An online showcase event for the Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) project took place Thursday 16 June 2022
The CPAR project, which has now come to an end, has been a local partnership investigating the impact of Covid-19 on health inequalities. The partnership between Reading Borough Council (RBC), Reading Community Learning Centre (RCLC), Reading Voluntary Action (RVA), the Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE), and the University of Reading’s Participation Lab was led by Dr Esther Oenga. Esther has supported a team of community researchers to engage with individuals and groups from minority ethnic communities in Reading. The researchers have taken part in a programme of training provided by Health Education England South East and Public Health England South East.
At the showcase event, the community researchers gave presentations on their key findings:
- Maternal services and digital inclusion – Evangeline Karanja, Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE)
- Women and health care services – Donna Ma and Hemamalini Sundhararajan, Reading Community Learning Centre
- Men and mental health – Tariq Gomma, ACRE
- The Impact of Covid on the Nepalese community – Krishna Neupane, Integrated Research and Development Centre (IRDC)
- Covid vaccine hesitancy – Jessica Acquah, Jacquah Health Foundation
Break out discussions focused on the advantages of community-led research and what next? Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed ideas on how we can take action in light of the CPAR findings.