Birmingham is a city of great vibrancy, great diversity and also great need.
Many healthcare practitioners lack the confidence and experience to efficiently welcome, put at ease, listen to and provide the best care for members of each of our many communities, taking into account their differing health, communication and access requirements (BLACHIR 2022, Ryder 2019, Cox & Simpson 2020).
This continues to result in poor experiences leading to mistrust and a lack of engagement among certain communities, entrenching health inequalities that negatively affect the health, mental health, employment, social mobility and wider wellbeing of our residents (BLACHIR 2022).
Flourish in collaboration with Birmingham City University, Public Health and community organisations around the city, has created a unique Community and Cultural Immersion programme, which provides opportunities for established and emerging healthcare practitioners and researchers to continue their professional development by spending 5 days with partner community organisations and schools across the city, establishing a first-hand understanding of and relationships with our diverse communities.
Project objectives:
- To explore the effectiveness of immersive pedagogy in developing personal attributes of cultural humility.
- To examine the relationship between embodied learning through immersive experiences and the understanding, knowledge, and practice of cultural humility.
- To evaluate the longitudinal impact of the Community and Cultural Immersion program for healthcare staff and students
Project Team
This project addresses systemic challenges including health inequalities and institutional bias, through collaboration with community organisations, offering participants the opportunity to learn from and build trust with underrepresented communities.
The research will inform healthcare curriculum and add to the body of knowledge that supports culturally humble practice in healthcare.
For more information, contact Kathryn.sethi@bcu.ac.uk.