HDRC Aberdeen has the overarching goal of developing a research active culture within Aberdeen City Council. The Council has a significant and diverse range of functions, powers and duties which play a role in shaping the social determinants of health. The social determinants of health are the non-medical factors that influence people’s health outcomes. They have been described as ‘the causes of the causes’ (Marmot, 2006). They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping daily life that include the broad social and economic circumstances which together influence the health of the population. Many factors combine to affect the health of individuals and communities. There is no singular accepted list of what they are, but it’s important that the HDRC Aberdeen is able to talk clearly and consistently about its purpose and work, both within Aberdeen City Council, with the public and with its wide range of stakeholders. Therefore, HDRC Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council will consistently use the following five ‘Social Determinants’ Themes, drawn from the World Health Organisation’s larger list of the social determinants of health:
Economic Stability
Children, Families & Lifelong Learning
Neighbourhood & Environment
Communities & Housing
Health & Social Care
Within these social determinants, socioeconomic factors such as poverty, employment and education have the largest impact on health outcomes (Bambra, 2016), suggesting that greatest contribution to population health can be made outside the health sector. Addressing these social determinants of health appropriately is, therefore, fundamental for improving health and reducing longstanding inequities in health (WHO, 2024).
What we want to achieve
We want the impact of our work to be:
That we have visible research leadership in Aberdeen City Council and through the Community Planning Partnership,
That Aberdeen City Council is research active: commissioning and generating research and using evidence,
That Aberdeen has a multi-agency research ecosystem which works to enable a whole system approach research, strategic planning and improvement work focussed on the wider determinants of health and health outcomes.
Our work is centred around six main objectives to deliver this impact:
Develop health determinants research capacity and leadership,
Generate evidence to support decision-making and the translation of evidence into practice,
Build an enabling research eco-system,
Establish and promote a positive research culture and skills to support ACC members and staff to engage confidently with research,
Involve and engage stakeholders and the public in all our activities,
Establish and deliver a knowledge dissemination plan of the learning arising from the HDRC Aberdeen.
In line with our Partner Involvement & Engagement Strategy, we understand that language is important. Subtle changes in the words used to communicate can have a profound impact on the message that is conveyed. It is important that our language – whether written or verbal – is clear and easy to understand.
How we work
The HDRC Aberdeen has an ambitious aim and an impressive range of expertise to help us deliver through a blend of approaches, including HDRC-led projects, the provision of advice, support and consultancy, and development activity to grow skills, knowledge and culture.
The underpinning principles of all HDRC Aberdeen activity is that:
We are collaborative
We work in partnership with each other, with Aberdeen City Council and with Community Planning Aberdeen, the public and our wider stakeholders. We know that working together might take longer, but we also know that building relationships and working collaboratively makes our work stronger and more sustainable.
We are developmental
Through our work we are trying and testing new approaches and learning together about what works. We capture our learning and feed it into our plans. We share what we learn with our stakeholders.
We are open and inclusive
We know that the wider determinants of health are relevant to everyone in Aberdeen, and everyone has the potential to help shape our work. We want to grow and expand our collaboration and provide opportunities
We build on what’s already there
We know there is already great work happening in Aberdeen City Council, Community Planning Aberdeen and across partners and stakeholders in the city, so we want to support and develop work which is already happening, where relevant to our aims and objectives, and to use our resources and expertise where they make most difference.
