Health research preferences of underserved groups with MLTCs
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring preferences for health research recruitment and research delivery in underserved groups with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs)
IRAS ID
346540
Contact name
Ash Routen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs, also referred to as multimorbidity) refers to the presence of two or more long-term health conditions in a single individual. In groups considered underserved by research and health and social care, the prevalence of MLTCs is higher. ‘Underserved’ is a term used to refer to populations which are underrepresented or disengaged from medical research or services despite a disproportionately high healthcare burden. Examples of underserved groups include, ethnic minority groups, those who are socioeconomically deprived, elderly people, and women.
Research has suggested that participants have preferences for participating in research studies, surrounding initial recruitment strategies (e.g. how participants want to find out about studies). Research has also mainly focused on participants’ preferences regarding dissemination of results. There is limited research on patients with MLTCs and who belong to an underserved group and their research preferences, particularly at the initial study delivery stage, relating to the delivery of research information. It is important to explore participants’ preferences at the study delivery stage as this would enhance engagement with the overall research process as study designs could be tailored around participants’ preferences, thus increasing uptake. (Domecq et al., 2014) By actively seeking out participants preferences for research delivery, this can lead to improvements in research designs, credibility and enrolment rates due to aligning with participants needs.
In this study, the population of interest are individuals who have two or more long-term health conditions, belong to an ethnic minority background (South Asian or Black) and are classified as low socioeconomic status. This qualitative study will use interviews/focus groups to explore participants preferences for taking part in health research, focusing on recruitment and delivery of research. Potential participants will be recruited via a pre-existing dataset, Multi-Ethnic Lifestyle Study database.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/PR/0049
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jan 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion