Authored by:
Dr Céline Benoit, Dr Angela Jeffery, Dr Suzanne Cleary, Aisha Masood, Dr Alexis Paton, and Dr Christine Burt
Foreword:
This report focuses on the health and wellbeing of residents living in underserved wards in East and West Birmingham. While Birmingham went through a period of economic growth and regeneration, there remains a high number of wards that are characterised by economic and social deprivation. This is particularly true in East and West Birmingham – two localities that are characterised with high levels of infant mortality and childhood obesity, a high number of children in care, and lower educational outcomes. Residents in East and West Birmingham are more at risk of loneliness, more likely to have lower resilience and poorer mental wellbeing, and more likely to die early (Birmingham Health Profile, 2019).
People living in East and West Birmingham also face barriers when accessing healthcare and social services, and healthcare professionals in the areas often struggle to meet the needs of the local population.
In this project, we sought to hear from residents who live in underserved wards in East and West Birmingham to capture their lived experiences, shed light on the barriers they face when it comes to living healthy lives, and reflect on possible ways forward.
This report presents findings from an innovative collaboration between Aston University, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC), and Citizens UK. We are particularly grateful to the following people and organisations for their support: Dr Christine Burt (Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), Dr Fatima Zakia (Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), Urfan Siddiqi (Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), Hannah Ackom-Mensah (Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), Saeed Haque (Citizens UK), Tom Snape (Citizens UK), Amy Maclean (Birmingham Integrated Care System), Rehana Begum (Aspire & Succeed), Malieka Selassie (BLESST Centre), Richard Campbell (BLESST Centre), Nasri Meraneh (Huda Community Centre), Meena Bibi (Saathi House), Tiffany Joseph (Saathi House), Mashkura Begum (Saathi House), Shamsun Choudry (Saathi House), Susan Fulford (Age Concern Birmingham), Pete Millington (Age Concern Birmingham), Sam Marsh (Welcome Change CIC), Lauren Kenney (Welcome Change CIC), Victoria Shread (Welcome Change CIC).
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who took the time to share their views and concerns with us during the listening events – none of this would have been possible without them.
This report aims to capture the voices of communities that have long been
underserved and calls for enhanced collaboration between the public and third sectors to come together to help tackle some of the inequalities residents of East and West Birmingham are facing.
Download:
Health inequalities 2023 Report dp.pdf (2.1 MB)
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community-connexions