Community engagement: improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities

Context

Since the original NICE guideline on community engagement was published in 2008, there has been a substantial increase in the evidence on how community engagement can improve health and wellbeing.

Involving local communities, particularly disadvantaged groups, is central to local and national strategies in England for promoting health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities (Department of Health and Social Care's Healthy lives, healthy people: our strategy for public health in England; Marmot Review's Fair society, healthy lives).

Statutory obligations on public bodies recognise that the NHS and local government cannot improve people's health and wellbeing on their own. Working with local communities will lead to services that better meet people's needs, improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities.

In addition to their statutory responsibilities, NHS England's Five year forward view proposes that public sector organisations should find ways to involve the voluntary sector in promoting health and wellbeing. But the Cabinet Office's Community life survey 2014 to 2015 shows there has been a decline in informal volunteering since 2013/14. Levels of participation generally decrease as the level of local deprivation increases ('Community life survey 2014 to 2015').

This update reflects the importance of reciprocal relationships, particularly in areas of high deprivation. It aims to strengthen collaborations and partnerships and establish better links between statutory organisations and local communities. The aim is to ensure they can work together to deliver health and wellbeing initiatives that improve health outcomes.