Help & Care: Community Research through the years

Help & Care recently launched ‘Involving People’: an enterprise under the Help & Care umbrella designed to improve health and care outcomes by involving patients and the public in the design, delivery and transformation of health services. Through Involving People, we actively seek opportunities to continue and grow this work, Community Research is very much a central part of this.

The Community Research model is not new to Help & Care—it is a model we have explored and developed for over 20 years. The model supports Help & Care’s vision of “Supporting People & Communities to Live the Lives they Choose” underpinned by our values of Social Justice, Personal, Innovation and Collaboration.

Back in 2003 Help & Care undertook a three-year community research project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, which explored the needs, experiences and aspirations of older lesbians and gay men in Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset. The project was named ‘Gay and Grey’ by the community researchers and was supported by Bournemouth University. Fast forward to 2021 when we commenced “What I Would Like to Say” Neurodivergent and Disabled Peoples Experiences of Cancer Care and Support and more recently “Trans Aware Cancer Care” – Trans+ Peoples Experiences of Cancer Care and Support.