Are you interested in getting involved with research, but not sure where to start? Do you want to help members of your community understand what research is, and why it’s important? Learn about research ethics, consent, discovering research opportunities with our new set of resources produced for the Suffolk and North East Essex Research Engagement Network.
Health inequalities are avoidable differences in health outcomes between different groups or populations – For example, people living in more deprived areas or from certain ethnic groups having shorter life expectancies, or higher rates of certain diseases. Health research can help tackle health inequalities by increasing our understanding of different health conditions. But the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) says that in the UK, the people who tend to take part in research studies don’t represent the diversity in the populations that tend to be affected by different health conditions in the UK. For example, diseases that are most common in deprived areas tend to be researched in more affluent areas.
This is a problem because if our understanding of diseases and treatments don’t take everyone’s needs into account, it won’t help to tackle health inequalities – and could even make them worse. For example, people with more complex health needs or different genes might be affected differently by new medicines. Because of these issues, NHS England launched Research Engagement Networks across the country to work with community organisations to engage underserved communities in research.
The Research Engagement Network in Suffolk and North East Essex found that organisations and groups would value resources to help them and their communities to understand research. They said there was a need for guides on topics like what research is, research ethics, and understanding giving consent. We worked with our Research Ambassador Network and the Research Engagement Network to co-produce resources to help explain these topics. They suggested that communities may lack trust in research, clear information about what research involves, and not know where to find out about research studies.
The resources we produced cover six topics:
- What is health research?
- Where can I find out about research opportunities?
- What to expect when you take part
- What happens to my contribution to research?
- How should researchers support me as a participant?
- What types of health research are there?
The resources are available on the SNEE ICS REN Website. There is a full colour version available for use with professional printers, as well as a version with a white background that you can print yourself.