Research Ready Communities
Research is how we make Health and Social Care better
We’re working together with the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) on an exciting project to help improve access to health and care research within the community.
The NIHR want to understand how the Clinical Research Network could build better relationships with communities and increase their access to health and care research opportunities.
We know that taking part in research can:
- Help improve health outcomes and quality of life
- Provide opportunities for people rather than researchers, to shape the research questions
- Ensure that research is carried out on communities that represent a broad range of people that mirror the communities we live in
How can you help?
- Take part in research by asking your doctor, nurse or healthcare professional about studies you can take part in, or search for studies yourself at www.bepartofresearch.uk
- Explore other ways to get involved in research by visiting www.peopleinresearch.org
To learn more about NIHR research visit: www.nihr.ac.uk/takepart
Our progress to date
In October last year, volunteers and representatives from NIHR and Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire attended a training day help at our offices.
Our ‘community champions’ then went out into the community and asked some set questions to gain an understanding of how much people know about health and care research. Here they would look for information about health and care research and understand where it would be useful to provide this information to people.
We’ve since worked with our local NIHR Clinical research network to form a collective plan on how we can begin to increase access to health research opportunities for people living in the local area.
Check back here for an update on our progress.