The Health Foundation commissioned the FrameWorks Institute to examine how people think about their health, and the health of others, and based on this, recommend how we can frame health communications to tell a more powerful story.

Drawing on findings from the second phase of the research, this report outlines an evidence-based framing strategy for shifting understanding and building greater support for action to address the wider determinants of health. It is for anyone working and communicating in the field of public health, whether they are speaking to a public, political or expert audience.

Key points:

• This report outlines an evidence-based framing strategy for shifting understanding and building greater support for action to address the wider determinants of health. The strategy centres on making the issue more tangible for people by using explanation.
• Firstly, we need to start by explaining why the wider determinants of health matter. Right now, in the poorest parts of the UK, people are dying years earlier than people in wealthier areas. Quite simply – this is a matter of life and death. We need to say so.
• Secondly, we need to ‘go deep’ in our explanation of the issue to show how and why our health is shaped by these wider determinants, and why experiences are unequal across the country.
• Thirdly, we need to be solutions-focused in our communications and explain how these issues can, and should, be solved.