Health Inequalities Briefing Pack: What is it and how should we use it?
15 January, 2026
These monthly blog posts by the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre (PMHIC), 'Perspectives on public mental health', aim to highlight the voices of practitioners, patients, carers, and public health experts.
Welcome to this month’s blog post, by Dr Jaimee Wylam (Acting Consultant in Public Health), Wendy Fleming Smith (Lived Experience Consultant) and Catherine Parker (Consultant in Public Health).
Here, they introduce the Health Inequalities Briefing Pack: Quick guides to public mental health and health inequalities, a new online resource for people working in integrated care boards (ICBs), primary care and public health, as well as for clinical staff and leaders in mental health settings.
Health inequalities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population – have been getting more attention recently, and rightly so. The NHS has an important role to play in tackling these issues. Staff working within the NHS often support those experiencing inequalities, such as people who are homeless, are digitally excluded or have low literacy; however, these inequalities can often feel outside their control.
We believe that with the right tools and resources, NHS staff can feel more empowered to support people experiencing health inequalities. To that end, the Health Inequalities Briefing Pack provides a set of simple, short guides, with practical steps that can make a real difference.
What’s in the briefing pack?
It includes a range of guides on topics such as poverty, housing, quitting smoking and health literacy. Each guide explains:
- Why the topic matters
- Its impact on people
- What staff and organisations can do to help.
These quick guides are meant to be a starting point for people working in health and social care. In the introduction, overarching themes that apply to all topics are highlighted (for example, the importance of teamwork and collaboration in solving key issues).
Why lived experience matters
Real change comes when people with lived experience of inequalities are involved in creating that change. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about ‘co-creation’, which entails working with people instead of working for them. But some people feel that their voices are still being replaced by professionals speaking on their behalf.
As Wendy, a lived experience consultant, puts it:
"Most of us want agency, not advocacy. When we’re not given a choice, the message gets watered down or misrepresented. Service users and carers can speak honestly, without the same limits that NHS staff might have."
Wendy also points out that the number of service users involved matters: too many, and it’s hard to manage; too few, and the group doesn’t truly reflect the experiences being discussed.