Health Action Zones: learning to make a difference. Funded/commissioned by: Report submitted to the Department of Health June 1999 PA from mid July 1999 @ £20

Abstract

Health Action Zones (HAZs) are a central part of the new health policy being forged in Britain in the late 1990s. They are part of a family of regeneration initiatives that are central to the government’s policies of tackling social exclusion and modernising public services. In particular, health action zones are expected to be ‘trailblazers’; pioneering innovative approaches to reducing health inequalities, and developing services that are more responsive to patients and users. Twenty-six health action zones have been established in England. They vary in size and complexity but they share many common characteristics. Not least among these is their emphasis on collaboration and partnership between public and private agencies and voluntary and community organisations