Liverpool Health Partners (LHP) joined forces with Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS) last week to bring together communities across the city to engage on how we can get health research design right, for everyone. 

Community leads from across the city met at the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre on Wednesday 25^th February, representing a diverse range of the region’s population, with the ambition of creating a new Community Advisory Group to review research ideas, highlight risks and barriers to research participation, and influence how future projects are shaped. 

The event was the first from the newly formed partnership between LHP and LCVS, after LHP identified the need to increase their Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) work to ensure new programmes, services and research actually work for the people they’re intended to help. 

Margarita Perez-Casal, Deputy Managing Director at LHP, said: 

“With an ever-evolving health landscape, PPIE in clinical research is paramount in enabling us and our partners to hear from a variety of different perspectives from people with lived experience from a diverse range of backgrounds. We know that diverse ethnic groups have been historically under-represented in health research, resulting in healthcare treatments or systems which have not been designed with everyone in mind. Working with LCVS has enabled us to access connections with a wide range of communities across the city and allowed us to encourage them to talk to us about what matters most to them regarding health research. Unfortunately, health research and service design tend to happen without real input from communities. These newly formed relationships mean that we can now connect researchers and clinicians to people whose voices are usually missing from these discussions and help ensure health research design is done right for all of our population, not just a few.” 

The event was a great success, with representation from numerous communities across the city, including different ethnicities, religions and ages, as well as representation from mental and maternal health. 

Richard Davies, Director of Capacity and Engagement at LCVS, organised the event and invited attendees using the organisation’s vast knowledge and engagement with varying communities across the city. 

He said: “It was great to have so many organisations involved at this initial event. Community organisations bring vital knowledge about the realities people face every day. By working together from the start, we can help ensure health research reflects the needs and experiences of Liverpool’s diverse communities.” 

The event heard introductions from LHP and LCVS, alongside upcoming future projects which attendees may get involved with. Following this, round-table discussions encouraged feedback on next steps and thoughts on current processes. 

Katie Gajowy, from Mind Balance Solutions CIC was in attendance and commented: 

“It’s great to see that communities are being included in this process. The fact that there is already a focus on involving community members shows that there is a real recognition of the need for representatives who truly understand and reflect the communities they serve. 

For me, as a mental health provider, the idea of legacy, prevention, education, and building awareness within communities is incredibly important. Prevention is fundamental, because mental health challenges can affect anyone sooner or later in life whether personally or within our families and children. Supporting communities through awareness, education, and open conversations about wellbeing can create a meaningful and lasting impact. 

I also really appreciated how the team listened to our perspectives. The one-to-one conversation was truly valuable. They showed genuine interest in what we had to say and in how we see the needs of the community. In my opinion, that level of engagement shows a very thoughtful and advanced approach to community support.” 

Saiqa Ahmed, from the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), added: 

“I think it was an amazing experience for me to attend this event where I met the LCVS team and Liverpool Health Partners team. This event brought communities together and we all shared our experiences during the table discussions. It was a great networking opportunity too. I would love to get involved in any future opportunities and look forward to working in collaboration.” 

Following its success, LHP will now work with LCVS to engage more closely with these communities, to create a Community Advisory Group, shape specific research by advising on cultural barriers, and develop link work such as hosting small discussions or helping researchers understand local issues. 

By developing PPIE across the city LHP will help provide a voice in tackling long-term inequalities, build stronger relationships with NHS providers and our communities, which will lead to earlier detection and prevention support, better access to treatments, and services designed around everyone’s needs, not just a few.