Research Nurse Rumbi Gore blogs about her role for International Nurses Day 2024:
I am very privileged to be able to work as a nurse in the first dedicated community research team in Greater Manchester. Our goal over the last 12 months has been to bring research to the wider community and allow people from underserved groups to be better represented in the research we do here at the NCA.
In so doing, we have helped bridge the gap between academia and community; allowing the community to influence how we do research, which events we attend and how we choose studies based on the reported needs of our local communities.
Relationships
The enthusiasm that third party organisations have shown for working with our research team has been remarkable and we’ve built relationships with key stakeholders within the community.
A key study we are doing within the community research team is the Genes and Health study which is looking at the health of people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage. It’s a pioneering large scale genetics study with a cohort exceeding 60,000 participants in the UK.
The preliminary results from the study have shown the importance of selecting culturally inclusive studies within our portfolio. Results thus far have shown that there’s a genetic variant that is responsible for 57% of people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage having lower responsiveness to clopidogrel (a drug often given to cardiac patients to prevent the formation of dangerous blood clots) compared to their European counterparts. This is due to a genetic variant that doesn’t allow clopidogrel to activate when taken. As this is a staple medication used in cardiovascular care, this research will help medics when prescribing for people of South Asian ancestry.
This goes to show the importance of diversity and inclusion within research.
Equitable access
In engaging with the local communities in Rochdale and Oldham, we have had open discussions about what their research needs and wants are, and we are now better equipped and able to find and deliver studies that help improve the health of our underserved and underrepresented groups that may have lacked equitable access in the past.
I have never felt prouder as a research nurse than when seeing first hand that the work we have done in a short space of time has yielded results like this; results that show how important inclusivity and diversity is in securing good clinical outcomes for people from marginalised groups. The Genes and Health study has illuminated the path toward equitable healthcare provision for all.
As we continue as a community research team, we remain steadfast in our commitment to championing inclusivity and advancing health equity within our local community.