*BIRU was commissioned from 2019 – 2024 as a part of the Reducing Inequalities in Communities programme of work. Whilst the team continue to work on outputs, no new research is planned at this time.
Background
Inner city Bradford has some of the highest levels of deprivation and ethnic diversity in England, as well as high levels of morbidity and mortality across the lifespan compared to Bradford District and England averages. In 2019, Bradford City CCG (now Bradford District and Craven CCG) received an uplift in funding of £8m pa for 5 years (2019-2024) to address these health inequalities. They established the Reducing Inequalities in Communities (RIC) programme which implemented multiple interventions across three priority areas:
- Preconception, pregnancy & early years (with a focus on child outcomes)
- Premature mortality
- Ageing & dying well
Introduction to the BIRU
The RIC programme commissioned the Bradford Inequalities Research Unit (BIRU) to support the design and delivery of the Programme. The BIRU consisted of a collaboration between Born in Bradford (BiB), RIC and the University of York.
Objectives of the BIRU
- Identify the needs of individuals and implications for RIC
- Identify relevant evidence-based interventions
- Enhance the evidence base of interventions to reduce health inequalities
Impacts of the BIRU
The BIRU has successfully enhanced the evidence base of all interventions delivered in RIC, and has completed in-depth effectiveness evaluations of three key interventions using the Connected Bradford and BiB birth cohort datasets.
