Learning from communities in the USA and England to promote equity and address the social determinants of health.

This commentary contextualises and documents the process of a twinning learning exchange between the US Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health initiative and the Communities for Health initiative in England to enable the transfer and adaptation of ideas for similar community-focused initiatives in various contexts globally. The multi-partner twinning exchange built on and shared knowledge around community health promotion interventions, targeting 'marginalised' populations and focused on addressing the social determinants of health to effectively reduce health inequalities. This commentary presents the methodology of the exchange; provides key themes, outcomes and lessons learnt that arose from discussions and the experience; and provides insights, considerations and recommendations for adaptation. Finally, it highlights the importance of such exchanges in the current global context and the need for their replication and adaptation. These experiences contribute to building the evidence base on successful interventions and identifying strategies that work for improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities. They strengthen the need for all governments to address the social determinants of health as a priority whilst providing insights to inform successful policy.

Improving policy and practice to promote equity and social justice - a qualitative comparative analysis building on key learnings from a twinning exchange between England and the US.

Community health promotion interventions, targeted at marginalised populations and focusing on addressing the social determinants of health (SDH) to reduce health inequalities and addressing the processes of exclusion, are an important strategy to prevent and control non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote the health of underprivileged and under-resourced groups. This article builds on key lessons learnt from a learning exchange between Communities for Health in England and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the US (REACH US) communities that are tackling health inequities. It presents a qualitative analysis further capturing information about specific community interventions involved in the exchange and identifying lessons learnt. This exchange was led by a partnership between the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the International Union for Health Promotion and Education, the Department of Health of England, Health Action Partnership International, and Learning for Public Health West Midlands. These efforts provide interesting insights for further research, priority areas of action for policy and practice to address the SDH and to promote and sustain equity and social justice globally. The article highlights some key lessons about the use of data, assets-based community interventions and the importance of good leadership in times of crisis and adversity. Whilst complex and time-consuming to arrange, such programmes have the potential to offer other countries including the global south new insights and perspectives that will in turn contribute to the SDH field and provide concrete strategies and actions that effectively reduce inequities and promote the health of our societies. The key learnings have the potential to contribute to the global community and growing documentation on evidence of effective efforts in the reduction of health inequities.