The Nottingham Maternity Research Network have received an award of £1500 from the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) to grow the membership of their service-user group.
The bursary will be used to enhance the current membership and those involved in research studies by women from underserved and diverse communities. They plan to undertake outreach events and use existing networks to involve women from vulnerable and underserved groups, and funds will cover participation expenses.
Professor Helen Spiby, from the Nottingham Maternity Research Network, said: “Our team is delighted to receive this award. This will help us to grow the Nottingham Maternity Research Network from a Nottingham to Nottinghamshire group and to involve more women in advising and informing our research.”
Rachel Munton, Managing Director of EMAHSN, said that “Patient and Public Involvement groups are at the very heart of health service improvement. The East Midlands has a great network made up of many hundreds of volunteers who commit their time to making sure that patients are listened to and that their experiences, ideas and feedback are taken on board by healthcare organisations.
The groups reach out to many people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to contribute, including underserved communities and people living in rural areas without easy access to transport. EMAHSN recognises and values their contribution and these small grants will help to ensure the groups can continue to represent the views of patients and the public on some of the biggest health challenges facing our region.”
Applications for the grants were considered by the East Midlands Patient and Public Involvement (PPI Senate), an independent group of patients and public with varied health service user experience.
Posted on Wednesday 20th July 2016