Over recent months, we have been actively growing and expanding the involvement of the public in all that we do.

For instance, we have particularly enjoyed being part of different community events held in honour of national awareness days. By coming together we not only met and connected with new people but also learnt from our communities.

Engaging with people in new places and spaces

We worked in partnership with several organisations to hold these events in a variety of public spaces.

Firstly, we discussed diagnostics tests and their accuracy at “Genetics Matters 2025”. This event took place on Sunday 2 March, to mark Rare Disease Day, and was hosted by Newcastle University at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

[Photography by Thomas Jackson for TyneSight Media]

Secondly, we spent Saturday 8 March at Bensham Grove Community Centre in Gateshead.  On this occasion, women shared the health breakthroughs they would like to see with us to help commemorate International Women’s Day.

Thirdly, for World Health Day, on Monday 7 April, we were at a community hub called the “Being Well Place”. We were joined by Newcastle University AGE Research Group, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre and HealthWorks. During the day, we spoke to passers-by and they shared what areas of health they were concerned about with us. The hub is located within the Grainger Market in Newcastle Upon Tyne and is a partnership between Newcastle University’s School of Pharmacy, the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing and Newcastle City Council.

Identifying priorities for people

We heard a wide range of views through these conversations. People talked about over 40 different issues in total, including common health experiences and rare conditions. The most talked about areas were mental health, cancer and dementia. People also shared hopes for improvements in the diagnosis, care and treatment of different conditions, especially around women’s health.

Gary Gibson, a member of our insight panel, said:

”I’ve visited the Grainger Market on countless occasions over the years, but Monday 7 April was different for me – very different!

In my NIHR Insight Panel member role, I was delighted to engage directly with the shoppers and passers-by about their concerns and most vital topics surrounding health research.

This was a stimulating, awareness-raising event which granted me some invaluable insight into what health research actually means to the people of Newcastle.

A definite learning experience for me, and for the people I spoke with; some great information captured as well as an opportunity to promote the work of the NIHR to a wide range of passers-by. I’d definitely regard this as something of a success on multiple fronts.”

We are delighted that several people we met, through these events, are keen to stay connected with us. Consequently, these activities are informing our plans for future events and our approach for engaging with new people. Therefore, please get in touch if you would like to highlight an upcoming event or awareness day that we could support.

You can e-mail us at: nihr.hrc-dxtecheval@newcastle.ac.uk