Spearheading change: Tackling inequity, multimorbidity and complex conditions through the Better Health & Care Hub

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Watch back the first session in our Better Health & Care webinar series, where we introduced the Better Health & Care Hub – a bold, interdisciplinary initiative shaping a new vision for equitable, sustainable health and care systems.

This session brought together the Hub’s leadership team to share the thinking behind its development, what it aims to achieve, and why now is the time to act.

Speakers

The what, why and how of the Better Health & Care Hub

🔹 Professor Irene Higginson OBE, Director, Better Health & Care Hub; Professor of Palliative Care & Policy, King’s College London

In this opening talk, Irene set out the Hub’s ambitions – tackling complex conditions, multimorbidity, and inequity through inclusive, practice-informed research. She shared how the Hub builds on King’s strengths across disciplines and sectors to drive change where it’s most needed.

A leading figure in palliative care and health policy, Irene brings a dual background in public health and clinical medicine. She is one of the most highly cited academics globally, with over 700 peer-reviewed publications and a distinguished record of research leadership, innovation and impact.

The future of social care research within the Hub

🔹 Professor Annette Boaz, Co-director, Better Health & Care Hub; Professor of Health and Social Care Policy, King’s College London
🔹Professor Ann-Marie Towers, Deputy Director of the Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London

In this talk, Annette and Anne-Marie explored the Hub’s role in advancing research that addresses the real-world challenges faced in social care – from strengthening the evidence base to building closer partnerships between care providers, researchers and communities. They also reflected on recent work on transforming evidence use and international policy engagement.

With over 25 years of experience in health and social care research, Annette has played a major role in reshaping how evidence informs policy and practice in the UK and internationally. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a founding editor of Evidence & Policy.

Ann-Marie brings deep expertise in outcome measurement and mixed-methods research, developed through her work as a social care researcher. She has led international work on the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) and champions research-practice partnerships across the care sector.