Tackling Health Inequalities Together!

Policy makers often ask us for evidence to show the impact of the work of the voluntary sector.  We know that there is a lot of exceptional work in the voluntary sector to tackle health inequalities and that you are making a real difference to people’s lives.  We want to promote your work and build an evidence base to show the world just how valuable the sector is.

With this in mind, we are undertaking a project, funded by NHS Health Scotland, to showcase the work of the voluntary sector in tackling health inequalities and show what further support we need to be able to make the most of our opportunities.

Aims and objectives

The project will identify the voluntary health sector’s contribution to addressing health inequalities and develop recommendations that will facilitate a stronger input from the sector in the future.

We will undertake a review of activities currently undertaken in the voluntary health sector and present these, along with case studies of 10 organisations to demonstrate their impact in tackling health inequalities, in a published overview report.  It is intended that the final publication will act as a resource to:

• enable the voluntary health sector to help articulate their work on health inequalities
• facilitate a better understanding of the voluntary sector contribution to tackling health inequalities, and
• provide recommendations for Voluntary Health Scotland and NHS Health Scotland to support organisations to tackle health inequalities going forward.

How will we do this?

Lorraine Simpson of the Lines Between is leading this project and will be in touch with voluntary health sector organisations soon to seek views on health inequalities, find out about your work and ask you how you think we can reduce the inequality gap.  This will involve a sector-wide survey and interviews with organisations.

Timescales

Fieldwork will be completed by October and the final report will be completed in December 2014.  Voluntary Health Scotland will be holding a launch event in early 2015.

Contact

If you would like to take part in this research project, please do not hesitate to contact Lorraine directly: Lorraine Simpson, Director, The Lines Between. Tel. 0131 235 2012 Email: Lorraine@thelinesbetween.co.uk

For more information on the work of Voluntary Health Scotland and the voluntary sector role in tackling health inequalities, please contact Susan Lowes, Policy and Engagement Officer, Voluntary Health Scotland Tel: 0131 474 6190 Email: susan.lowes@vhscotland.org.uk