HIIC in Dundee: Our commitment to tackling health inequalities through community-led health

Dundee has a long history of supporting community-led health and next year will be the 20th anniversary of the Community Health Team (formerly Dundee Healthy Living Initiative).

The team is a partnership between Dundee City Council’s Community Learning and Development service and Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership, with the remit to support local people living in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage to identify issues that are important to them and to build their knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to address these using a community-led health approach.

The importance of involving communities in decision-making processes is acknowledged in a wide range of local strategies and senior officers across Dundee City Council, NHS Tayside and the Health and Social Care Partnership have recognised that building capacity of local people who have been marginalised because of their life circumstances has significant benefits for achieving local and national priorities including reducing health inequalities. People in Dundee have had to endure the effects of health inequalities and poverty for a long time and been particularly hard hit by health issues such as drug-related deaths compared to other parts of Scotland. However, there is a clear determination among local communities, those involved in developing local policy, and those delivering local support services to turn this trend around and ensure that everyone living in Dundee has a fair chance of a healthy life. This determination is particularly highlighted through the local people who have taken part in Health Issues in the Community courses in Dundee and dedicated a significant proportion of their time to bring about positive change in their communities.  

The Health Issues in the Community course has played a huge role in raising the voices of people who have been hardest hit by health inequalities. It has shone a light on local inequalities and raised awareness of the wider determinants of health, helping participants to critically understand the factors that affect their health and wellbeing, and supporting them to identify actions that they can take together to challenge these inequalities, bring about social change and achieve social justice.

The Community Health Team and its predecessors have been at the forefront of the city’s response to community-led health and tackling health inequalities and the Health Issues in the Community (HIIC) course has been a core component of its programme since the outset. Over the last few years, HIIC participants have investigated a range of topics including: mental health, suicide, substance use and stigma, welfare benefits, affordability of healthy eating, discrimination and many others. Those involved in HIIC in Dundee have not only had an impact at a local level but some have also shared their experiences and local research on national and international stages. In 2019, for example, the East End HIIC group delivered a powerful play at the World Community Development Conference to raise awareness of the challenges people experience when trying to access mental health services and support.

The group recently completed a research project through the Knowledge is Power programme to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental health and how services can be improved to better respond to these challenges. HIIC has also encouraged group members to get involved in a long list of other local projects (so many that it is difficult to keep track of them!), including shaping a new Community Wellbeing Centre, the development of a Mental Wealth Academy, and a new train-the-trainer programme for employers focused on mental health in the workplace. This small group has shown the powerful impact that local people can have on local decision-making processes and the even bigger impact that will be possible as more people get involved in HIIC in Dundee.

HIIC participants in Dundee have reported life-changing benefits as a result of their participation in the course. As well as going on to develop local health and wellbeing projects in their area others have gained employment, places on further education courses and become Community Commissioners on the Dundee Fighting for Fairness group. The Community Health Team is committed to extending the reach of HIIC across the city with the aim of building a stronger collective voice for Dundee. One way it is doing this is through the development of a new Community Health Advisory Forum which will create another platform in the city for people who have been involved in HIIC to influence decisions that affect the lives of people living in Dundee. Watch this space or get in touch with the team if you want to find out more now!

Find out more: www.dundeehealth.co.uk

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