Developing a toolkit for increasing the participation of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in health and social care research.

BACKGROUND: It is recognised that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations are generally underrepresented in research studies. The key objective of this work was to develop an evidence based, practical toolkit to help researchers maximise recruitment of BAME groups in research. METHODS: Development of the toolkit was an iterative process overseen by an expert steering group. Key steps included a detailed literature review, feedback from focus groups (including researchers and BAME community members) and further workshops and communication with participants to review the draft and final versions. RESULTS: Poor recruitment of BAME populations in research is due to complex reasons, these include factors such as inadequate attention to recruitment strategies and planning, poor engagement with communities and individuals due to issues such as cultural competency of researchers, historical poor experience of participating in research, and lack of links with community networks. Other factors include language issues, relevant expertise in research team and a lack of adequate resources that might be required in recruitment of BAME populations. CONCLUSIONS: A toolkit was developed with key sections providing guidance on planning research and ensuring adequate engagement of communities and individuals. Together with sections suggesting how the research team can address training needs and adopt best practice. Researchers highlighted the issue of funding and how best to address BAME recruitment in grant applications, so a section on preparing a grant application was also included. The final toolkit document is practical, and includes examples of best practice and 'top tips' for researchers.

How a link nurse ensured equal treatment for people of Asian origin with dementia.

A review of services for older people with dementia from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in Wolverhampton found that these groups were under represented in mental health services. Problems included a lack of information about and awareness of services, confusion about the mental health condition and a reluctance to ask for help. The review also highlighted that the proportion of older people with dementia from BME groups is set to increase significantly. It made several wide ranging recommendations to improve access to and uptake of services for these groups, which led to the creation of an Asian link nurse role specifically for Punjabi speaking people of Asian origin. This practitioner is a qualified community psychiatric nurse, who speaks Punjabi, related languages and English, and understands the relevant cultural issues. This model has been used elsewhere and we believe it should be adopted more widely to ensure equal access to culturally appropriate services for older people from BME groups.