North and South: Regional Health Inequalities in England

North and South: Regional Health Inequalities in England The ‘north-south health divide’ in England is longstanding and persistent, documented both before and after the epidemiological transition.

In the mid-19th century, life expectancies in northern cities were four years lower than in southern cities, and today, there is still a two-year difference in average life expectancy between the northern and southern regions.

However, there has been no thorough academic study of regional health inequalities, so we know little about the temporality, aetiology, experience, representation or perception of the ‘north-south health divide’.

This oversight is becoming even more pressing given emerging evidence that health inequalities are increasing and that the north is falling further behind.

Using a novel, mixed-method, intensive, multi-disciplinary approach, the North and South project will fill this gap by providing the definitive account of the ‘north-south health divide’ and regional inequalities in health in England – contextualised within the wider European experience.

By drawing on concepts, data and methods from geography, epidemiology, sociology, history, social policy and literary studies, the project will enhance our understanding of the ‘north-south health divide’; provide insights into how to close it; and advance the international health inequalities field empirically, methodologically, and conceptually.