Gateshead Council Health Determinants Research Collaboration: Tackling Health Inequalities and Enabling People to Thrive

Background: More than half of Gateshead residents live in poverty, contributing to deteriorating health outcomes and widening health inequalities[1]. Research into the wider determinants of health and inequalities is needed to better inform Gateshead Council (GC) policy. AIM: To embed a transformational and sustainable multidisciplinary Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) at GC which works in partnership with Newcastle University(NU), system stakeholders and local communities to co-produce and deliver quality research around the wider determinants of health, resulting in knowledge mobilisation and evidence informed decision making on a local, regional and national level, leading to a reduction in health inequalities. KEY DELIVERABLES: (a) Building a research culture to create innovation across GC; (b) developing and providing research training throughout GC via a GC Research Forum, professional development (CPD), mentorship, internships, secondments and NIHR fellowships; (c) increase research outputs around the wider determinants of health and health inequalities; (d) establishing a program of process and outcome evaluations to ensure feed-back loops for learning and evidence informed decision making; (e) supporting other local authorities (LAs) to develop their research capacity creating wider collective action through knowledge mobilisation at a regional, and national level to reduce health inequalities; (f) Expand existing partnerships with academia and create new regional collaborations. PARTNERSHIPS: Collaborations will encompass a broad range of services directly linked to the wider determinants and rooted in practice across the full GC system, including Citizens Advice Gateshead and social care. The HDRC will maximise active engagement with the public and relevant communities through Gateshead’s extensive voluntary and community (VCS) networks, and develop a peer-research model to identify priorities and solutions to improving health. The HDRC will further develop existing links with NIHR Infrastructure including Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria (ARC), Local Clinical Research Network (LCRN), Policy Research Unit (PRU), and School of Public Health Research (SPHR). Collaborations will involve sharing skillsets, teaching, data, and co-production. Collaborative system working with shared agendas will strengthen capacity. We will work collectively to influence and lobby stakeholders such as the Integrated Care System (ICS) and national government to use evidence to inform policy. MILESTONES: Quantitative and qualitative milestones and performance indicators relating to the key deliverables will be monitored annually. IMPACT & DISSEMINATION: The HDRC dissemination strategy will be based on partnership working, embeddedness, harnessing existing assets, and influence. We will build on GCs existing communication channels and utilise the reach of our partners channels including the ARC, Fuse, LCRN and VCS networks based in local communities. Reciprocal working across infrastructures and amplification of own and others’ outputs and achievements will maximise impact. After 5 years, the HDRC aims to have substantively increased the research capacity and capability within GC and other LAs; it will be driving policy change locally and regionally through research and evidence based decision making, leading to a tangible reduction in health inequalities and improvements in associated health outcomes.