Re-Engineering Health Policy Research for Fairer Decisions and Better Health (360G-Wellcome-205427_Z_16_Z)

Health inequalities diminish lives and blight communities. Although the determinants of health inequality are well known, policy makers have repeatedly failed to address the issue effectively, and many public health interventions unwittingly worsen inequalities because they disproportionately benefit those with greater resources. This is also a scientific failure. The analytical tools used to inform policy lack a substantial perspective on equity, focusing on averages rather than social distributions, leading to inequitable solutions. In an age of social division driven by rising inequality, new approaches to health policy are urgently required. We propose to re-engineer health policy research. We will develop rigorous methods for measuring the equity impacts of health and social policy interventions, and apply these methods to assess the effectiveness of major public health and healthcare initiatives. In doing so, we will improve our understanding of the structural, behavioural and organizational barriers to delivering equitable health outcomes. Our programme will equip researchers with the necessary tools for measuring equity impacts, and provide policy makers with vital information on who gains and who loses from their decisions. Our ultimate aim is to enable fairer health policy decisions, leading to better health across society.