The University of Birmingham are delighted to present this event, part of the Economic and Social Research Council Festival of Social Science 2017. This event is open to local residents and users of healthcare services in Handsworth and Edgbaston.
It is organised by UPWEB, a three year long research project looking at the ways individuals in diverse areas access and communicate with healthcare providers; the approaches residents take to optimise their access to healthcare; the ways different types of providers identify need; and the challenges and opportunities service providers face. The event will also compare the ways in which individuals seek to address a health concern in Handsworth and Edgbaston with similar areas in Germany, Portugal and Sweden. The project team, including researchers who have lived and worked in Handsworth, will present the results of the research.
The event will include a short film of the project. A ‘key findings’ paper will also be launched and will be available for participants to take away. The key findings present residents’ experiences of accessing healthcare and providers’ views on healthcare services. We will also discuss issues around language, accessibility and availability of services.
Importantly the event will be interactive and is the opportunity for local residents to have their say on the findings. The research team will also suggest different policy recommendations and provide the opportunity to discuss these options bringing the thoughts of local residents together. These policy recommendations will then be presented at an event for national level policy makers. Participation in this event will inform discussions on the way in which residents seek and providers deliver services in diverse areas and suggest how resident centred perspectives can help to shape these recommendations.