Research engagement with people who have experienced homelessness

People who are homeless and vulnerably housed are among the most excluded and marginalised in Dorset. Co-creating inclusive ways of involving them in research could have long-lasting impact on the community, on the relevance and impact of our research, and could contribute to the development of involving other communities who are under-served by research.

This project is a community-led project conducted in collaboration with community researchers with lived experience of homelessness and being vulnerably housed.

It has been funded by the Research Engagement Network (REN) Programme, an initiative by NHS England which provided funding to Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) across the country to bring the voice of people and communities into health and care research.

In Dorset, we chose to focus on designing ways of capturing the diversity of who is (and who is not) currently involved in research and connecting with people who have experience of being homeless and/or vulnerably housed.

The project, led by Dr Helena Posnett, Consultant in Public Health and Trust lead for Health Inequalities at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, was a collaboration with health, social care, community, lived experience and academic partners including BU’s PIER Partnership.

Gaining perspectives from lived experience 

Working alongside trusted community partners and community researchers (those with lived experience of the topic being explored) since October 2023, the project has enabled those who have experienced homelessness and being vulnerably housed to design how they want to be involved and have a voice in research.

The Lantern Trust in Weymouth, The HealthBus Trust in Bournemouth, and Bournemouth University PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) Partnership recruited, mentored and supported community researchers with lived experience to participate in the project and reach out to people in their wider communities and networks to build a better understanding of involvement in research from lived experience perspectives. 

In collaboration with those with lived experience, this part of the REN project became known as ‘I am more than…’

What's been done so far:

We have:

• recruited, mentored, and supported community researchers with lived experience of homelessness,

• developed participatory and co-produced approaches to ensure marginalised voices and perspectives were heard

• delivered a lived experience led system stakeholder event to raise awareness of what having a voice in research means. 

The project has led to active involvement of people with lived experience of homelessness and no prior involvement in research, as well as the development of a flexible voluntary and community sector (VCS) model for involvement in research. 

It has also created further opportunities for the PIER Partnership, The Lantern Trust and HealthBus to collaborate on health and social care research and service development. 

What's next:

With continuation funding from CRN (Clinical Research Network) Wessex and from NHS England, we are continuing to build on this work by embedding the community research model and building the capacity of the community researchers (those with lived experience) and community partners to inform research and service development across Dorset, amplifying the voice and influence of marginalised groups who are most affected by health and social inequalities.

We hope to: 

• Develop and deliver practical tools to raise awareness of what having a voice in research means, among persons actively delivering research in Dorset.
• Co-design with wider VCS partners how they would like to be involved.
• Build VCS capacity to engage in research (e.g. deliver training)
• Inform the development of Our Dorset Insights Hub and supporting infrastructure to enable the sharing of learning and opportunities.