Sikh Community Health Profile launched by Public Health division

As part of Birmingham Public Health Division’s work to improve and reduce health inequalities experienced by citizens in Birmingham, the Communities Team are developing a series of evidence summaries focusing on specific communities of interest, titled Community Health Profiles gain greater understanding and awareness of communities and their needs.

The Communities Team have developed common objectives for the Community Health Profiles:

• To identify and summarise the physical health, mental health, lifestyle behavioural and wider determinants of health-related issues that are affecting the specific community both nationally and locally
• To identify and summarise gaps in knowledge regarding the above
• To collate and present this information under the 10 key priority areas identified in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Birmingham 2021
• To engage with the local communities on the evidence found and any gaps
• To promote the use of these summaries for Local Authority and wider system use for community and service development.

The Sikh community is our first religion focused Community Health Profile. The Sikh Community Health profile identifies and summarises the national and local evidence concerning the health, lifestyle behaviours and wider determinants of health that affect members of the Sikh community. In addition to the Community Health Profile, the Communities Team have developed a series of infographics to compliment the written evidence.

Key findings from the Sikh community health profile:

• Higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes compared to the general population (recognising the lack of faith specific evidence)
• Evidence of high prevalence of alcohol drinking and alcohol related issues, such as liver cirrhosis
• Lower uptake levels across different cancer screening programmes
• Low levels of physical activity, particularly among women, with culture and family expectations being highlighted as barriers across research
• Qualitative literature consistently highlighting the lower levels of awareness on the causes and disease management among patients with long term illnesses
• Across the literature there are recurrent themes about the lack of cultural sensitivity and language barriers (recognising this is not faith specific)

Cllr Paulette Hamilton, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care at Birmingham City Council, said; "What public health is doing is a new way of working. Being able to easily identify what the issues are within local communities and what it will mean to them regarding future advice, support and possible funding opportunities is vital for future development."

The Sikh Community Health Profile will be formally launched on Monday 27 September with an external engagement event via MS Teams. The external engagement event invites Cllrs, stakeholders, partners and citizens to join the Birmingham Public Health Division in presenting the key findings. The external engagement will be a catalyst for subsequent external comms and engagement for the Sikh Community Health Profile.

The Sikh Community Health Profile and additional resources can be found on our website.