Community engagement and involvement

Alongside our internal leadership team, the Network is governed by an Advisory Board, with representation split equally between community representatives, internal staff and external partners. Community representatives include three women from The Bridge, a women’s health engagement group working in the White City and surrounding areas. Members of the group share both a passion for women’s health and a connection to the local area, and dedicate themselves to raising awareness around women’s health issues and cultivating relationships between researchers, the health system, and the local community. If you want to find out more about them, their work is showcased in this fantastic ‘Humans of Health Research’ story.  You can also follow them on Twitter.

Many members of the Women’s Health Network already engage with members of the public and patients in their research. Some are conducting research into developing a better understanding of the mechanisms and potential of community engagement in women’s health research – asking questions like “How does engagement work? What works for whom, in what way and in what context?” (see interesting article '£25 and a biscuit: Women’s Health Research and Public Engagement in the UK' on the current quality of engagement in women’s health, written by our co-Leads, Alison Perry and Dr Ed Mullins).

Over time, we aim to facilitate new connections between women in the local community with an interest in a particular area of health and researchers conducting work in that area.

Since our inception, we have taken part in multiple societal engagement events – all with the goal to showcase and share the women’s health research being conducted at Imperial.

International Women’s Day Health Roadshow

Network members attended NHS England’s Integrated Care Systems Research Engagement Network Development (ICS REND) Community Roadshow on International Women’s Day 2023 in Brent, hosted by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Northwest London’s (NWL) Ethnicity & Health Unit, in partnership with the local voluntary sector. This roadshow aims to increase local community engagement in research.

During the roadshow, attendees could engage in a variety of activities, such as receiving free health checks, hearing from local businesses focused on women’s health and wellbeing, and talking to Imperial researchers about their work and opportunities for involvement. Dr Carinna Hockham, Co-Lead of the Women’s Health Network, was there to represent the network and discuss the importance of improving women’s access to research.