Introduction

People from ethnic minority backgrounds are underserved in healthcare and research. We co-developed a checklist to promote good practice for inclusive community patient and public involvement (PPI).

Methods

We worked with three community groups in Bristol to develop the checklist – Dhek Bhal (South Asian community), Malcolm X Elders (African Caribbean community) and My Friday Coffee Morning (predominantly Somali women). We worked with group leaders to better understand the needs of the groups. We visited each group at least three times and used informal and open discussions tailored to how each group preferred to work. We paid for community leaders’ time, interpretation and transport where needed, as well as contributing towards activities and catering as suggested by group leaders.

Results

The checklist covers 4 broad themes:

1. Link building – understand the community, gauge interest in topic, build trust and relationships, visit regularly and return to update

2. Practicalities – visit the communities in their usual space, understand most appropriate meeting formats, consider translation and transport

3. 3. During the meeting – avoid jargon, be informal and flexible, build in social time, provide culturally preferred food

4. 4. Giving back – acknowledge the value of people's time, identify preferences for reimbursement, look for opportunities to give back

To complement the checklist, we produced a visual output in the form of an illustration created by a local artist.

Discussion

We hope this checklist will facilitate meaningful involvement of people from underserved communities in all stages of research, including identifying research priorities, co-design, research management and dissemination.