Abstract
Our inquiry investigated the barriers to, and facilitators for, the involvement of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and ‘seldom-heard’ communities, in a study researching the impact of mobile phone and wireless device usage on adolescents’ cognition, behaviour and mental health. The aim was to co-produce solutions to increase participation, and we used focus groups, telephone interviews, a community event and a public and patient involvement (PPI) café to conduct the inquiry. Five themes emerged from the data: two enablers – the value and benefits of research; and three barriers – concerns about research and about communication, and practical constraints. A central cross-cutting theme, the concept of trust, was evident from the data, and extended across all themes, including across the solutions to non-participation. When the data collection and analysis were completed, we ran a symposium for researchers and members of the public to share our findings and to co-produce solutions. The symposium generated ideas about improving participation, including tailoring participant information, engaging with local advocates and involving people in research design and delivery.
Highlights
There is evidence and concern that people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities are proportionately under-represented in health and social research in the US and the UK, compared with the majority White populations
We did not collect data on participants’ socio-economic status, but observed that local participants were from a recognized deprived area of London compared with those who had travelled to our focus groups from other parts of London
As shown in the literature, BME communities are under-represented within health and social research (Gill et al, 2013; Vickers et al, 2012; Smart and Harrison, 2017)
Summary
There is evidence and concern that people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities are proportionately under-represented in health and social research in the US and the UK, compared with the majority White populations (Wendler et al, 2006; Sheikh et al, 2009; Smart and Harrison, 2017). He found that US researchers were more positive than UK researchers about broadening research participation They had developed creative strategies to recruitment – for example: community leaders hired as paid study personnel; cooperation with other research teams to recruit subjects with appropriate racial or ethnic characteristics; and working with potential participants in their ‘territory’ by going to homes and community centres, hosting events and setting up study clinics in accessible places. They had structures and funding to support these initiatives, which resulted in increased confidence, experience and expertise in increasing participation, albeit this change of approach took time
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