About our pilot with Rainbow Home North
Rainbow Home supports LGBTQ+ people in the North East who are seeking sanctuary.
In October 2025 and February 2026 , Rainbow Home hosted two pilot community research awareness sessions – these were coordinated by Newcastle Health Research Partnership (NHRP) and delivered in partnership with Connected Voice Haref, the NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network (NIHR RRDN), the NIHR Clinical Research Facility (CRF) and Newcastle Hospitals.
The pilot sessions explored ways to engage people in health research, build trust, and create meaningful links between research organisations and communities that are traditionally under-represented in research.
The sessions aimed to:
- Raise awareness of health research and what it involves
- Increase understanding of how people can get involved in research
- Gather feedback on content, format and accessibility information
Learning from our first session
Session 1 included an overview of what research is, a video about inclusion in research, a ‘sweet consultation’ exploring questionnaires and outcomes, and an introduction to our research matron.
Feedback from session 1 was positive overall, however there were some suggestions for improvements, including making sure all speakers used plain English and including visuals to explain the research process. Attendees also suggested using photos to help reduce anxiety around research, and making sessions more interactive.
Session 2
Taking onboard feedback from our first session, we invited one of our urology research nurses along to talk about her role. This interactive session included using apple juice to demonstrate how we test urine samples for different conditions.
We also spoke to the group about the trust’s public and patient involvement groups and Research + Me, our research registry.
We had some great feedback from those who attended the session, including:
“Thank you for today’s amazing lecture. I really enjoyed it and learn a lot.”
“Thank you for your kindness and support.”
“Thank you for your effort and care – we really appreciate it.”
"We were delighted to support a session with our group to explore health research and the research facilities at Newcastle Hospitals. Talking with hospital staff alongside interactive exercises helps break down barriers to using health services and demystifies the world of health research.”
Jill Hardie, CEO of Rainbow Home North
Next steps
The learning from the pilot sessions are supporting the development of the community research awareness session. This work is being developed through Creating Connections and supported by NHRP, NIHR RRDN, the NIHR CRF, NIHR HealthTech Research Centre and Newcastle Hospitals. The session format and content are being co‑produced with Involved and Equal.
The aim is to develop standardised and accessible resources, including:
- PowerPoint presentations
- Videos
- Interactive activities
- Facilitator notes
These resources will support practitioners to deliver community research awareness sessions consistently, helping communities understand health research and access opportunities to get involved across research delivery partners.
For more information, contact [email protected], head of public partnerships, Newcastle Health Research Partnership and clinical research at Newcastle Hospitals.
