Health Exchange - Engaging the public in health research
Health research is meaningful to the public and communities when they can understand it and engage with it.
Photo: Merlin/Frederic Courbet
The new issue of Health Exchange - Engaging the Public in Health Research – Sumer 2010 contains a range of articles showing how communities can engage with science and health research. Articles from Brazil, Suriname, Uganda and other countries show examples of interesting projects that open new spaces for the general public to explore what science is, and what health research means for their daily experiences. They also show how scientists and scientific approaches are challenged by local power and knowledge of health and environmental issues.
Please visit: www.healthexchangenews.com
Public engagement with health research is about unlocking scientific inquiry rather than disseminating information. This was the key message to come out of a lunchtime event on 23 June at the Wellcome Trust, in London, to discuss the theme of the latest issue of Health Exchange: Engaging the Public in Health Research.
Sîan Aggett, Public Engagement Adviser for the International Engagement Awards at the Wellcome Trust began by presenting some of the Trust’s work in this area. The Engagement Awards fund projects which aim to open up dialogue between the field of science research and communities or the public. This type of engagement is not about one-way communication or health campaigning. It is rather a way to raise critical awareness of what health research is, and enable citizens to engage critically with science. It also allows scientists situate their research in the local context more thoroughly.
Visit the online space to read and comment on the articles
For more information please email: healthexchange@healthlink.co.uk