UHDB team partners with local community group to increase diversity in Diabetes research
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton's (UHDB) clinical research and involvement team partnered with local group, Community One, to hold their first event promoting the importance of diversity in diabetes research and recruiting more participants from underserved communities.
On Tuesday 27 February, Clinical Research Practitioner & Inclusion and Involvement Manager, Sam Hussain, led a presentation sharing the importance of diverse representation in research to approximately 100 women at the Pakistani Community Centre in Derby. This programme of work is led by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) to improve the participation of individuals from underrepresented and historically excluded groups in healthcare research so providers can develop the right care services to suit these community's needs and reduce health inequalities.
Currently UHDB is involved in several commercial research trials aimed at patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, led by Dr Emma Wilmot. We know we can do more to increase participation in these trials among underserved groups and this work starts with engaging communities and sharing the positive health benefits to taking part.
Sam is passionate about achieving healthcare equality and improving outcomes for all communities, particularly in her research specialty, Diabetes. She was awarded the Clinical Research Network East Midlands under-served communities grant, aimed at improving recruitment of under-served communities in research. Increasing awareness about research within these communities helps to address barriers to participation and identify ways to encourage involvement from groups that are often overlooked, causing gaps in healthcare research and ultimately, health and care services. Sam was awarded this grant for 2023/24 to support her work in Diabetes and improving uptake in underserved communities in UHDB's current and future diabetes research trials.
Sam developed strong partnership links with Community One, a local social enterprise providing culturally specific support to Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in Derby. They run a women-only hub which provides support services and classes for local women, which was the perfect opportunity for Sam to promote research and drive recruitment to UHDB trials.
On the day, Sam discussed why research matters, benefits of taking part, current diabetes clinical trials taking place at UHDB, and invited a community champion to share their lived experience of living with type 1 diabetes and her experience participating in one of the research trials.
Attendees also went home with merchandise including tote bags and were provided with hot lunch on the day, which were supported by the awarded grant. The event was successful, and Sam received positive feedback from attendees on the day, such as ‘That was brilliant’’, ‘’What's next Sam, what have you got planned for us next’’, ‘’Can we really find out all research on the be part of research platform?’’.
Sam commented, 'I am really pleased with the turnout and engagement from the ladies at the hub, it was really encouraging to see so many people interested in learning more about research and why it's important to take part, and I even heard back from some of them who wanted to learn more about current trials. This is really important as we know from data that areas and population groups with the highest prevalence of diabetes diagnosis are also the least represented in research’.
'We know that research plays a key role in high quality, evidence-based healthcare and this should be equitable and reflected in the care that communities receive. Lack of diversity in research ultimately leads to gaps in healthcare and inequalities which result in poorer outcomes for the affected community groups’.
Out of all the attendees, ten had Diabetes, and as a direct result from this event several people contacted the trial team about the new M3 trial have been screened and are now eligible to take part. Sam will continue promoting diabetes research across Derby and Burton. The CRN grant has already shown that engaging with one local community using a tailored approach can perhaps be a 'model' approach we can use in other areas of research. This grant enabled us to promote diabetes trials but with the correct funding and expertise this can be replicated in all areas enabling us to see the representation that really exists in our patient population at UHDB.
Nearly 60,000 Derbyshire adults are currently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and more than 70,000 are pre-diabetic and are at a higher risk of developing the condition. We know that a higher proportion of this number will be from underserved and deprived community groups, and our research is lacking in clear data from these groups so that healthcare providers can make stronger clinical decisions around patient care and deliver better outcomes for population groups.
To learn more about taking part in research visit Be Part Of Research (nihr.ac.uk).
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Diabetes research trials
FreeDM2 Trial
To determine whether real-time glucose monitoring with FreeStyle Libre 3 device improves glucose control over a 16 or 32 week period compared to self-monitoring of blood glucose (standard care).
Inclusion criteria
- Aged 18 years or over
- Have Type 2 diabetes diagnosed over 1 year
- Type 2 diabetes treated with a basal insulin injection regimen and SGLT2 inhibitor (unless SGLT2i therapy is contraindicated or has been previously tried and not tolerated) and/or GLP-1 or dual GIP and GLP1 receptor agonist, with or without other oral antihyperglycaemic therapy at enrolment. Willing to wear the FreeStyle Libre 3 glucose sensor as part of a research study
M3 Research Trial
The impact of a holistic multifactorial management intervention in adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes (aged 16 to 45 years): The M3 randomised controlled trial.
Inclusion criteria
- Type 2 diabetes
- Aged between 16 and 45
- Were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes before the age of 40
- HbA1c ≥6.0% (≥42mmol/mol) within 3 months of trial enrolment
If you are interested in learning more about our trials and taking part, please contact:
Mobile: 07469037438