Scotland’s health is improving, but the gap in health outcomes between the most and least advantaged groups in society is widening. We call this gap health inequalities. Voluntary health organisations describe this as ‘getting sick more and dying earlier’ than necessary.
Health inequalities are the ‘systematic differences in the health of people occupying unequal positions in society’. They are strongly associated with socio-economic inequalities but can also result from discrimination. Health inequalities are unfair, not inevitable, and must be tackled.
VHS works with government and stakeholders to support voluntary organisations to understand the causes and impact of health inequalities. We promote our sector’s knowledge and contribution to tackling health inequalities, through events and publications including Living in the Gap, the definitive Scottish study on the voluntary sector’s approach to this.
VHS is Secretariat to the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Health Inequalities. To attend future CPG meetings contact Lauren Blair for more information.
More information on our Cross Party Group on Health Inequalities can be viewed here.
Useful resources
Scottish Parliament – Inquiry into Health Inequalities
Public Health Scotland – Health Inequalities
LIVING IN THE GAP REPORT MARCH 2015
LIVING IN THE GAP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MARCH 2015
LIVING IN THE GAP POSTER JUNE 2015
Related News and Blogs
Avril’s Blog: Why it’s important to collect equalities data
05/11/2024
Avril Mckenzie, Senior Health …
Ygam Blog: Raising greater awareness around gaming and gambling harms
31/10/2024
Ygam is an award-winning chari …
Scottish Community Link Worker Network Newsletter out now!
29/10/2024
Our October newsletter is out …
VHS Annual Conference 2024: Key Messages and Presentations
28/10/2024
VHS held our Annual Conference …
Hannah and Carol’s Blog: Hard to reach or seldom heard? How user centred design can help shape accessible healthcare for all!
22/10/2024
NHS 24 – Designing services wi …
