Tackling health inequalities through innovation
A national Health Innovation Network Report on tackling health inequalities draws from a roundtable discussion held in December 2024, where senior clinicians, NHS leaders, policymakers, and community representatives discussed one of the NHS’s biggest challenges: health inequalities.
The report identifies six recommendations to help tackle health inequalities:
- Ensuring sustainable, multi year funding – Develop long-term investment models that capture social and economic returns on successful initiatives, preventing proven projects from stalling after initial funding cycles.
- Enabling Data Interoperability and Shared Evaluation – Create cross-agency data collaboratives and analytics capacity so local teams can link health, social, and economic metrics, monitor impact in real time, and refine interventions effectively.
- Encouraging Cross-Sector Accountability and Partnerships – Establish shared targets across health, social care, housing, education, and community organisations, ensuring all stakeholders codesign programmes and jointly own outcomes.
- Empowering Place-Based Innovation – Use devolution levers to grant Integrated Care Systems and local leaders the authority and resources to tailor national priorities—such as Core20PLUS5—to local realities, ensuring culturally appropriate delivery.
- Strengthening Workforce Competencies in Health Inequalities – Integrate cultural competence and social determinants awareness into NHS training at all levels, enabling staff to better serve the needs of diverse and underserved communities.
- Demonstrating Impact and Value – Use comprehensive data collection to show clear returns on investment in health inequalities interventions, ensuring projects secure ongoing support from funders.
For more information:
Read Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme: Impact and learning report, which shares the learning and impact of the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme (InHIP).