What happens when communities help shape the conversation about health?

Ahead of the THE Awards on 26 November, our Partners have been speaking with those shortlisted for the AQ-sponsored awards, hearing the stories behind their submissions and learning more about the people, ideas and achievements making a real difference across higher education. It’s been a great opportunity to hear directly about their work and share the impact they’re having across the sector.

In this interview, Elliott Rae spoke to Amina Ismail, Senior Community Mobiliser at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), about their shortlisted submission for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community.

An illustrated pregnancy journey. A comic about finding mental health support. Puppets opening up conversations about cancer screening. These are some of the approaches being used by ReCITE, an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), to tackle health inequalities across the Liverpool City Region. For Amina, communities already have ideas about what needs to change. What they often lack is the opportunity and support to put those ideas into practice.

Bringing international experience closer to home

LSTM’s involvement grew from its work with communities in the Global South. During the pandemic, a local authority approached the institution to explore whether that experience could help address low COVID-19 vaccination uptake locally.

The work highlighted the value of storytelling in helping people discuss concerns and build trust.

ReCITE developed from those foundations. Its Community Innovation Teams bring together local people, healthcare professionals, voluntary organisations, local authorities and creatives across the Liverpool City Region.

Communities identify the priorities. Teams then examine health data alongside local people’s experiences to understand the barriers and develop hyper local solutions. As Amina puts it: “Context matters and hyper-local insights matter.”

Helping expectant mothers navigate care

The Lighthouse Community Innovation Team focused on low uptake of the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccination among migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women in North Liverpool.

Women with first-hand experience of navigating maternity services helped shape the response alongside health professionals. The team created a short film in different languages and an illustrated pregnancy journey explaining available care and local support.

According to Amina, the pregnancy resource has reached 8,500 mothers and been incorporated into hospital and primary care communications. This community focused approach has also helped improve maternity records relating to language, ethnicity and asylum-seeker status.

Making support easier to find

In Sefton, another team has focused on adolescent mental health and neurodiversity. Families described confusion about available support. Parents whose children did not meet the threshold for specialist mental health services could experience this as a rejection, without knowing where else to turn.

The team developed a fold-out map explaining local services and a small illustrated magazine, or “zine”, combining practical information with comics, poetry and stories from young people and parents. Those stories offer something a directory alone cannot: the experience of someone who has faced similar difficulties and found support.

What can other universities learn?

Universities can contribute research expertise, data and networks. They can help community organisations demonstrate impact, strengthen funding applications and bring local people into conversations with health professionals.

Doing this well means valuing the knowledge that comes from personal experience. Roles such as Amina’s help build the relationships between communities, researchers and services that make this possible.

ReCITE shows how an institution’s international experience can support change close to home. It also raises a useful question: what could become possible if communities had more opportunities to shape the services and conversations that affect their health?

We’re looking forward to celebrating the achievements and successes of higher education institutions across all the awards next month, and recognising the fantastic work taking place across the sector. To see the full shortlist of the THE Awards, visit their website at https://the-awards.co.uk/2026/en/page/shortlist.