Home - Scottish Health Equity Research Unit

“Strengthening policy and driving action on health inequalities through evidence and insight”

Join us for our upcoming webinar, “International Models of Primary Prevention: Lessons for Scotland,” on Wednesday June 18th from 2 – 3pm

Listen to guest speakers Margrét Lilja Guðmundsdóttir and Professor Steve Platt, who discuss how Iceland and Ireland successfully used policy and data to reduce suicides and drug and alcohol misuse, and what lessons Scotland can take from these models.

Latest posts

Air Pollution and Inequality in Scotland

Examining differences in pollutant concentrations across Scottish neighbourhoods

Collaborative Research for Meaningful Impact

Enhancing the Evidence Base

Addressing Survey Response Challenges and Leveraging Data Integration in Scotland

Enhancing the Evidence Base: Discussion Paper

Prevention Watch May 2025

A regular Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU) briefing that looks at prevention

New child poverty data and updates on methodological changes

SHERU Response

UKG Green Paper on changes to health and disability benefits

SHERU Response

Wealth disparities and health inequalities

Research Spotlight

Prevention Watch March 2025

A regular Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU) briefing that looks at prevention

A new model for economic inactivity in Scotland

Replicating alternative labour market projections

Prevention Watch January 2025

A regular Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU) briefing that looks at prevention.

Primary 1 Body Mass Index statistics Scotland, 2023/24

Reactive stats summary

New awards of disability benefits for adults

Comparing Scotland with England and Wales

Scotland's Census

Understanding changes in health and socioeconomic inequality since 2011

Life expectancy in Scotland Statistics, 2021-2023

Reactive stats summary

Prevention Watch October 2024

A regular Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU) briefing that looks at prevention as a means of public service delivery to reduce health inequalities in Scotland.

Homelessness in Scotland Statistics, 2023-24

Reactive stats summary

Alcohol-specific deaths statistics, 2023

Reactive stats summary

The Health Impact of Cash Transfers

Research Spotlight

Housing in England and Scotland

Comparative stats

This report picks up from the previous work commissioned by the Health Foundation as part of their independent review of health inequalities in Scotland. We now have more evidence of the impact of the pandemic and can see that people have endured steep rises in the cost of living that have affected living standards across Scotland. This report highlights a worsening situation in socioeconomic and health inequalities. The pandemic has played a role, but the roots of this decline stretch back long before this.