We know that collaboration is key to achieving health equity, so we’re working with health agencies, government departments, and community organisations. We have adapted NHS England’s CORE20PLUS framework to focus on people who experience health inequalities, and we’re making sure our efforts are aligned across sectors at national, regional and local levels of the system. The voluntary and community sector and people with lived experience of health inequalities are key partners. UKHSA continues to build its partnerships with community organisations, and further develop its approaches to ensure interventions are designed with and by communities.

4. Building an Inclusive Culture

At UKHSA, we believe health equity is everyone’s responsibility. We are building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve, and have identified key areas for growth, including leadership development programs for ethnic minorities and those with disabilities.

How You Can Help Us Achieve Health Equity

Achieving health equity requires collaboration across sectors. If you would like to work with us or learn more about our approach, find further detail in the Health Equity for Health Security Strategy or contact healthequityinclusionhealth@ukhsa.gov.uk.

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