Ripples of Despair - Shining a light on the impact of lives lost to alcohol, drugs, and suicide (2024)
The building blocks of health and wellbeing
Our health and wellbeing is shaped by many factors, starting even before we are born. These factors include where we live, the quality of our housing, our friendships and family, experiences at school, access to good jobs, and whether we have enough money to meet our needs. Together, these are the building blocks of health.
When building blocks are missing or broken, they can have a damaging effect on our health. For example, a baby born in one of Gateshead's most deprived areas is expected to live nearly 12 years less than a baby born in one of the least deprived areas.
Differences in these building blocks lead to health inequalities, which are unfair differences in health outcomes between groups of people. Deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide are marked by these inequalities, with the highest rates of harm and death concentrated in the most disadvantaged communities.
Understanding risk factors for alcohol, drugs and suicide
A large study looking across all local authorities in England identified the following risk factors linked with deaths by alcohol, drugs, and suicide (3):
*(routine task jobs which do not require any educational qualifications)
These risk factors are shaped by the circumstances in which people live - the building blocks of health. The model below draws on several studies to help illustrate how risk factors are influenced by a range of social, political, commercial and economic factors (29-32).
