Sandwell HDRC
Better Research for Better Health
Sandwell Council has been awarded £5 million funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). Sandwell HDRC is a 5-year partnership between the Council, the University of Birmingham and the voluntary sector, working with wider partners and stakeholders across the borough and region and aligning to our borough-wide Levelling Up Programme.
HDRCs focus on the wide range of factors, outside of health care, that influence people’s physical and mental health. These factors are known as the wider determinants of health. They include how polluted the air is on your street, the quality of your accommodation, if you own a car, how good the schools are and whether you have a job.
The HDRC will improve how we carry out research, how we use it to make decisions and how we communicate findings to others. This will help to improve the quality of the services we deliver and commission, and improve the health and wellbeing of all our residents.
Sandwell HDRC, Better Research for Better Health, is one of 11 new HDRCs launched in 2024 and is one of 30 HDRCs across the UK.