Reducing inequalities in heart health: our EDI objectives

We’ve identified 2 objectives to help tackle heart health inequalities, ensuring everyone gets the care and support they need. Each objective is supported by clear goals to make sure we’re taking meaningful steps.

Objective 1: Contribute to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease in the UK for those disproportionately affected by it

Cardiovascular health is deeply impacted by the social and economic conditions that drive inequality in society. This includes where people live, their income, the food they have access to, and their experience of racism and discrimination.

We want to be a leading voice on cardiovascular disease inequalities, building on the Bridging Hearts report through further analysis, thought leadership and policy outputs.

Steps we’re taking to achieve this

The following 6 goals will help us to meet this objective:

1. We will continue to implement the recommendations of BHF's Bridging Hearts report across deprivation, ethnicity and sex.
2. We will work with governments across the UK to reduce inequalities in heart health outcomes experienced by those living in areas of highest need/deprivation.
3. We will improve our understanding of why men have worse cardiovascular outcomes than women and explore areas of collaboration with men’s health groups.
4. We will research cardiovascular inequalities amongst inclusion health groups, such as those suffering from a serious mental illness, and explore areas of collaboration with relevant organisations advocating for these groups.
5. We will continue to strengthen our data and insight to better understand how inequalities impact people with cardiovascular disease living in all four nations of the UK, so we know where to target our influencing efforts.
6. We will publish annual reports to continue to raise public awareness of cardiovascular health inequalities and improve understanding of how they affect different individuals and communities across the UK.

Objective 2: Continuously engage and involve people in our work in ways that are inclusive, relevant, and accessible for them

It’s vital that BHF, and what we offer, is inclusive, appropriate and accessible to individuals from all backgrounds.

To help this, we listen to people with personal experience of heart and circulatory diseases, using their insights to shape our work and share their stories in our external communications and campaigns.

Steps we’re taking to achieve this

The following 9 goals will help us to meet this objective:

1. We will increase membership of South Asian and Black African Caribbean communities in our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) networks and panels by 50 per cent.
2. We will explore how to better capture and analyse data on the social economic demographics of our PPI networks and panels, and develop an action plan for improving representation across PPI activities.
3. We will ensure we are consistently engaging with and representing communities across all four nations of the UK.
4. We will generate insights that support action on cardiovascular inequalities by improving representation of relevant audiences in research, using inclusive research practices, and conducting bespoke projects.
5. We will proactively seek out diverse stories from patients whose lived experiences are underrepresented by BHF, ensuring local community voices are heard across our media, marketing and communications.
6. We will continue to improve the accessibility and reach of our communications by building on the success of our expanded offer of tailored content, ensuring we continue to listen and proactively respond to communities’ needs.
7. We will ensure our resources adapt to the changing ways patients are able to access information about their cardiovascular health, effectively incorporating new technologies and forms of media, to increase our accessibility and relevance for all patients.
8. We will maximise opportunities to work with strategic and community partners to increase engagement with those most impacted by health inequalities, including ensuring better access to BHF's Information and Support offer.
9. We will use a data-led approach to work towards everyone in the UK having access to CPR training and defibrillators wherever they live, whenever they need it.