Background

The Health Variations Programme established a User Fellowship Scheme as part of its strategy for communication and engagement with professionals working in the health and welfare field. Its aims were:

• to strengthen links between the Health Variations Programme and users of health inequalities research;
• to promote dissemination of research on health inequalities in ways which are relevant to the needs of those working in the health and welfare field.

The scheme was open to senior practitioners in the public, voluntary and commercial sectors working in areas related to health inequalities. It offered secondment of up to 6 months to those who had a sound knowledge of the research and dissemination needs of their professional group and had the skills to undertake a short programme of work to meet these needs. User Fellows were seconded to, and based in, departments and units in receipt of an award under the Health Variations Programme. Five User Fellows, Fiona Johnstone, Satinder Kumar, Kate Philip, Helen Roberts and Karen Smith, were appointed to the Programme. Together, they played an important role in building links between the Health Variations Programme and users in the health and welfare field, and in drawing out the implications of health inequalities research for policy and practice.