Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities
Introduction Health inequalities in the UK are investigated and addressed by analysing data across socioeconomic factors, geography and specific characteristics, including those protected under law. It is acknowledged that the quality of data underpinning these analyses can be improved. The objectiv...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-09-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/9/e084352.full |
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| author | Sian Evans Carol Brayne Louise Lafortune Sowmiya Moorthie Emre Oguzman |
| author_facet | Sian Evans Carol Brayne Louise Lafortune Sowmiya Moorthie Emre Oguzman |
| author_sort | Sian Evans |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Health inequalities in the UK are investigated and addressed by analysing data across socioeconomic factors, geography and specific characteristics, including those protected under law. It is acknowledged that the quality of data underpinning these analyses can be improved. The objective of this work was to gain insights from professionals working across the health and care sector in England into the type(s) of resource(s) that can be instrumental in implementing mechanisms to improve data quality into practice.Design Qualitative study based on semistructured interviews involving health and care professionals.Setting England.Participants A total of 16 professionals, mainly from the East of England.Results Awareness of mechanisms that could be put in place to improve quality of data related to health inequalities was high among interviewees. However, logistical (eg, workforce time, capacity and funding) as well as data usage (eg, differences in data granularity, information governance structures) barriers impacted on implementation of many mechanisms. Participants also acknowledged that concepts and priorities around health inequalities can vary across the system. While there are resources already available that can aid in improving data quality, finding them and ensuring they are suited to needs was time-consuming. Our analysis indicates that resources to support the creation of a shared understanding of what health inequalities are and share knowledge of specific initiatives to improve data quality between systems, organisations and individuals are useful.Conclusions Different resources are needed to support actions to improve quality of data used to investigate heath inequalities. These include those aimed at raising awareness about mechanisms to improve data quality as well as those addressing system-level issues that impact on implementation. The findings of this work provide insights into actionable steps local health and care services can take to improve the quality of data used to address health inequalities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e80043afaae341ebbfa14b7b77eb67cc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-e80043afaae341ebbfa14b7b77eb67cc2025-08-20T02:40:41ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-09-0114910.1136/bmjopen-2024-084352Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalitiesSian Evans0Carol Brayne1Louise Lafortune2Sowmiya Moorthie3Emre Oguzman4Local Knowledge and Intelligence Service (LKIS) East, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Cambridge, UKprofessor emeritus of public health medicineUniversity of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKUniversity of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKHertfordshire County Council (HCC), Hertford, UKIntroduction Health inequalities in the UK are investigated and addressed by analysing data across socioeconomic factors, geography and specific characteristics, including those protected under law. It is acknowledged that the quality of data underpinning these analyses can be improved. The objective of this work was to gain insights from professionals working across the health and care sector in England into the type(s) of resource(s) that can be instrumental in implementing mechanisms to improve data quality into practice.Design Qualitative study based on semistructured interviews involving health and care professionals.Setting England.Participants A total of 16 professionals, mainly from the East of England.Results Awareness of mechanisms that could be put in place to improve quality of data related to health inequalities was high among interviewees. However, logistical (eg, workforce time, capacity and funding) as well as data usage (eg, differences in data granularity, information governance structures) barriers impacted on implementation of many mechanisms. Participants also acknowledged that concepts and priorities around health inequalities can vary across the system. While there are resources already available that can aid in improving data quality, finding them and ensuring they are suited to needs was time-consuming. Our analysis indicates that resources to support the creation of a shared understanding of what health inequalities are and share knowledge of specific initiatives to improve data quality between systems, organisations and individuals are useful.Conclusions Different resources are needed to support actions to improve quality of data used to investigate heath inequalities. These include those aimed at raising awareness about mechanisms to improve data quality as well as those addressing system-level issues that impact on implementation. The findings of this work provide insights into actionable steps local health and care services can take to improve the quality of data used to address health inequalities.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/9/e084352.full |
| spellingShingle | Sian Evans Carol Brayne Louise Lafortune Sowmiya Moorthie Emre Oguzman Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities BMJ Open |
| title | Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| title_full | Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| title_fullStr | Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| title_short | Qualitative study of UK health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| title_sort | qualitative study of uk health and care professionals to determine resources and processes that can support actions to improve quality of data used to address and monitor health inequalities |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/9/e084352.full |
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