Taking a Whole Society Approach to Health

Solutions discussed:

Use different mechanisms to reach different communities with public health messages

In Birmingham, the Director for Public Health was doing 25-30 hours per week of outreach work during the Covid-19 lockdown, including instragram lives with young social media influencers, radio interviews, discussions with key religious leaders in the city. Different methods of communication will reach different parts of the community, so there is a need to identify which information sources are trusted by the target population.

Presented by: Dr Justin Varney - Director of Public Health, Birmingham City Council

 

Involve representatives of different groups in devising public health communication strategies

Health literacy is not consistent amongst different groups. Things as small as how a sentence is phrased can impact its interpretation by people who speak different languages. Some communities have reduced access to phones and the internet, so wouldn't be able to interact with digital healthcare. These problems can be identified and addressed sooner by speaking to members of each community.

Presented by: Dr Justin Varney - Director of Public Health, Birmingham City Council

Organise regular engagement forums with different communities to listen to their problems. Earn their trust through communication

Do things 'with' communities rather than 'to' them. Birmingham Public Health has recently run engagement forums with different Afro-Carribbean communites. There is a long history of disengagement with government in marginalised communities, which needs to be talked about and listened to, even if solutions aren't immediately apparent.

Presented by: Dr Justin Varney - Director of Public Health, Birmingham City Council

Birmingham and Lewisham African and Caribbean Health Inequalities Review

Recognise and gather data on heterogeneity amongst communities

Minority groups are often grouped together as one, but they aren't a homogenous group. In Birmingham, data collection is being improved so that people aren't just classed as 'black/african', but their country of origin is recorded. This data can help to identify where inequities lie and the key populations that need attention.

Presented by: Dr Justin Varney - Director of Public Health, Birmingham City Council

Encourage and incentivise employers and the private sector to improve the health resilience of the population

People's mental and physical health can be impacted by their work and workplace. Whether workers can receive sick pay, whether they are encouraged to speak up when they face problems at work, etc - all of this matters for maintaining a healthy workforce.

Presented by: Professor Duncan Selbie - President of The Institute of National Public Health Institutes, UK

Decision-making on how public health funding is used should be devolved to local authorities so that local needs are effectively addressed

Having a certain amount of money 'for diabetes' or 'for Covid-19' limits its application. This type of funding is also usually short-term and encourages spending on quick wins, rather than investing on structural change that could build resilience of the healthcare system. For example, by addressing inequalities and barriers to access of healthcare for marginalised communities.

Presented by: Dr Sandhya Singh, Health ZA