A Centre to tackle the low life expectancy and high cancer rates of residents in the Liverpool city region has been launched.
Funded by Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT), the Liverpool Health Inequalities Research Institute will focus on research into inequalities in health status and on the provision and quality of care in areas such as obesity, alcohol abuse and mental health.
The burden of health inequalities is such that residents in Liverpool have the lowest life expectancy in England and live for four years less than the national average. Mortality rates for all cancers are 40% higher than in England and Wales and the mortality rate for lung cancer is 90% higher than the national average.
Mark Gabbay, Director of the Institute, said: “The Institute represents an important milestone in building relationships between academics, health practitioners and commissioners in the health arena that will help us tackle health inequalities more effectively and better serve the needs of the local population.”