Winner
"Our aim is to represent the unrepresented" | Shifting Power: A Community-led Model to Transform Black Participation in UK Health Research
Summary of work
Shifting power: A community-led model to transform Black participation in UK health research
Black, African, and Caribbean communities remain critically under-represented in UK health research, despite being disproportionately affected by conditions such as sickle cell disease. Traditional recruitment approaches have failed to engage with these communities, reinforcing systemic inequities in participation and outcomes.
To address this, the NIHR’s ‘Improving Black Health Outcomes’ (IBHO) programme partnered with Egality to deliver a fundamentally different, community-led model of engagement. Working with sickle cell advocate and artist A Star (Alidor Gaspar) and award-winning filmmaker Tracy Kiryango, we created a culturally grounded spoken-word film rooted in lived experience. Launched on World Sickle Cell Day 2025 and distributed through trusted, community-owned platforms and Black-led health organisations, the campaign achieved over 11,000 organic views on social media and widespread community endorsement.
Crucially, it drove measurable behaviour change. Expressions of interest increased to 1,300, more than ten times the target, while total recruitment reached 2,123 participants nationally.
This project demonstrates that culturally authentic storytelling, delivered through trusted community partnerships, can overcome systemic barriers to research participation, providing a scalable model to improve equity in UK health research.
Judges’ comments
"Our aim is to represent the unrepresented" captured social barriers and had super clear and well-defined objectives It was insight-led, with strong metrics and call to action. Overall, it was a fantastic achievement, and a really creative use of resources. An impressive and tangible change.
