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Health Equity North is a new virtual institute focused on place-based solutions to public health problems and health inequalities.

Its mission is to fight health inequity by influencing policymakers and enhancing stakeholder understanding of health inequalities through research-informed evidenced solutions.

Health Equity North (HEN) brings together leading academics who have a unique understanding of their regional communities – enabling the creation of research and policy solutions of local benefit. The institute plans to produce annual updates of health in the North to help and challenge local and national policy makers in their efforts to reduce regional inequalities.

It was launched in April 2023, on the same day that HEN published its first report – Health Equity North:2023, which offers a snapshot of the health issues facing the North, adding to a growing body of evidence highlighting the urgent need to address regional health inequalities and improve productivity in the North.

Professor Clare Bambra, NIHR ARCs Inequalities lead is an Academic Director for the new Health Equity North. Professor Bambra is also NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria’s Inequalities and Marginalised Communities theme lead.

She said: “Health Equity North is committed to fighting health inequity through research, policy impact, and public health improvement.  Our first report clearly shows that health inequalities in the North of England aren’t going away. They are getting worse and they will continue to do so without urgent action to ensure people living in the North have the same life chances as those in the rest of England.”

Dr Luke Munford, HEN Academic Director and Health Economist from NIHR ARC Greater Manchester, said: “Health Equity North’s first health status report adds further weight to the growing list of evidence laying bare the ingrained health divide across the country. The northern regions have faced worse health outcomes for many years and with the added challenges posed in the wake of the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, things look set to continue on a downward spiral. However, a joined up approach to tackle these inequalities at local and national level would help to rebalance regional health inequity.”

Professor Kate Pickett, HEN Academic Director and Professor of Epidemiology, NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber, added: “The North’s health burden not only impacts the wellbeing of everyone within the region, it also has a direct impact on economic health. Good health is important for productivity and it’s time for targeted measures to be put in place to address the social determinants of health. Only then will health and prosperity of the North have the opportunity to thrive.”

The Health Equity North: 2023 report

To produce the Health Equity North: 2023 report, the institute’s academic directors analysed the latest available data on life expectancy, infant mortality rates and self-assessed health, disability, and unpaid care.

The North does significantly worse in all these areas, which also impacts productivity with above average rates of economic inactivity due to ill health or disability.

Their key findings include:

* People born in the North can expect to live at least one year less than the English average.

* The North East of England has the lowest life expectancy – around three years less than the best performing regions

* Across the North there is an average of 4 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 3 deaths per 1,000 live births in London and the South East – this equated to an extra 144 infant deaths in the North in 2021

* Of the 72 local authorities in the North of England, 52 (72%) have lower levels of very good or good health than the national average

* The North has higher rates of bad/very bad health with 6.9% of people in the North East, 6.4% in North West, and 5.9% in Yorkshire and the Humber reporting bad/very bad health – compared to the English average of 5.3%

* The North has the highest rates of people who report that their day-to-day activities are limited a lot by a disability: North East (9.8%), North West (9.1%), Yorkshire and the Humber (8.2%) – compared to the English average of 7.5%

* The five local authorities with the highest levels of people who report a disability limits their day-to-day actives a lot are located in the North: Knowsley (North West; 13%), Liverpool (North West; 12.7%), Blackpool (North West; 12%), Manchester (North West; 11.4%), and Hartlepool (North East; 11.3%)

* The North has higher rates of economic inactivity due to ill health or disability: 5.7% in the North East, 5.3% in the North West, 4.7% in Yorkshire and the Humber – compared to the English average of 4.1%

* The top five local authorities with the highest levels of economic inactivity due to long-term sickness or disability are in the North

* More people in the North state that they provide unpaid care – in the North East 10.1%, the North West 9.7%, and Yorkshire and the    Humber is 9.3%, compared to the English average of 8.9%

Read the report

Visit Health Equity North