Harnessing the power of research to address health care disparities - Professor Shakila Thangaratinam takes the lead
We’ve been inspired this week by our esteemed colleague Professor Shakila Thangaratinam, who will be Research and Development Lead for our Women’s Hospital and Deputy Director of Research and Development for the Trust. Professor Thangaratinam will work towards closer alignment of clinical and academic networks across both the University of Birmingham and our Trust to improve health of mothers and babies.
Professor Thangaratinam is an NIHR Senior Investigator and co-Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health at University of Birmingham. She previously led the Women’s Health Research and Development at Barts Health NHS Trust. Professor Thangaratinam spoke with us about what her new position will entail and her future ambitions towards improving outcomes for women in Birmingham, the region, and globally.
“In my new role, I am keen to facilitate a seamless integration of academia and clinical practice, and nurture the research ambitions of our trainees, midwives, nurses and allied health professionals and Consultant colleagues across various disciplines. Women’s voices will be central to our research development and delivery, and I am particularly keen to minimise the health disparities based on gender, race and ethnicity and socio-economic status. We have a unique strength in caring for women across their life course in our Trust from their birth and childhood, to adolescence, reproductive and post-menopausal age; our research will aim to improve their health throughout this journey.”
The new Research and Development Lead role , can be summarised in three parts. First, to undertake high quality research through improved engagement with women, their families and clinicians, and a clear, achievable, and relevant research strategy. Second, to promote capacity building in research with the tools, skills and career development, which is critical to expand and sustain research activities. Third, to work closely with patient and public involvement groups such as The Hildas so that research work addresses the needs of our women and families.
Professor Thangaratinam said
“By working closely with the recently established Dame Hilda Network, we hope to bring together clinicians, academics, women and policy makers working towards improving the health of women and their babies in the region, directly addressing the priorities set out by the Women’s Health Strategy nationally.
“In a digital age, we’re well placed to maximise the power of the data in clinical and academic work. We want all women who visit with us to be given the opportunity to be included in our clinical research. Participation in research itself has been shown to improve their outcomes.”
You can learn more about our facilities and the Women’s Health Strategy
If you liked this, you can read Professor Thangaratinam’s latest article with The Conversation about the appointment of the first Women’s Health Ambassador