Following another round of our School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) Public Involvement Fund earlier this year, we are excited to announce the successful funding of several new projects that aim to explore and develop new, or continue existing, relationships with groups, organisations and communities currently under-served by primary care research.
These projects focus on understanding priorities of under-served communities as well as building understanding of how to work successfully with these communities. It is our hope that through these projects research teams will be able to develop reciprocal and sustainable partnerships with communities that can build our understanding of involvement and support ongoing an/or future research.
An overview of the projects funded are listed below:
- Delivering primary care on the British waterways: exploring the health priorities and challenges of liveaboard boaters - Jane Jervis (Keele)
The aims of this project are to identify the health priorities of liveaboard boaters in relation to primary care provision and to establish a liveaboard boater research network bringing together researchers, stakeholders and members of the community. This project will facilitate this engagement through hosting network events at locations where liveaboard boaters meet.
- Working Together With Autistic Adults To Widen Research Participation – Sascha Miller & Jane Vennik (Southampton)
Through thr collaborations with local organisations who support autistic people, the project aims to:
- establish specialised Listening Cafes designed to suit the needs of autistic people, making individuals feel more included and engaged in research activities.
- identify the main reasons why autistic people face difficulties in participating in research studies, using NIHR-HSDR-funded Phased-In study as an example.
- develop improved methods so that more people from these groups can participate in Phased-In and other primary care research studies.
- Learning Disability Safe Space Cafés – Miriam Golding-Day (Nottingham)
The aim of this project is to develop the Reach Voice and Participation Group for people with a learning disability, to engage with them about research and healthcare topics which are important to them. We will conduct Safe Space Cafés on different topics which have been identified as being important to people with learning disabilities. These cafes will offer an opportunity for shared learning in a space which is familiar and comfortable to those from this under-served community.
- Embracing Pride to enhance LGBTQ+ representation in primary care cancer research – Pradeep Virdee (Oxford)
Through creative engagement at Pride 2025, this project aims to understand LGBTQ+ perceptions towards primary care cancer research. Further, this project seeks to:
- Establish barriers to research involvement in the LGBTQ+ community and methods to overcome them.
- Raise awareness of the importance of primary care cancer research.
- Actively encourage LGBTQ+ people to get involved in primary care cancer research.
- Communication strategies for inclusive PPIE: co-producing an instructional video for researchers, people with dementia and carers – Sarah Griffiths (UCL)
The aim of this project is to work with people with dementia and carers to co-produce a video. The video will provide guidance on communication strategies to use when involving people with dementia in research, as public contributors. We will do this by holding workshops to create a visually engaging video, mixing real life with animation. This will be valuable for people with dementia and carers and will support primary care researchers to overcome common difficulties with engaging and retaining people with dementia in public involvement work.
- Broadening Engagement and Awareness of Chronic Pain and of Public Involvement (BEACON) - Sarah Harrisson (Keele)
Through a participatory film-making approach, working with research ambassadors, this proposed project aims to:
- co-produce a series of short films to capture people’s experiences of living with chronic pain and the benefits of engaging in public involvement and research.
- broaden awareness of and encourage engagement in public involvement activities and research amongst people living with chronic pain from under-served communities.
Projects were reviewed by a panel of community members, public partners, public involvement professionals, and researchers with expertise in public involvement. It was an extremely competitive round with over 20 applications received.
The above successful projects were chosen based on their potential to have significant learning for public and community involvement, and potential positive impact, on primary care research and the communities involved.
The funded projects were able to commence from 1st September 2024 and will finish before the 31st March 2026. We are looking forward to sharing the learning and outcomes which come from these in due course.
If you would like further information about any of the projects, please do reach out to the lead investigators above.
For any further information about the Public Involvement Fund please contact Halle Johnson (SPCR PPIE Manager) via spcr@keele.ac.uk