To understand health and health care needs of a population we must have knowledge of its characteristics and size.
A characteristic is defined as a feature or quality belonging typically to a person. This may also be called a ‘demographic’. Common demographics within a population include classification by age, sex, or ethnicity.
Different demographics will have different health and service needs. For example, a population of people aged 65 years and over will experience different health needs compared to an area with a working-aged (16-64 years) demographic.
The size of each demographic will impact the management and monitoring of health care and services. For example, Suffolk has a higher proportion of its population aged 65 years and over compared to the England average. Therefore, Suffolk will have a larger demand for healthcare and services supporting individuals 65 years and over.
Population data should also be used to improve access to services and to reduce inequalities. The Equality Act (2010) protects people from unfair treatment based on the following protected characteristics:
- age
- gender reassignment
- race
- sex
- sexual orientation
- religion or belief
- disability
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally required to reduce inequalities in access to and outcomes of services. Therefore, organisations need to know about our communities and their needs to meet this demand.
NHS England ‘inclusion health’ lists groups who are socially excluded and often experience poor health outcomes. These populations include:
- people who experience homelessness
- people who experience drug and alcohol dependence
- vulnerable migrants
- Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities
- sex workers
- people in contact with the justice system and victims of modern slavery.
New and updated policies and key decisions about services should take into consideration the specific needs of the nine protected characteristic groups, identified within the Equality Act. Additional protected characteristics have been identified by specific local authorities where needed. For example, East Suffolk have introduced socio-economic disadvantage as a 10th protected characteristic which will include the pockets of deprivation that exist, particularly in their rural communities.