New report highlights the role of community engagement in reducing health inequalities for Black African and Black Caribbean communities in the UK

The PBPH is a new collaboration between academics from Queen Mary's Wolfson Institute of Population Health and community leaders, healthcare professionals, and individuals with lived experiences. It aims to uplift and empower communities that have long been marginalised and underserved within the healthcare system. Launched at today’s Black Health Inequalities Summit, the report reflects the collective journey of community leaders, academics, healthcare professionals, and individuals with lived experiences who have come together to challenge the status quo and create a pathway for transformative change. 

Drawn from the lived experiences of Black communities – shared through a series of public engagement events and collaborations – the report makes five areas for action: 

• Concern about the deterioration of the NHS, which disproportionately affects Black communities thanks to historic and ongoing inequalities within healthcare. 

• Desire for the positive impact of many alternative, traditional, and community-based ways of supporting health to be better recognised by healthcare providers. 

• The need for the burden of healthcare discrimination that is carried by Black women - especially in the areas of gynaecology, pain management, and maternal care - to be addressed. 

• The critical importance of advocacy when navigating the healthcare system to be recognised, with peer-led approaches taking centre stage. 

• Prioritising anti-racism and the development of cultural sensitivity at all levels of the NHS. 

Dr Sara Paparini, Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Equity in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, said: “This project aims to put an end to assumptions about who can and cannot be in the driving seat of research, who is and who isn’t hard to reach, and who should decide how to frame problems and seek solutions. Communities can and will speak for themselves, and it is through the challenges and joys of co-production that we can create a new evidence-base that is able to address what appear as ‘intractable’ problems. The project intentionally centres Black Voices in health equity issues that affect Black Communities, and is also a blueprint for change in the way we carry out research across the board.” 

For more information and to download the report, visit the Partnerships for Black People’s Health page on the website of the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. 

The project is funded by NIHR under the Programme Development Grants - Developing Innovative, Inclusive and Diverse Public Partnerships stream.