Taking steps together towards health equity
The European Deloitte Health Equity Institute
At least you have your health
Like all phrases that have lasted generations, it underscores a universal truth: good health is invaluable.
Yet, while it’s a fundamental human right, good health is not equally accessible to all. A complex interplay of factors – education, living conditions, heritage and life experiences – shapes our health outcomes.
While this inevitably creates disparities, understanding more about them and making strategic interventions can help level the playing field.
The complexity of this picture means that working to reduce health inequality requires a collaborative effort. This responsibility extends beyond healthcare providers and public services: there’s an important role for businesses and individuals to play too.
The European Deloitte Health Equity Institute (DHEI) brings the wealth of our people’s expertise to contribute to an important mission: improving health for all.
Telling the story of health inequality in today’s UK
Did you know that over half of women spend out-of-pocket on their health every year, compared to 39% of men?
Or that introducing a targeted national prostate cancer screening programme for high-risk groups could deliver over 800 earlier diagnoses for men aged 45 to 69?
Insights like these, from research conducted by the DHEI, are helping to illuminate the complex nature of health in the UK today.
Working closely with business and government clients and social impact organisations, Deloitte connects with all parts of the life sciences and healthcare eco-system. So exploring these issues and sharing useful findings is a contribution we’re well placed to make.
“The goal of the DHEI is to reduce health inequalities and improve health for all,” says Liz Hampson, Deloitte’s lead partner for the institute.
“The issues we set out to explore in our research include, for example, why some people are less likely to access services, like screening, why services don’t adequately meet the needs of different patients and how investments in innovation and health services could adapt to work more effectively for them.”
While shining a light on health-inequality issues, Deloitte also seeks to align with the government’s direction of travel on healthcare, embedding current approaches and thinking into improving health outcomes for those that may be getting left behind today.
For example, in line with the move towards promoting health and preventing illness, as outlined in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future (published in July 2025) we’re sharing insight across the sectors on the shifts that need to take place in healthcare to prioritise prevention.
“The more society understands health inequalities and the reasons behind them, the better positioned we all are to highlight and tackle them.”
Liz Hampson, Deloitte’s lead partner for European Deloitte Health Equity Institute
The case for targeted prostate cancer screening
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among men, with over 55,000 new cases reported annually, and the second most deadly. Early detection of the disease, via screening, is essential for improving treatment outcomes and survival chances.
The UK’s existing informed choice testing system puts the onus on men to proactively seek a test. And because some men from high-risk groups, particularly Black men, are less likely to seek a test, they’re more likely to be diagnosed late and are more than twice as likely to die from the disease.
In November 2024, Prostate Cancer Research unveiled new research it had commissioned the European DHEI to compile. Launched in Parliament and shared widely across the media, it shows how changes to the current screening system could improve the health equity of Black men, those with high genetic risk and those with a family history of prostate cancer aged 45 to 69.
Crucially, the research also makes a socio-economic case for investment, showing how costs to the healthcare system of a targeted national screening programme could be alleviated by earlier diagnosis and avoiding the costs of late-stage diagnoses and associated treatments.
While changes take time, this insight and cost-benefit analysis gives Prostate Cancer Research a strong basis from which to make progress and help shape a more equal system.
A ripple effect
While insights and new research are often the most visible element of the DHEI’s work, its influence extends much further.
By building a deep understanding of health equity among our people and empowering them to apply a health equity lens to their day-to-day work, the institute has started a ripple effect.
“We work closely with our people, clients and the charities we support to share steps we can all take to consider health equity, so that they are front of mind and can inform aspects of their work,” Liz continues.
That might be by making sure, when collecting data, samples are inclusive of different groups or recruiting patients for clinical trials across the whole spectrum of those that would use the products being tested.
Looking ahead, the institute’s plans include expanding our training to champion health equity and further developing our partnerships with clients.
“Expanding our partnerships and engaging more clients on health-inequality related themes gives us wider, more up-to-date knowledge about these specific issues to share with our networks,” Liz concludes.
“It’s this shared, broader understanding that we know will make a positive impact.
“The more society understands health inequalities and the reasons behind them, the better positioned we all are to highlight and tackle them.”
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