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Welcome to our Centre

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Who we are?
The Centre for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Health East Midlands aims to reduce ethnic health inequalities in the East Midlands.

How do we do this?
We do this by working with patients, the public, community and voluntary sectors, researchers and health and social care organisations.
There are major health issues within all BME communities in the East Midlands, but crucially, there are significant disparities in health equalities. There is a higher prevalence of certain illnesses within specific communities and there are major concerns regarding access to healthcare.
The Centre primarily focuses on addressing these inequalities by:
  • Inspiring community led research
  • Developing and promoting culturally sensitive resources
  • Raising awareness about community engagement
  • Encouraging active research participation
  • Collaborating with researchers to widen participation 
What are we doing at the moment?

We are currently working on a number of exciting projects, including...
Translating the Leicester Self-Assessment Questionnaire for South Asians

The Leicester Self-assessment Risk score (LSAS) is an example of a validated risk score that has been developed for use in a multi ethnic population for detecting undiagnosed Type 2 Diabetes and those at high risk of developing diabetes in the next 10 years. We used a translation model to produce conceptually linguistic equivalent versions in Gujarati, Bengali and we are currently on the stage five with the Gurmukhi Punjabi which is to be ready soon. 
PARADES

The booklet ‘Advance Planning for People with Bipolar Disorder’ has been available as part of the PARADES (Psychoeducation, Anxiety, Relapse, Advance Directive Evaluation and Suicidality) work for some time. Devised with a specific mental illness in mind, the resource serves to inform readers about the Mental Capacity Act 2007 and about ways in which people can make advance plans to cater for any future eventuality in which their ‘mental capacity’ is questioned, reduced or lost.
 
Following focus groups and other activities, feedback received from the BAME communities asked for the resource to be simplified and redeveloped to meet their needs. The booklet is now being redesigned to accommodate a broader spectrum of conditions and the language used is to be user-friendly and understood. An emphasis has been place on the fact that Images should reflect the community we want to engage with and inform.
 
The programme will also develop the use of social media, presentations and a short film to raise better awareness. We will keep you posted on developments of this programme.
100,000 Genome Project

The 100,000 genome project involves DNA mapping the blood and tumours of cancer patients (as well as the blood of patients with rare inherited diseases) to help us understand the causes of tumours, thereby allowing for therapies to be targeted more effectively in the future.

Reaching out into communities to explain the risk of diseases and the importance of engaging with healthcare systems can be challenging if little is known about one's family history, where relatives are abroad or where there are cultural barriers or taboos. The Centre for BME Health has been working alongside the clinical genetics team at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust to meaningfully engage with the African Caribbean Community through a series of awareness sessions. This has resulted in the effective engagement of over 600 new individuals.
Raising Awareness and prevention of type 2 DIAbeTEs (RADIATE)

The aim of the project is to increase the awareness of diabetes prevention, including physical activity and dietary interventions amongst BME populations. Through this project, we have carried out a programme of outreach activities including community-based physical activity classes and health eating workshops. We are working with several partner organisations including: Black churches, National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (Loughborough University), Leicester City CCG and Silverstar charity. Community engagement events have attracted more than 300 participants. We are in the process of conducting a thorough evaluation of the implementation of the findings of the study. 
Sickle Cell Awareness Campaign

In association with North London CLAHRC we are supporting a campaign to raise awareness of sickle cell, especially amongst BAME communities. The condition is a genetic blood disorder affecting about 15,000 people in England, but two out of three people with it say doctors and nurses are not providing enough information. People with sickle cell disease and their families told researchers that greater awareness of the condition and more information about coping with pain and treatment options would improve their experiences.
 
Dr Subarna Chakravarty, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist, Kings College Hospital, London recently went on SABRAS Radio to talk about the condition, the research that has been conducted and more importantly what local health service providers need to do to support better awareness amongst local communities. To hear the interview, click here.

For more information on the campaign please visit our website. 
What can we offer?

One of our aims is to involve healthcare professionals, researchers, and members of the community in the work we carry out, to promote health equality and address the health needs of all communities.
  • Are you interested in finding out more about the work we carry out to explore opportunities for collaboration with your organisation?
  • Do you require support with engaging and involving communities which are crucial to your project/organisation?
  • Do you require support with organising and/or facilitating focus groups, meetings or awareness raising events?
  • Are you or your organisation in need of training on how to engage effectively and meaningfully with BME communities?
Get in touch
How much will it cost?
We are able to offer a bespoke package of support with costings tailored to you or your organisation depending on your requirements.
Why choose us?

The Centre has already been busy collaborating with various organisations, and the following testimonials show the level of satisfaction with the support we provided:

“We literally couldn’t have done it without the support provided from the service, as we do not have the knowledge of the needs of the communities we were seeking to recruit.”Natasha Bayes, University of Northampton, March 2017

“Very pleased with the service provided… Process was well organised from recruiting phase through to execution of focus group, the team was responsive and communicative throughout the process.”Anonymous, April 2017

"We are delighted to have developed links with the BME Centre for East Midlands through our community raising awareness of common cancers, to explain the risk of diseases and the importance of engaging with healthcare systems can be challenging if little is known about one's family history where relatives are abroad or where there are cultural barriers or taboos. This has involved spending time reaching out into the community and attending events and giving talks as well as using local community champions to improve access, build trust, provide cultural  understanding  within the African Caribbean community and  advice and mentoring/support to patients through their clinical journey.  We are keen to continue to work even more closely with the Centre for BME Health in the very near future to continue to make a difference." – J Barwell, 100,000 Genome Project, July 2017
 
 
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Copyright © 2017 CLAHRC East Midlands, All rights reserved.


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