What are Health Inequalities?

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What are health inequalities?

Health inequalities are differences in how long people live and the amount of ill-health they experience. Compared to the Wales average, there is a higher percentage of people who live with negative health determinants in RCT, which mean they may experience more ill-health.

When a community has more people experiencing ill-health than average (i.e. there is a higher level of health inequality), this places additional demands on services that are paid for from public money. This creates a double problem for service providers like the Council: there are more people in need of services but fewer people able to pay into the public purse.

Therefore, health inequalities also lead to differences in:

• the availability of services
• the quality of services, e.g. longer waiting lists, lower service-user satisfaction, etc.
• behavioural risks to health, e.g. lack of exercise due to poor access to green spaces
• environmental health factors, e.g. good quality housing

Who experiences health inequalities?

The way in which people experience health inequalities is unique to them. However, four broad groups of people who experience higher levels of health inequality can be identified in the data. The factors that are often analysed to develop services that address health inequalities are:

• socio-economic factors - although many people with lower-than-average incomes live healthy lives, poverty is closely linked to worse health outcomes
• geography
  • this can be closely linked to socio-economic factors, e.g. post-industrial areas like RCT have higher levels of unemployment
  • but also, people in rural areas, or in areas with low investment in public transport, find it more difficult to access services
• specific characteristics, e.g. sex, ethnicity or disability
  • some groups of people with specific characteristics also have specific health needs
  • some groups with specific characteristics may have difficulty accessing services
• socially excluded groups, e.g. people experiencing homelessness, young people not in education training or employment, etc
  • e.g. people without a fixed address or a bank account may not be able to access services and support

People living with health inequality rarely do so for only one of these reasons. The way in which these factors combine can be complex and it can be difficult for service providers to provide the right support, e.g. women experiencing homelessness have different risks and health needs to men experiencing homelessness. Similarly, a disabled person living in a more isolated community in the county borough may experience inequalities associated with all of these characteristics. This is called intersectionality.

Take our quiz below to find out how health inequalities affect people who live in Rhondda Cynon Taf.