A showcase event for the Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) project took place at MERL on Monday 4 April 2022

CPAR is a local partnership project 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 is led by Esther Oenga. Esther has supported a team of community researchers to engage with individuals and groups from minority ethnic communities in Reading (download a leaflet about the project). 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 on Monday the community researchers gave presentations on their key research findings:

• Maternal services and digital inclusion – Eva Karanja
• Women and health care services – Hema Sundhararajan and Donna Ma
• Men and mental health – Tariq Gomma
• Impact of Covid-19 on the Nepalese Community – Krishna Neupane

Professor Adrian Bell, Research Dean for Prosperity and Resilience at the University of Reading, responded to the presentations and presented certificates of of achievement to the researchers. Representatives from the partner organisations and their guests reflected on the project and discussed next steps. Download the final report here.