Engaging low-income communities in behaviour change research

This event is part of a series of Psychology seminars that regularly occurs during the Autumn and Spring terms.

People in low-income communities in the UK can expect to live 19 years longer in poor health than people in affluent communities. This is partly due to the clustering of behavioural risk factors, e.g., unhealthy diets, smoking, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption. Low-income communities could benefit the most from behaviour change support but have been underrepresented in research.

There is a need to identify innovative approaches to engage these communities in behaviour change research. CHarMINg, a public engagement project, and CHERISH, a research project in partnership with community organisations, aimed to address this evidence gap.

The seminar will focus on the use of creative and social approaches (e.g., fishing, collage, cooking, and photowalks) to engage low-income communities in research about healthy eating and physical activity, and implications for research and practice.