About HDRC Leicestershire

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What is a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)?

HDRCs are hosted by local authorities and provide an infrastructure that enables them to collaborate with the academic sector and other institutions, combining their knowledge and research skills, to conduct high quality research that will help make evidence-informed decisions in important areas impacting community health.

HDRCs also involve diverse communities in making decisions about research areas and how the research is undertaken.

They are funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
The NIHR funds health research to improve people’s wellbeing in the UK. They have invested £150 million to support 30 HDRCs across the UK, helping councils make research-based health-promoting policies.

Wider determinants of health

All of the HDRC programmes are focusing on wider determinants of health, which are also sometimes called the building blocks of health. These include all factors outside of our behaviours, genetics, and the health service that influence our health. Some examples include:

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  housing and homelessness
• access to green and blue space
• income
• employment and working conditions
• transport methods
• social inclusion
• climate change
• air and water pollution
• food security and diet

HDRC Leicestershire

HDRC Leicestershire aims to use research-based decisions to improve health inequalities in Leicestershire.

Leicestershire County Council was successful in their bid for £5.25 million in funding to run an HDRC for five years. The main focus is to reduce health inequalities, especially since life expectancy can vary by up to six years depending on where people live in the county. Research will be used to improve policies and community programs to create fairer access to health and wellbeing.