Title: Co-creating, embedding and acting on research evidence to reduce health inequalities: the Medway Health Determinants Research Collaboration
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: Medway has many areas where people experience poor health and wellbeing. The best opportunities for improving people’s health and wellbeing are in the settings where people live, work, study and play - home, streets, workplaces, schools, shops and green (parks, woodlands) and blue spaces (rivers, lakes, coast). Research about what works to improve health is needed to guide council decisions about these settings. Unlike NHS organisations, councils are not currently set up to routinely use research evidence or start health research projects. It has never been part of a council’s main role, even though they play a key role in the health of the population. We propose Medway Council and the University of Kent work together (called the Medway Health Determinants Research Collaboration) to make sure that the council can use and take part in research. The research will build knowledge to improve the health of the public and reduce the differences in health between different groups – like differences based on income, education, ethnicity, gender. Our goal is that Medway Council will have a culture of using and taking part in research to guide activities to improve people’s health and wellbeing. Across the entire range of council activities (such as highways, environment and schools), council staff, managers and councillors will see health research as a key part of the council’s role and deliver it part of their roles. Medway Health Determinants Research Collaboration will appoint a new team. The team will be led by a programme director who has a senior position in the council and will also include a member of the public, other senior council officers and researchers from the university, all with dedicated time for this. In the first year, we will appoint other members of the team and prioritise what research we should focus on. This will involve the public, councillors, council officers and managers, partners and researchers. The team will develop over the following 5 years – and implement sustainable ways to: * make sure research evidence is considered in decision-making * involve the public in the planning and delivery of research * prioritise what research the council is involved in * support staff to take part in research by giving them training, time and information about what research they could do and get them to meet with researchers at universities to create ideas, methods and plans * make sure that systems are in place for the council to apply for research funding, manage research budgets, monitor research and complete it safely and ethically. The public will be at the heart of the Health Determinants Research Collaboration. We will have a public group to jointly create our plans, decide what areas need research to improve health and wellbeing, communicate what we have found and done differently and evaluate the work we do. We will involve the public through close working with our partners (such as NHS, charities, police) who support different types of people. We will also have a member of the public as part of our team. The Health Determinants Research Collaboration will allow Medway Council to be more effective in improving the health and wellbeing of the public. This will make best use of public money and in the longer-term reduce health inequalities across the population. Other benefits include research producing income which can improve services and motivate the workforce so the council can recruit and keep the best staff.

Lay abstract: Vision: Our vision is that Medway Council will have, across all its services and levels, an organisational culture for research to improve health and wellbeing that is sustainably ingrained into its values, behaviours and activities. We conceptualise a research culture as one where it is standard practice and second nature to use research to inform decision-making, take part in national portfolio studies, develop public health research skills among staff, co-create research with the public, encourage and nurture staff to voice and develop ideas about innovation and work closely with universities to seek funding and deliver research projects. We propose a 5-year Health Determinants Research Collaboration starting in 2022 between the unitary Medway Council and the successful applied health research centre (Centre for Health Services Studies) at the University of Kent. Background: Medway is on the North Kent coast with a population of almost 300,000 people living in the conurbation of five towns and surrounding rural areas with isolated communities. Medway is much more deprived than the South East average and there is considerable inequality in health and the determinants of health. Aims and objectives: * embed research evidence into decisions across the council that influence health * co-produce research priorities * co-create research with the public including underserved communities * develop staff research knowledge, skills and confidence and encourage collaboration with academics * develop and implement systems for the council to apply for research funding, deliver research, manage research budgets, monitor research and complete it safely, legally and ethically To achieve this, we will appoint a team led by a programme director, who has a senior position in the council, other senior council officers, a member of the public and researchers from the university. Key deliverables: There will be four interlinked workstreams over the 5-year period * Set up, strategy development and prioritisation * Research capacity, training and development * Building local research and evidence to drive council activity * Dissemination strategy, outputs and pathways to impact Key milestones: * HDRC team in place – Mar 2023 * First prioritisation process completed – Sep 2023 * Procedures for research governance – Jun 2023 * Train first cohort of council staff - Sep 2023 * Communities of practice operational - Sep 2023 Collaborators: We will create an environment of co-production, ensuring research is acceptable, feasible, evaluable, replicable and sustainable. To do this, we will engage the public, including underserved communities, and collaborators to plan, conduct and evaluate research. Anticipated impact and dissemination: The council has developed its research capabilities, capacity and culture in health research over recent years and sees the HDRC as an opportunity to embed research more sustainably into the organisation, to generate better evidence for council activities and better value for residents, bring income for innovation, motivate the workforce and, ultimately and most importantly, deliver a more effective public health function and reduce health inequalities. We will disseminate the work and learning of the HDRC to the public, regionally and nationally through networks (e.g., Applied Research Collaboration, Office for Health Improvement & Disparities) using methods including conferences, articles, infographics and social media.

Research activity codes: 3.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (PREVENTION)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE