The Â鶹´«Ã½ Health Determinants Research Collaboration (PHDRC)

Aiming to tackle the determinants of health inequalities in Â鶹´«Ã½
Smeaton's Tower on Â鶹´«Ã½ Hoe, Â鶹´«Ã½ UK
Working in partnership with Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council, this project aims to tackle the determinants of health inequalities in Â鶹´«Ã½ and provides opportunities to undertake research, ask challenging questions and understand how wider societal issues such as education, poverty, housing, planning, transport and employment influence the health of the communities in the city.

Background

In late 2022 the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) awarded Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council and its partners £4.7 million of investment over five years to tackle the social determinants of health inequalities in Â鶹´«Ã½. This is in recognition of the role that non-medical factors such as employment, housing, food, crime, community cohesion and education play in determining health disparities. The Â鶹´«Ã½ HDRC (PHDRC) builds upon work already undertaken by the Council and the University to ensure that we better understand what works, why and under which circumstances (financial, contextual and organisational) and share this learning.
The programme involves the delivery of a number of high-quality research projects addressing the determinants of health inequalities. It supports council staff to undertake research and commissioners to use the evidence to inform decision making and spending decisions, in ways which lead to improved quality of life.
The programme lead is the Public Health Department of Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council, with the University as the lead academic partner providing its extensive research expertise. Other partners include Â鶹´«Ã½ Octopus, the wider voluntary and community sector, the NHS, business, and other academic groups.
A joint Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council and Â鶹´«Ã½ research team embedded within the council has been set up to work alongside those delivering changes designed to address the wider determinants of health and collaborate with specialist university researchers. Public Partnerships have been developed through links to existing organisations and the engagement of individuals during specific projects.
Informed by a Human Learning Systems philosophy and building on the existing use of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), the team uses a range of methods suited to understanding complex dynamic systems: evidence synthesis, quantitative analysis of routine data, realist informed observation and interviews and health economics.

Aims

  1. Develop the culture and skills to ensure a learning approach informs decision making.
  2. Produce knowledge for use locally and of value nationally, especially for similar coastal communities.

Objectives

  • Support changes aimed at addressing the wider determinants of health through a cultural change in relation to the use of evidence and evaluation.
  • Carry out specific prioritised research projects related to The Â鶹´«Ã½ Plan’s innovations to address the wider determinants of health.
  • Successfully bid for external research funding.
  • Build collaborations for sharing knowledge and carrying out research with other HDRCs and similar coastal communities.
Our projects

The Â鶹´«Ã½ Health Determinants Research Collaboration team are progressing with funded capacity to support activity which will contribute towards embedding a research culture in Â鶹´«Ã½ City Council.

How the HDRC team can help