Abstract
Background: Increasing the diversity of the health and social care workforce leads to improved quality of care for patients, better patient adherence to medical and self-care regimes, and improved outcomes. This paper presents the details of the design, delivery, and evaluation of the Collaboraborative Targeted Outreach Programme (CTOP) which is a culturally competent outreach intervention developed from research and co-designed with people from diverse backgrounds living in Luton, Bedford and Milton Keynes (BLMK), three towns in the UK, to engage with young people, parents, career-switchers and underrepresented groups to improve knowledge, perceptions, status and the numbers of people choosing courses and careers in health and social care.
Approach: The CTOP intervention has been delivered at community events in BLMK. Integral to CTOP is an embedded culturally competent approach to community engagement, utilising bi-lingual community researchers from local communities who were able to develop tailored messages as trusted messengers. Attendees at all CTOP events took part in a healthcare professionals quiz and heard life stories from professionals from diverse backgrounds working in health and social care. School pupils also visited the simulation suite and library. University staff and health and social care professionals were available at all events to answer questions. The BLMK community and school pupils were also invited to watch a live performance of the CTOP play which was developed in collaboration with Komola Collective https://www.komola.co.uk/ and used storytelling to illustrate research findings which focus on the voices and lived experiences of young people, the community, and professionals from underrepresented groups on their views about the challenges and successes related choosing health and social care courses and careers.
Results: The CTOP intervention was able to recruit a wide range of people from diverse ethnic communities who are traditionally under-represented in the health and social care workforce with over 300 people attending the community events, 150 pupils from schools across BLMK also visiting the University of Bedfordshire and 200 people attended to watch the CTOP play by utilising a culturally competent approach to community engagement. The CTOP events were evaluated using a quantitative and qualitative approach and demonstrated that it raised the knowledge, perceptions, and status of health and social care courses and careers. All participants had positive views about attending the CTOP outreach events and said it was a good experience and raised their aspirations.
Implications: Overall the design and delivery of the CTOP intervention was effective in attracting underrepresented communities and engaging with young people, parents, and career-switchers to improve knowledge, perceptions, and status of courses and careers in health and social care. CTOP is underpinned by genuine community engagement and empowerment, which requires dedicated skills, time, and resources to ensure that diversity and inclusion in the NHS workforce becomes more of a reality rather than rhetoric leading to better health, better care, and better value.