Manchester Centre develops plan for inclusive health research
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Teams at the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Clinical Research Facility (CRF) in the United Kingdom created a strategy to include diverse people in their health studies.
Researchers from Inclusive Research Methods, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Patient and Public Involvement teams worked with members of the public and other stakeholders to build the plan. They held workshops and individual meetings to understand what people already knew about inclusive research and what they needed.
The resulting strategy focuses on five main ideas: identifying health differences among groups, training researchers, partnering with communities, creating clear ways to put the strategy into action, and using inclusive research methods. The teams learned that aligning this new strategy with existing goals within the organization, creating an Inclusive Research Oversight Board, and being able to adjust to new national guidelines were all important for success.
Stakeholders emphasized the value of working together to develop the strategy, reducing imbalances of power, and ensuring clear accountability. The BRC and CRF believe this strategy will improve how they recruit participants, make research more relevant, and ultimately benefit a wider range of people, especially those who have been historically underserved by health research.
