What is inclusion health and why does this approach matter?
Inclusion health describes an approach to prevent and address extreme health inequities. Inclusion health populations are diverse, but they can share common experiences such as structural discrimination, social exclusion and stigma. Inclusion health groups include:
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- People experiencing homelessness
- Migrants in vulnerable circumstances
- Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
- Sex workers
- People in contact with the justice system
- People experiencing drug and/or alcohol dependence
- People subject to modern slavery
Inclusion health groups experience extreme health inequalities. The health inequalities experienced by belonging to one or more inclusion health group can be further exacerbated if individuals also experience other domains of inequality:
Data suggests that compared with the general population, some inclusion health groups may have higher levels of mortality than those living in the most deprived areas of England. This means that we need to specifically consider inclusion health groups, as well as levels of deprivation, in the work we do to address health inequalities. A proportionate universalism approach is essential; this means investing more resources in groups facing greater inequalities.