The West Yorkshire Scientific Advisory Group (WYSAG) has released new video in its “WYSAG Talks” series which provide the chance to find out more from WYSAG experts about the big challenges facing us, what the science tells us and what we can do to together to build a healthier future in West Yorkshire.
Why is that if you map life expectancy across the towns and cities in West Yorkshire you can see a drop of up to ten years between places that a just a few miles apart? What is it about where we live that affects our health so strongly? If you live in a poor area, you are much more likely to suffer from environmental hazards – poorer quality air, more noise, litter and traffic – and much less likely to live within pleasant environments, such as parks, or walkable town centres.
There are key aspects of where and how you live that affect health: access to affordable food, levels of crime, decent public transport, road safety – and the quality of housing available – how warm and insulated, how much ventilation and mould, levels of overcrowding. Think also of access to job opportunities, education, quality of public space, and walkability. All of these contribute to your ability to live a healthy lifestyle. We continue to move this research forward to provide a clear evidence base for policy makers. In the meantime, it is heartening to see the tangible impact that the work is already having.
Whilst we know how well NHS treatments work in improving health, most of our health and wellbeing is shaped by wider determinants: the quality of the houses and neighbourhoods we live in, the design of our environment, the air we breathe and the schools where we learn, our access to healthy food and active travel.
WYSAG wants to bring together available research to give independent evidence-based policy advice by mobilising, organising and utilising available research. The group will answer specific questions posed by the Combined Authority and Health and Care Partnership.
The WYSAG group serves the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, existing to guide policy makers to make the best decisions and shape a healthier, happier future for the people of West Yorkshire. WYSAG is hosted and facilitated by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Yorkshire and Humber, working in partnership with Yorkshire Universities and the Y-PERN network.
Find out more about WYSAG here
The video is available on the YH ARC YouTube channel from today.
