How can a government research and development initiative contribute to reducing health inequalities?

Abstract

The Health Inequalities Research Collaboration (HIRC) is a research initiative to address health inequalities, established in July 1999 by the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Aged Care. Its ability to offer policy options to the government, like similar initiatives in other countries, is circumscribed by numerous factors. They include lack of consensus about the causes of health status differentials, inadequate evidence on how to intervene to reduce health inequalities, and an infrastructure that is underdeveloped in terms of intersectoral action. This article reflects on the work done during the first eighteen months of the Collaboration; on the dynamics that need to be accounted for in any research and development (R&D) response to persistent and growing health inequalities; and on some opportunities offered by the Collaboration in meeting these challenges.