Seldom heard groups refers to under-represented individuals who potentially use health and social care services and are less likely to be heard by professionals, health services research and decision-makers. These groups include; people with disability, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic [BAME], Refugees/asylum seekers, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer [LGBTQ} people, people who are homeless, young people, people with language barriers, communication impairment and geographically isolated, to give examples of a few.
Often people in seldom heard groups face multiple barriers affecting their engagement with health and social care services and inclusion in health research. This can start at an organisational level, whereby the process in reaching and engaging with such groups may be perceived as challenging due to the lack of understanding and awareness of the groups needs and absence of collaborative relationships across different networks of seldom heard groups.
The ARC NWC Seldom Heard Forum brings together representatives of seldom heard groups from across the North West Coast for the opportunity to share issues experienced by the groups they represent, good practice in managing those issues and discuss how best to enhance their inclusion in applied health research.
The forum encourages public members from these groups to share their experiences and the challenges they face and gives an opportunity to ARC NWC’s public advisers to talk about how they represent diverse communities. This is followed by a panel discussion, to give attendees the opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions and get involved in the programme.
The forum anticipates to establish an ongoing community of practice to collaborate, flag up/address unmet research issues and reach seldom heard groups.
This forum may be of interest to: clinicians, researchers, students, third sector organisations, practitioners and members of the public.