General

Health Inequalities are avoidable and unfair differences in access to health, and experiences and outcomes of health.

Things that sometimes impact health inequalities include:

  • Socio-economic status and deprivation, eg, unemployed, low income, people living in deprived areas (eg, poor housing, poor education and/or unemployment)
  • Protected characteristics, eg, age, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability
  • Vulnerable groups of society sometimes known as ‘inclusion health’ groups but that might include people who are vulnerable, migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, rough sleepers and homeless people and night/sex workers.

Find out more on our About Health Inequalities page.

Health inequity is stark throughout Dorset, which has only become more severe since COVID-19. A resident of West Highcliffe is now expected to live 10 years more than a resident of Boscombe West.

The health inequalities team have been tasked with reducing health inequalities in Dorset. To tackle the social injustice, the Dorset ICS has designed five themes for their programme.

You can find out more on our Tackling Health Inequalities page.

There is a pressing social justice and economic case for addressing health inequalities. People living in the most deprived areas will die on average seven years earlier than those dying in the richest neighbourhoods. Those living in deprived areas do not only die younger, but also have less quality of life, as they are more likely to live with disability. It is estimated that these health inequalities cost £36 billion to £40 billion a year.

We would love:

  • any materials for the Virtual Academy
  • your attendance at the online events
  • your utilisation of the Virtual Academy

You can send any new materials to us via Contact Us. Alternatively, you can explore our online events on our Events page, or peruse our Virtual Academy.

Virtual Academy

The Virtual Academy runs in all web browsers.

Follow this link for the Virtual Academy.

The first level are core materials, but if you fancy something more in depth the other levels are there for you to widen your understanding!

Find out more in our How to navigate page.

They are collated from well-respected organisations, quality assured by both our team and panels, and then approved to be included in the academy.

Online Events

A way to interact with experts working on health inequalities, to network, and to create a community that fosters addressing health inequalities together.

Latest events can be found on the Events page.