REACH (Research Engagement and Community Health) Worcestershire – Widening Engagement
The mission of REACH is to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and address health inequalities through cohesive, targeted and research-informed support for communities in Worcestershire.
The Widening Engagement Project focuses its aim on increasing participation in community health research by diverse and seldom heard groups
The focus of the project will be on listening to under-researched communities in Worcestershire including those that are seldom heard. Working with VCSE partners, the project aims to engage with these communities about research by considering barriers to participation and how best to mitigate them.
We aim to
Increase participation in community health research by diverse and seldom heard groups
(Re) build trust in health and care services across the county
At the end of the project, we would like to provide the National Institute of Health and Care Research (part of the NHS) with the following:
- Details of key community members for different ‘seldom heard’ groups.
- Information from community members about the barriers they would face should they want to be involved with health and care research.
- Ideas for future local health and care research, with which communities could become active partners.
- Data reflecting the percentage of people with whom we have engaged, who have previously been involved with health and care research locally.
Who do we want to hear from?
| Young people Older people Socially isolated people Digitally excluded people People from marginalised ethnic groups | People living in areas of deprivation Asylum seekers/refugees Ukrainian people Smaller disability groups |
What are people saying?
From the initial conversations we’ve has across Worcestershire, certain barriers have emerged, including :
| Lack of trust in statutory services Transport and the rural nature of the county Technology Confidence and self-worth |
How the project will develop
Get in touch!
We welcome your input to help us understand more about perceptions of health and care research and how more people can be better be involved.
Are you interested in enhancing the voice of people in the above (or other) communities within health and care research?
We’d really like to hear from you! Click here to get in touch.