We believe tackling health inequalities and improving health for the groups who typically experience the worst outcomes requires a consistent and coherent focus on population health at a neighbourhood, place, and cluster level, as well as targeted action to support change.

Health inequalities are differences in how healthy some groups or communities are, compared with others. They don’t happen by chance, but because of the conditions in which we are born, grow, work and live.

These conditions include:

  • The opportunities we have because of the resources available in the area that we live (for example good jobs and education, housing and access to transport and local services and community support)

  • Individual factors such as our age, ethnicity, gender etc. (protected characteristics); or access to a good diet, physical activity, whether we smoke and can access healthcare early

  • Whether we’re from other vulnerable groups such as having experience of the criminal justice system, are homeless, have experienced racism of trauma, or are from a marginalised group such as Gypsy, Roma or Traveller, or are a migrant

The more negative impacts we experience, the more likely we are to have poor health.

Our role as a strategic commissioner in achieving equitable population health outcomes is based on working with our system partners and local communities to:

  • Reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their ability to access health services

  • Reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services

  • Promote the involvement of patients and their carers, in decisions about provision of health services to them

  • Enable patients to make choices with respect to aspects of health services provided to them

Our Joint Forward Plan sets out our ambition that Dorset is a healthy place where everyone is supported to live their best life – taking care of their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

More information on the wider action we are taking, our approach to addressing health inequalities, and how we work with our partners to address differences in access to our services, and our future plans is available in our Health Inequalities Annual Reports.

Our annual health inequalities reports highlight improvements we have made through better use of quality data working with our partners to achieve the ambitions as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future – GOV.UK

Please see appropriate links to access the relevant annual health inequalities reports:

Dorset’s Population Health Management (PHM) approach helps turn data into simple, useful actions to improve health and care. It helps teams understand what people need, so services can be planned earlier, focus on prevention, and support people in their communities.

By working together and using shared information, PHM helps make care fairer, improve people’s experiences, and use resources where they can make the biggest difference.

Watch the population health management webinar