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This site draws together materials that explore what members of the public think about health inequalities in the UK. The origins lie in a Leverhulme funded project that sought to involve the public in responding to what a top medical journal called the ‘disappointing reality’ of widening health inequalities, despite the vast amount of research and policy activity. This is an important question for three reasons.

First, some survey research suggests there is a mismatch between what the public think causes health inequalities and what available research evidence shows.

Second, previous research found that many policymakers and researchers working in the UK did not believe members of the public would support evidence-informed policy responses to health inequalities.

Third, different types of research reach different conclusions about what people living in the UK think about health inequalities.

Drawing on input from researchers, policymakers, civil society campaigners, and think tanks, this project aimed to help facilitate public debate about health inequalities.

Employing a combination of literature review, a nationally representative survey and local deliberative discussions, the project explored how different communities think about health inequalities and considered what the implications of this might be for research, policy and practice.

The project was run by researchers who were all originally working at the University of Edinburgh and was funded by a Philip Leverhulme Prize Award. The lead researcher, Professor Kat Smith, has since moved to the University of Strathclyde.

It was informed by earlier work by Kat, which included:

  1. Interviews with researchers and policymakers exploring how these two groups think about health inequalities research and policy in the UK. For an example of some of the findings from this project, please see here and here.

  2. A survey of researchers whose work examines health inequalities in the UK to explore their views on policy responses to health inequalities. For a summary of the main findings from this project, please see here.

  3. Interviews and placements with health advocacy organisations based on the UK, exploring how they think about, and try to influence, health inequalities policies in the UK. For an example of some of the findings from this project, please see here.