As the NHS amplifies its focus on tackling health inequalities, novel collaborations between previously disparate sectors emerge as a crucial strategy for driving innovation, scaling effective interventions, and accelerating progress in this area.

To this end, the 'Innovating to Address Health Inequalities Summit' was co-created by IQVIA, Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), and leaders in the Life Sciences sector. Held on 24th May 2023, the Summit convened over 130 leaders not only from these sectors but also from patient, local government, and voluntary sectors, all unified with a singular mission to combat health and care inequalities impacting numerous UK citizens

The Summit enabled its participants to share best practice, problem-solve and leave having created not only new partnerships but leave with innovations to take back to their communities and mobilise through joint working on health inequalities.

Keynote Highlights

The keynote speakers converged into a powerful narrative of commitment, innovation, and collaboration in our pursuit of health equity. From Dr Bola Owolabi's (Director, Health Inequalities, NHSE) compelling reminder that we can't "boil the ocean" but can do so by tackling manageable parts within our individual spheres of influence. Professor Seeromanie Harding's (King’s College London) gave a social epidemiological perspective on the importance of community interventions.

Dr Sheuli Porkess (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine) & Suki Balendra (Paddington Life Sciences) shared recommendations from their insightful report, advocating for the incorporation of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) plans into the clinical trial ethics approval process. They emphasized enhancing collaboration between clinical research and commercial management, fostering a culture of diversity in clinical trials, which can provide richer data, improve patient care, and ensure the UK's leadership in life sciences research

David James’ (Prostate Cancer Research) demonstrated a new interactive platform ‘infopool: the patient resource’ aimed to empower men living with prostate cancer, by providing comprehensive resources for understanding diagnostic methods, evaluating treatment options, managing side effects, and navigating through clinical trials - thus bridging the knowledge gap and mitigating health inequalities.

Brian Duggan (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry) underscored the urgency of embracing a nationwide approach to address health inequalities by promoting genomic research diversity and encouraging equitable adoption of innovative treatments approved by regulatory bodies, thereby enhancing health outcomes for all.

Innovative Solutions in Action

Insightful case studies, originating from varied collaborations were shared that reflected the power of joint-working and collaboration at place from North London ICB, Mid Essex ICS, and between ICS and Life Science companies-IQVIA, Gilead, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Each case illuminated the transformative power of data-driven solutions, creative innovation, and robust partnerships in dismantling health disparities.

These strategies, addressing challenges as diverse as building trust around vaccination in multiform communities, optimising lung cancer care pathways, proactive GP management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and liaising with addiction services for HepC testing, effectively underscored the incredible potential of targeted, collaborative action.

A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved

IQVIA hosted three concurrent workshops that drilled down into specific health inequality challenges that were shared by leaders from Integrated Care Systems. Diverse stakeholders engaged in rich discussions, collectively sharing actionable insights that rarely surface in isolated dialogues.

1. Improving asthma outcomes in Children and Young People, Leicestershire and Rutland ICS - underscored the importance of reliable local data, co-production of services, and community engagement in improving health outcomes. Solutions such as cultivating community influencers, improving access to clinical nurse specialists, and establishing school-based peer-support groups emerged as promising strategies.
2. Increasing scalable cancer screening, West-Essex ICS – highlighted the need for a whole system approach, translation of lessons from the successful COVID vaccination programmes and creating a data strategy that aligns with community needs. Emerging opportunities included identifying the right forum for industry and ICS System partners to connect and reach out to each other. The need for increased education and awareness around cancer screening was explored in the context of it being everyone’s business to fix.
3. Empowering community research champions, North-West London ICS - shed light on the potential of health literacy roadshows to support community engagement and knowledge. These roadshows, led by trained Community Research Champions, provided key health support while addressing the local cost of living crisis. A crucial element was the establishment of a Partnership Forum for Brent and Hounslow, creating a responsive research network that builds trust and fosters discussions on research hesitancy, despite implementation challenges and institutional distrust within the community.

Summit implications, measurable outcomes, and future steps

The summit crystallised the imperative of collaboration and innovation to achieve equitable healthcare. One delegate insightfully captured the momentum, stating, "New contacts, ideas for next steps, reassurance that I am going in the right direction." Another delegate, energised by the event, shared: "There are some really agile innovations which we can deploy easily. I've got lots of energy for this now - thank you!"

These sentiments highlight the catalytic effect of the summit in igniting new ideas. The overarching vision, as articulated by Dr. Bola Owolabi, is to attain “Exceptional quality healthcare for all through equitable access, excellent experience, and optimal outcomes,” a goal that will remain central as collaborations fostered during the summit take shape and move towards execution.

IQVIA's Ongoing Commitment

The summit served as a reaffirmation of IQVIA's commitment to addressing health inequalities:

• Our Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials initiative has also been instrumental in bringing more precision and predictability to enrolling representative and clinically relevant populations. IQVIA's enrolment diversity rates were 1.7 times better than other comparable COVID-19 vaccine trials.
• We continue to enhance the usability of socio-demographic data in our Real-World Evidence research datasets such as the IQVIA Medical Research Data (IMRD). This enables us to disaggregate differences in access & outcomes between groups across the full patient pathway.
• Our Insight and Feedback team have been capturing NHS patient and staff experiences across healthcare settings through bespoke surveys in a multitude of languages. Findings reaffirm that those from the most deprived communities have a universally poorer experience, and guide service re-design and resource allocation.
• IQVIA is proud to be part of the Paddington Life Sciences Partnership which reflect our commitment to building trust and overcoming barriers in research participation in our local Northwest London ICS footprint.
• IQVIA is committed to continuing to the bridge that brings together ICS, patient organisations and the Life Sciences community to collaborate in a One Mission approach to tackle health inequalities

To learn more about IQVIA’s work in addressing health inequalities, check out the following resources:

• IQVIA’s publication on supporting Integrated Care Systems with the delivery of the NHS Recovery
• Engage with UK pathways and clinical pharmacist teams to explore how IQVIA can offer support in system transformation.
• Speak to the UK Real-World Solutions team to understand how IQVIA can assist with your evidence needs.
• We value the power of collaboration and implore you to share this blog across your networks to spark innovative dialogues and foster new partnerships

Get in touch with James.Buckley@iqvia.com for more information