Tackling neighborhood health inequalities in the UK through cross-sector collaborations and community engagement: thematic synthesis of focus group and questionnaire data.

BACKGROUND

Community engagement has become an increasingly common approach to addressing health inequalities. A three-phase UK-wide interdisciplinary, multicentered program of research, "Mobilizing Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities," was established with the objective of utilizing local, cultural, and natural assets to address neighborhood health inequalities. Theprogram aimed to determine core components of cross-sector collaborations conducted by research teams comprising academic and non-academic, health and social care, local authority, voluntary and community partners.

METHODS

A thematic synthesis was performed on qualitative data comprising two peer-reviewed articles reporting focus group findings and two grey-literature reports synthesizing questionnaire data from the first two phases of the program. Themes occurring at least twice across these studies were aggregated into 15 descriptive themes, from which six overarching analytical themes were derived.

RESULTS

Relationship-building, multidisciplinary working, and training and capacity building ensured effective cross-sector collaborations. Additional enablers were integrated-care approaches, innovative creative-health solutions, and strategies for sustaining, replicating, and scaling up longer term projects. Creative and participatory research methods further strengthened evidence collection. Less consistently identified, though valuable in specific contexts, were interventions focused on raising awareness of poverty and deprivation, addressing social determinants of health, promoting health behaviors, empowering communities to make health-related decisions, supporting community-led solutions, and volunteering.

CONCLUSION

Findings underscore the necessity of building credibility and trust, understanding cultural relevance to address non-participation by underserved communities, and enabling community empowerment. The research provides a more complete knowledge of community engagement and cross-sector collaborations than might have been derived from a single study.