Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities

Summary

Establish trusting relationships to foster participation and open communication with communities affected by health inequalities.

Link to health inequalities

A strong working relationship based on trust encourages participation, fosters open, honest communication, and ensures that people and communities who experience health and care inequalities feel valued and heard. This leads to more accurate identification of community needs and priorities. Building trust is particularly important in communities that have had negative experiences of health and care services, and/or of statutory services more broadly.

Activities, skills and resources

Emerging

• Explicitly acknowledge where there is a lack of trust.
• Take steps to understand local history and context.
• Identify and address gaps in knowledge about communities.
• Recognise that building trust requires sustained time and commitment.

Developing

• Work through system partners, VCSE organisations, and community groups.
• Use these partnerships to establish regular, open and transparent communication channels to encourage honest dialogue with communities.

Maturing

• Build knowledge, skills, and capacity to engage with communities equitably.
• Use a trauma-informed approach to acknowledge (and where possible address) past harms.
• Take deliberate steps to (re)build trust with communities.

Thriving

• Have established, two-way relationships with communities defined by consistent communication, accountability and mutual trust.
• Ensure communities feel that their input is heard, valued, and used effectively to drive positive change.