Recipient organisationNIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula
NIHR supportRecorded as supported by this research centre
PeriodFeb 2025 — Jan 2027
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Community Health and Wellbeing Workers are being deployed across Cornwall's most deprived communities, and a research team is now tracking whether this approach actually improves people's lives. This matters because Cornwall faces stark health inequalities. People in the poorest areas die younger and have worse health outcomes than those in wealthier parts of the county. The Community Health and Wellbeing Worker (CHWW) role—a non-clinical support worker embedded in local communities—is intended to bridge gaps that traditional healthcare cannot reach. But without rigorous evaluation, no one knows if the model works, for whom, or how to scale it effectively. The research team will combine interviews with residents and staff, alongside analysis of wellbeing scores and other existing data, to measure the CHWW team's real-world impact. If successful, this evaluation could provide the evidence needed to roll out similar community health worker programmes across other Integrated Care Areas in Cornwall and beyond. The project also builds local research capacity by training CHWW staff in data collection and analysis skills, creating a lasting infrastructure for ongoing improvement.
View original technical description
As part of the national Health Foundation adopting innovation programme, the National Institute of Health and Social Care (NIHR) South West Applied Research Collaboration (PenARC) delivered a progress evaluation of the early implementation of Community Health & Wellbeing Worker’s (CHWW) within the Central Cornwall Integrated Care Area (ICA). The CHWW role is expanding to other ICA’s across the county. PenARC have been requested to support more in-depth evaluation demonstrating the impact of the CHWW team on the most deprived communities across the county. A mixed-methods approach combines quantitative/qualitative data and analysis, with research activity being undertaken by a research fellow and research assistant. These two roles will primarily focus on data capture and analysis, resident/colleague interviews and report writing. The roles will liaise with key members of the CHWW team, including ICA development managers, colleagues from Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) and the CHWW operational support team based within Volunteer Cornwall. Researcher-in-residence (RiR) role: Responsible for designing interview schedules, submitting faculty ethics and collecting qualitative data. Follows a process evaluation model, capturing the evolving role and specifications of the CHWWs and their impact on the service users. Research fellow: Involved in the quantitative data analysis of existing data sets. Bringing together different sets of data to tell the story of the overall implementation of the CHWW role. This may include existing data sources such as Joy and Help at Hand, Meaningful Measures wellbeing scores etc scores etc). Support the RiR in their work where required. Both roles will also participate in research and evaluation capability building including providing research training and skills sharing where appropriate within the CHWWs and other colleagues within the broader CHWW team. It is proposed to undertake more frequent, lighter-touch data collection to facilitate regular reporting and updates about the impact of the CHWW role.
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