March 2022
Evidence reviews
Autism evidence scan identifies knowledge gaps
Diagnosing autism takes account of a person’s differences in social interaction and communication, sensory sensitivity, interests and behaviours. Yet autism varies hugely from person to person, both in how it looks and how it is experienced.
March 2022
Strategy Unit information
We don’t just need to hear ‘you are more affected’ - what’s the action?
The experience of minority ethnic people symptomatic for COVID-19 in the first UK wave of the pandemic.
November 2021
Inequalities | Policy | Primary, community and social care services
Evaluation of Building the Right Support: Final Reports
Building the Right Support was a national plan to provide better support to people with a learning disability or autism.
October 2021
Better use of analysis | Policy
Advancing the analytical capability of the NHS and its ICS partners
The Strategy Unit were asked by the Strategy and Development Team in the Directorate of the Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NHSE/I, to make recommendations for advancing analytical capability across the health and care workforce.
October 2021
Mental health | Policy
Estimating the impact of the proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act on the workload of psychiatrists
In January 2021, the Government published a White Paper, setting out its plans to reform the Mental Health Act. The Government invited views on the paper and in July 2021, it published a summary of the consultation responses and its plans to address the issues raised. The proposed reforms aim to…
October 2021
Better use of analysis | Elective care | Policy
‘To risk stratify or not risk stratify, that is the question’ (At least, it should be)
Risk stratification tools are ubiquitous in healthcare. The concept is simple and seductive. By predicting the risk of future adverse events, we should be able to target efforts to avoid/mitigate them. Doing so would save both money and misery. But, as Niels Bohr said wryly, “Prediction isn’t…
July 2021
Mental health | Primary, community and social care services
Inequities in children and young people’s mental health services
Good mental health during early years and childhood has a great bearing on health throughout life. By contrast, poor mental health can cast a long shadow. Consequences may include depression, self-harm, and poor physical health. Services recognise this. They aim to provide access to support in a…
July 2021
Inequalities | Policy | Public health and prevention
Measuring the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on population health
Measuring the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on population health One feature of the pandemic has been the fast-flowing stream of facts and numbers about the impact of Covid-19. At the same time, we’ve had to absorb the meaning of terms that were previously the preserve of epidemiologists and…
June 2021
Better use of analysis | Elective care | Emergency care | Inequalities | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Less noise and more light: using criteria-driven analysis to tackle inequalities
Reducing health inequality is a long-standing aim of health policy. Yet the gap between policy aim and population outcome has grown in recent years: on most measures health inequalities have got worse.
June 2021
Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Increasing vaccine uptake
The purpose of this work was to identify the key features of local initiatives which encourage vaccine uptake in different population groups, and share these for others to learn from.
May 2021
Elective care | Inequalities | Policy | Primary, community and social care services
Socio-economic inequalities in access to planned hospital care: causes and consequences
Tacking inequalities in health is a long-standing NHS policy objective. Variation in the experiences and outcomes of different communities during the COVID-19 pandemic served to bring this issue back into focus.
April 2021
Inequalities | Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Reviewing the evidence on digital inclusion
Digital technology is a significant part of our daily lives. It has changed the way we interact with each other, the services we use, and the ways we work. The NHS is no exception. Digital technology has begun to change the way health and care services are delivered. And the Covid-19 pandemic …
April 2021
Elective care | Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Evidence review: Early diagnosis of cancer
Detecting cancers early is essential to saving lives and reducing the need for invasive treatments. So, in 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan set a national target for increasing the proportion of cancers diagnosed at an early stage. There is room for improvement in current performance. In 2018, 55% of…
March 2021
Policy
A framework for understanding policy change
A new policy, strategic direction or major programme is announced. How do we begin to understand, interpret and explain it? And how can we start the task of analysing and critiquing it? I see three main approaches: 1: Personal views As an individual, we might ask whether we like or agree with the…
Analytical Collaboration for COVID-19
Between March and December 2020 the Health Foundation; King’s Fund; Nuffield Trust; and the Strategy Unit collaborated to provide analytical support to the health and care system to help in the fight against COVID-19. The organisations worked in a coordinated way to provide analysis and expertise…
February 2021
Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Public health and prevention
Strategy Unit analysis of air quality highlights inequalities
Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK and central London has the highest levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. The Guy’s and St. Thomas’ charity, now operating its programmes under the Impact on Urban Health banner, have committed to 10 years of…
February 2021
Inequalities | Mental health | Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Learning from lockdown: support for people experiencing homelessness
There are few clearer measures of societal health than homelessness. On this count, and despite its enormous material wealth, England is in poor shape. Relative to the recent past, and any country we might want to compare ourselves to, we have a problem with homelessness. The causes of homelessness…
January 2021
Elective care | Finance and payments | Inequalities
Equity and Cost Growth in Specialised Services
NHS specialised services provide care for people with complex or rare medical conditions. Treatments for these conditions are often expensive: While specialised services support a small proportion of the population, approximately one-sixth of the total NHS budget - over £19 billon - was allocated…
November 2020
Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Mental health
Mental Health Surge Model
Early in the Covid pandemic, it became clear that people’s mental health would suffer. Whether through bereavement, unemployment, social isolation, not being able to access support services – or a host of other routes – an alarming picture began to emerge and attract attention.
COVID-19: breaking the cycle of deprivation and ill health
Promoting whole-system action on the wider determinants of healthy life expectancy in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic