Achieving levelling up health targets could boost local economies

older lady working - A quarter of a million working-age people aged 50 or older, could have stayed in paid employment for longer, had the levelling up health targets been achieved a decade ago, finds a new UCL-led study. Researchers believe this is important as staying in work can provide both positive health and financial outcomes for individuals. Meanwhile, remaining in good health allows people to be able to make the choice of staying in the labour market - rather than being forced out by ill health. The report, published by ICL, the UK's specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on society, builds on the earlier findings of the Marmot reviews in 2010 and 2020, led by the UCL Institute of Health Equity, which found that geographical health inequalities are deeply entrenched in England and Wales. The Health of Older People in Places (HOPE) project research, which UCL led in collaboration with the University of Leeds and ILC, is part of the Health Foundation's Social and Economic Value of Place programme. The research links these geographical disparities to employment outcomes, finding all adults living in the "unhealthiest" areas are 60% less likely to be in paid employment than those from the healthiest. The researchers defined the 'unhealthiest' places as the third of local authorities in England and Wales where the highest proportion of older people said their health was either fair or poor.