The NIHR East of England Inclusion Steering Group was established to streamline inclusive research efforts, share best practices, and reduce duplication across the region.
Background
Getting involved in health and care research isn’t always easy for everyone. Things like where you live, how much money you have, your age, or your health can make it harder to take part. This can mean that lots of individuals are left out of research who should be included.
Some groups face extra challenges in getting involved in research, like people with learning disabilities, physical difficulties, language barriers, or those living in care homes or dealing with several health issues. These barriers can stop them from being included in studies, which means the results might not fully reflect everyone’s experiences.
Research works best when it includes a wide range of people. There’s strong evidence showing we need to do more to make sure everyone has a fair chance to take part, no matter their background or health.
Improving equality, diversity and inclusion in health and care research requires research organisations (research infrastructure) to work better together to ensure that all research teams acknowledge the challenges and increase awareness and opportunities for improvement.
The East of England Inclusion Steering Group was established to address this and brings together representatives from NIHR Research infrastructure from across the East of England and public contributors working with those organisations.
Who is part of the group?
Public Contributors from each organisation
Regional Research Delivery Network East of England (Chair)
Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) (East of England)
Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
HealthTech Research Centre – Brain Injury
Clinical Research Facility (CRF) Norfolk
Clinical Research Facility (CRF) Cambridge
Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Donor Health and Behaviour
Inclusion Research Knowledge Exchange
The report presents 18 regional projects that address health inequalities and barriers to research participation, particularly among under-represented communities. The projects highlight valuable strategies such as partnership working, community engagement, and identifying barriers to inclusion, serving as a resource for future inclusive research initiatives.
Where can I find out more?
The group have set up a NIHR Inclusion Project Repository on NHS Futures where you can find out more about inclusion research projects across the region.
If you are interested in finding out more about the group, please contact eoe.rrdn@nihr.ac.uk