Evidence Hub
The Evidence Hub makes available evidence to support local actions to reduce health inequalities by addressing the Social Determinants of Health.
This website is designed to help users understand the complex and interconnected nature of the Social Determinants of Health. The evidence presented highlights how issues such as housing insecurity, food poverty, unemployment, and educational inequality contribute to poor health outcomes and widen health disparities. By highlighting key areas, we aim to support evidence-based decision-making and encourage collaborative action across sectors.
Whether you’re a public health professional, policymaker, researcher, or community advocate, this resource will help identify opportunities to improve health through social change. By addressing the root causes of poor health – poverty, discrimination, and unequal access to resources – we can build healthier, fairer communities for everyone.
Social Determinants of Health
These are the non-medical factors that influence people’s health outcomes. They include the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. They play a crucial role in shaping health outcomes for individuals and communities. Addressing these determinants is essential to reducing health inequalities and improving population health across Aberdeen.
There is more information on the Social Determinants of Health, including how they are understood in Aberdeen City Council. The page includes key reports and resources on the Social Determinants of Health and on health inequalities in Scotland, including the Atlas of Health Determinants. The Atlas is an online, interactive resource presenting a range of data relating to health, health inequalities, and the wider determinants of health across the broader North East of Scotland.
Browse the Social Determinants of Health themes below to find key evidence resources on health equity.
We also use the Marmot Principles to help navigate towards these key evidence resources.
Marmot Principles
The Marmot Principles are a set of eight guiding principles aimed at improving health and reducing health inequalities.
They were established by Professor Sir Michael Marmot in a 2010 report, ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ (The Marmot Review), and a follow-up report in 2020. The reports focused on health inequalities in England but have informed efforts to tackle health inequalities throughout the world. There is more information on the Marmot Principles, and related reports and projects (including Marmot Places and the Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland, or CHES) at the Institute of Health Equity website.
Alongside the Social Determinants of Health themes, the evidence highlighted in this Hub is also grouped around the eight Marmot Principles to help highlight the resources that address key areas for action. Follow the links for evidence resources on why these issues matter and what works to address them.
Marmot Eight Principles and links to key evidence to support local action:
- Giving every child the best start in life – Early Level Attainment; Child Poverty; Childcare/Early Years Services.
- Enabling all children, young people, and adults to maximize their capabilities and have control over their lives – Attainment; Absence and Attendance; Exclusions from School; Positive Destinations after School.
- Creating fair employment and good work for all – Economic Inactivity; Unemployment; Earnings; Employment Grades.
- Ensuring a healthy standard of living for all – Wealth; Poverty; Fuel Poverty; Food Poverty.
- Creating and developing healthy and sustainable places and communities – Housing; Local Influence, Loneliness and Community Safety; Access to Green Space; Crime/Debt and Crime.
- Strengthening the role and impact of ill health prevention – Obesity; Maternal Smoking/Obesity; Physical Activity; Addictions.
- Tackling racism, discrimination, and their outcomes – Experience of Discrimination; Ethnic Inequalities (Poverty and Educational Attainment); Disability/Learning Disabilities.
- Pursuing environmental sustainability and health equity together – Air Quality; CO2 Emissions; Renewable Energy Generation.
The information on the Evidence Hub was developed or selected by the Health Determinants Research Collaboration Aberdeen (HDRCA). The HDRCA is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and led by Aberdeen City Council, in partnership with the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, NHS Grampian, and Public Partners.
The purpose of the HDRCA is to foster a research-active culture within Aberdeen City Council, focusing on the social determinants of health.
