Neighbourhood Health Lab

• Dr Ian Litchfield - Co-Lead, Senior Research Fellow
• Dr Chris Bird - Co -Lead, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine
• Dr Fran Dutton – GP, Sparkbrook Children’s Zone
• Dr Arturo Gonzalez-Izquierdo – Senior Research fellow
• Dr James Martin – Senior Research Fellow
• Dr Mark Monahan – Lecturer
• Dr David Shukla - GP Partner and Clinical Research Fellow
• Dr Caroline Wolhuter – Social support practitioner for children and young people

The West Midlands Neighbourhood Health Lab (WM-NHL) is building research capacity and expertise in integrated neighbourhood care by

• Developing skills and providing training for diverse staff and citizen and patient groups
• Fostering new, and nurture existing, research and collaborative networks
• Strengthening the research and service delivery environment by engaging with senior staff from health and social care and a diverse range of community representatives
• Developing a series of tools and metrics capable of the consistent evaluation of a range of multi-disciplinary neighbourhood care offers.

The metrics, methods and groups involved in the WM-NHL have been coordinated in support of the West Midland’s move to Neighbourhood Multi-Disciplinary Teams. More specifically it was established in response to NHS recommendations for “robust evaluations…” of Neighbourhood MDTs “…that engages with underserved communities, working with them as equals to design and deliver services, particularly with specific communities that have been historically underserved” (Para 18) (1).

The core team and its partners in health and social care and local communities will continually review the latest methodologies and frameworks to ensure they continue to use best practice in delivering high-quality collaborative health and care research.

1. Neighbourhood Health Guidelines 2025/26

The Lab’s first NIHR funded project epitomises our approach by partnering with local communities and health care providers to co-produce England’s first evaluative toolkit specifically designed for consistent evaluation of multi-disciplinary neighbourhood care.The Lab team is also involved in a number of projects related to neighbourhood level health care.

These include studies increasing the diversity of research participation both in primary care research via NHSE’s Research Engagement Network, and in children and young people with Type 1 Diabetes via the RfPB funded ImpacTID project.

Members of the Lab are also part of the group delivering and evaluating the Sparkbrook Children’s Zone, a neighbourhood-based multi-disciplinary care offer based in South Birmingham, are supporting the evaluation of the Fairer Futures Fund, a community led initiative funded by the local ICB and led by Birmingham and Solihull councils; and leading the Birmingham Digital Health Co-production Initiative.

The methodological landscape in healthcare research is evolving in recognition of the key role of genuine and equitable partnerships between local communities and service providers in delivering and evaluating neighbourhood care.

Insights from a range of service leads and providers, and patients and the public, have been integral to the development of The Lab and will continue to be central to the management and delivery of its work.

If you are a member of the public or a clinician/policy maker and would like to find out more about the Lab’s work, or contribute to the toolkit project directly then then please check back on this website soon for further details on how to get involved.

• Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC)– Community Research Team
• NIHR HealthTech Research Centre, Community Health
• Birmingham Health Partners
• Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
• Department of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham
• West Midlands Health Technology Innovation Accelerator
• Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• GreenSquareAccord, Early Years and Social support

Neighbourhood-based MDTs

• Litchfield I, Harper L, Syed M, Dutton F, Melyda M, Wolhuter C, Bird C. Understanding the influence of leadership, organisation, and policy on delivering an integrated child health and social care service in community settings: A qualitative exploration using the SELFIE framework. Health Policy. 2025 October 3:105335. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105335.
• Litchfield I, Harper L, Syed M, Dutton F, Melyda M, Wolhuter C, Bird C Understanding the influences on the design and delivery of an integrated child health and social care service in underserved communities in the UK: A qualitative exploration using the SELFIE framework Health Policy. October 2025 doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2025.105458
• Bird C, Dutton F, Kaur S, Wolhuter C, Litchfield I. Early activity and impact of a neighbourhood multidisciplinary team that integrates health and social support for underserved children and young people in Birmingham, UK: an observational study. BMJ Paediatrics Open. 2025;9:e003935. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2025-003935
• Bird C, Harper L, Muslim S, Yates D, Litchfield I. Exploring the design and impact of integrated health and social care services for children and young people living in underserved populations: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2025;25(1):1359.
• Melyda M, Monahan M, Bird C, Roberts T, Harper L, Litchfield I. Integrating health care and early years support for children and young people living in deprivation: a cost-effectiveness analysis of the Sparkbrook Children’s Zone integrated clinic versus usual primary care in Birmingham, UK. BMJ Paediatrics Open. 2025;9(1):e003249.

Neighbourhood-based public health

• Litchfield, I., Knight, A., Howell-Jones, R., Miller, D., Sweeney, Z., Walsh, M., Harper, L. (2025). Mixed-method evaluation of the Fairer Futures Fund: a£ 22.2 m public health initiative designed to reduce health inequalities in Birmingham and Solihull (UK). Frontiers in public health, 13, 1658646.

Neighbourhood-based digital health

• Litchfield I, Delanerolle G, Harper L, Dunning S, Understanding Acceptability of AI Triage Tools Amongst Underserved Populations: Lessons From the Early Phases of Co-Production With Bangladeshi Communities in Birmingham, UK, Health Expectations 28 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70523.
• Litchfield, I, Delanerolle G, Juffs H, Bloxham S, Dunning S, Harper L. Increasing the inclusivity of digital health co-production: An integrative review of the latest evidence. Frontiers in digital health 7 (2025): 1636469.

For more information about the West Midlands Neighbourhood Health Lab, contact Dr Ian Litchfield.