Blackpool has been awarded £5million of funding for a health inequalities research project from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Blackpool has c.140,000 proud residents and is known for many fabulous things such as its beautiful beaches and the world-famous illuminations. Sadly, despite the hardwork of many partners across the town, Blackpool still has poor life expectancy and health inequalities.
The funding being announced today will help to find out exactly why health inequalities exist and how we transform our services and systems to work better for our local communities.
What makes this research project different is that the day to day experiences of Blackpool residents will inform how council and health services are designed and delivered with the aim of ultimately improving people’s health.
The Blackpool community will be at the heart of this project. As co-researchers they will ensure that people’s lived experience of facing health inequalities in the town are understood. They will be part of finding solutions that will make a real difference to people’s lives. By sharing this research with others, it will inform how money is spent and how services are delivered to best support people with their health across the town.
There will be close collaboration on this project with the community and other partners such as Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, the voluntary sector and research specialists Lancaster University.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network: North West Coast have supported the bid and will continue to support the research project going forward.
The four priority areas are:
- The first 3 years of life
- Housing
- Education, employment and skills
- Mental health.
Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council said:
Professor Enitan Carrol, Clinical Director at the NIHR Clinical Research Network: North West Coast commented:
Conal Land, Community Co-researcher said:
Professor Jo Rycroft-Malone, Executive Dean of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University, said: