A new research project analysing how integrated care systems (ICSs) have used funding intended to tackle health inequalities has been launched, the NHS Confederation has announced.
The initiative will be a partnership between the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Leeds Beckett University, Clarity, and the health service.
With addressing health inequalities being one of four statutory priorities for ICSs, the researchers hope that, by developing a learning system to help organisations share best practice, they can enable more sustained and impactful change.
Helping sector partners understand how to scale innovative approaches, work collaboratively and model leadership behaviours will all be central to the team’s plans.
How behavioural factors have affected the provision of funding will also be a particular consideration for the researchers.
Spearheading the research will be Leeds Beckett University’s Professor Mark Gamsu and Professor Anne-Marie Bagnall, who will interview health inequalities leads from various integrated care boards (ICBs) and similar senior leaders.
"We are very pleased to be leading this work on behalf of the NHS Confederation,” they said in a joint statement.
“At Leeds Beckett we know that there are many decision makers in ICBs who are developing meaningful action plans – but who would benefit from further support with wider cultural, policy and capability challenges.
“Sharing the successes, and challenges, faced by inequalities leads in ICBs will make an important contribution to developing more effective action.”
Together, the four organisations will pool their expertise into a final report and subsequent toolkit that will feature practical guidance for ICBs on how to use their investment to efficiently tackle health inequalities.
Research and evaluation manager at the CQC, Alison Thwaites, added: "The shared understanding of how ICSs can use available funding to address inequalities generated by this project can inform our approach to ICS assessment, allowing us to enable improvement and the sharing of innovative approaches across systems.”
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