National Partnership to tackle Health Inequalities in Coastal Communities

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As shown by the Chief Medical Officer's 2021 report, coastal communities suffer some of the worst health outcomes in the country, and significant inequalities(1). In coastal towns, poverty, poor housing, limited opportunities and a low-wage economy(2) result in lower life expectancy and higher rates of major diseases compared to inland neighbours. Meanwhile, health services are overstretched(1). Creative community assets such as arts and culture organisations have the potential to improve lives(3), and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) aim to integrate community assets with preventive interventions and health and social care. However, collaboration between NHS, local authorities, universities, voluntary and community sector and residents is challenging because of differences in organisational objectives, structure, and culture. We need to understand how these stakeholders can come together to improve people's health.Our approachBuilding on our work in Phase 2 of this funding call, we will focus on three coastal areas with poor health in different regions of England: Blackpool, Weston-Super-Mare, and Hastings. We will work together, uniting these different stakeholders, to generate an evidence-based plan to support collaboration across sectors and with the community to tackle health inequalities. We will focus on key problem areas in mental health identified by our communities: young people's mental health and wellbeing; drug and alcohol (substance) misuse; and life-limiting illness and bereavement.