Back

NECTAR Awarded NIHR Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) for BAME Engagement Project

The NECTAR team have been awarded funding by NIHR Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Small Grants Scheme for a BAME (Black Asian and Minority Ethnic) community engagement project.

We were one of only 3 teams in the region to be awarded funding under this scheme which stated aims are Supporting Innovation in Practice: Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) in Research Lead at site by Senior Research Nurse and NECTAR PCPI Lead Samantha Jones and Cardiovascular and Transplant Clinical Trial Coordinator Hannah Stevenson, The project aims to increase engagement in Cardiovascular Research studies and in our PCPI group from the BAME (Black Asian Minority Ethnic) community.

BAME (black, Asian, minority ethnic) community, specifically those of African Caribbean and South Asian ethnicity are more likely to be at risk of Cardiovascular disease. The British Heart foundation reports that:

  • If you are of a South Asian background, you may be at a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, which could lead to a heart attack
  • If you are over 65 and of a South Asian background, you are at a greater risk of having a stroke
  • If you are of an African Caribbean background, you may be more likely to have high blood pressure
  • People of African Caribbean and South Asian ethnicity are more likely to get type 2 Diabetes than the rest of the population.

 

We believe the percentage uptake in participating in cardiovascular research in Newcastle from BAME communities is much lower than those who attend the cardiovascular department at the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust. Therefore this project is vital for us to discover the barriers for BAME people taking part in cardiovascular research and help us to improve in engagement with BAME communities.

The two-stage project firstly involves comparing anonymised demographic and geographical data of patients being treated in the Freeman cardiology department against the demographic and geographical data of our patients currently taking part in cardiology research or participating in our NECTAR PCPI group to show us areas for improvement in engaging with BAME communities.

In the second stage we will engage with BAME communities in Newcastle via focus groups or other community engagement events with the support and advice of BAME community leaders, we aim to discover the barriers for BAME people engaging in cardiovascular research and propose solutions working with these communities to increase engagement and uptake in our research and PCPI events. In doing this we are looking to form links with the communities with the potential of developing a BAME PCPI Champion role within our NECTAR PCPI group. We will also aim to measure knowledge and perception of cardiology research during these focus groups or engagement events through the use of a Perception and Experience Questionnaire.

Press release and more information about the NIHR Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Small Grants Scheme via the NIHR here 

Information about Cardiovascular disease in BAME communities via British Heart Foundation here

Follow updates on the project via twitter using @NECTAR_Heart @NIHRCRN_NENCumb   #Bepartofresearch