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Social and economic inequality in health

Our Public Health research shares a common concern to illuminate the social determinants of inequalities in health and to produce and exchange evidence to reduce these inequalities.

Our research is multidisciplinary drawing on economics, geography, history, mathematical modelling, social psychology, sociology and statistics, including within the Centre for Health Inequalities Research (CHIR), Centre for Disability Research (CeDR) and Health Economics at Lancaster (HEAL) research groups.

It includes basic, applied and methodological research focusing on social and policy issues internationally, nationally and locally. Researchers within FHM are part of the NIHR School for Public Health Research and NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care North West Coast.

We have a strong commitment to involving the public and other stakeholders in our research to maximize its relevance and the impact it has on policy, practice and community action to improve population health and reduce health inequalities.

Particular research areas within the theme include:

  • The health and social equity outcomes of urban regeneration programmes aiming to support community empowerment
  • Developing methods for the evaluation of public health interventions
  • The economics of chronic disease prevention and health related behaviour including work on obesity and diabetes
  • Modelling health care systems and efficiency measurement with respect to the production of health and health care
  • The impact of chronic illness on people's employment and financial circumstances including work on gender inequalities and specific conditions such as ischaemic heart disease
  • The impact of social context and inequalities on the physical and mental health of people with intellectual disabilities and evaluating innovations in social policy and practice addressing these inequalities
  • The relationships between sexuality, gender and health including work on adolescent health, masculinities and risk taking behaviour and on suicide and self-harm amongst young LGBT people
  • Inequalities in comorbidities, physical health outcomes and service provision for those with severe mental illness
  • Developing approaches to assess the impact of public involvement in research

Research centres and groups