Health Inequalities in the Age of COVID-19

A 12-month research project funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria.  The project involved 11 community partners, who live and/or work in the west end of Newcastle and the rest of the research group with staff members from Haref, Riverside Community Health Project and Newcastle University. This research looked at the ways of getting health information, including how to use the NHS and avoid illness, to people who need it most and have greatest difficulty accessing it. We used the lens of COVID-19 messaging as a way of better understanding effective information sharing.

For this project:

• We looked at whether/how health messages got through during the pandemic;
• Supported people to identify effective ways to get health information they need, including how to use NHS primary care;
• Liaised with primary care and public health practitioners throughout, to identify ways of translating findings into action.

Key Findings:

• Accurate health information can be effectively circulated through established trusted connections
• Communication barriers can be broken down through the involvement of communities, organisations and individuals
• Trust and collaboration between people and practitioners enables effective information sharing