Health Review of Evidence

This document represents a first attempt to provide a review of policy developments and an introduction to the evidence base in relation to the health-related goals of NDC partnerships. There is a vast amount of literature in this area. As a result, this review aims to merely highlight key findings of relevance to NDC partnerships and to provide clear guidance about the best places to turn for more detailed information. It will need to be updated as the national evaluation of NDCs progresses. It is readily apparent that NDC partnerships have many opportunities to improve the health of their populations by influencing and/or changing the social determinants of health in multiple ways. From this perspective it would make sense to prepare a review of the ways in which tackling the root causes of health inequalities can contribute to improved population health and health equity. But the primary aim of this paper is to review for an NDC audience the lessons to be learnt from what are largely health-sector interventions. The review consists of four main sections: • A brief review of the key health policy developments in recent years, focussing on the post 1997 period. • An overview of the nature and scope of the general evidence base in terms of interventions to improve health in disadvantaged communities. • A review of the nature and scope of specific interventions related to particular health problems or issues. • Finally, we reflect on what the evidence base reveals for NDC partnerships and their planned activities, and identify some early lessons and implications for the evaluation team