Submitted by James Cantwell on Fri, 13/03/2026 - 13:53
The next Inequalities Research Network Monthly Meeting will take place on Monday 23 March 2026 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm, with guest presenter, Emilia Tylenda, Senior Research Assistant based at the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care at the University of Hertfordshire. Contact us to attend the event: Inequalities-Research-Network@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Emilia Tylenda is a core member of Prevention and Early Detection in Health and Social Care theme within the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England. She has an academic background in Linguistics, Education, Criminology, and the Social Sciences. Her research interests include health inequalities - particularly access to preventive healthcare - as well as the social factors that shape health outcomes and involvement with the criminal justice system.
Emilia Tylenda will present on the evaluation of a faith-placed educational intervention co-developed by the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) to boost bowel cancer screening uptake among South Asian Muslim communities in Luton and Peterborough.
This study addresses persistent health inequalities in bowel cancer screening among South Asian Muslim communities in the East of England, where cultural, linguistic and faith-related barriers have led to lower participation and poorer health outcomes. Recognising that early diagnosis is crucial to survival, the research aimed to promote equitable access to screening through a culturally tailored and faith-placed educational intervention co-developed by BIMA and sought to enhance understanding, trust and engagement.
Preliminary findings show that the intervention had an immediate positive impact on participants' attitudes and intentions to undergo screening. Our follow-up data suggest a long-term positive effect on screening uptake. Qualitative data highlight that the intervention can address a range of barriers to screening faced by the population in question. Our study also provides anecdotal evidence of benefits of the intervention going beyond the immediate participants.
What do we cover in IRN Meetings?
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Guest Presentation
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Open forum: Updates from the IRN
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Events
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Wider resources
What is the IRN?
The IRN are a group of researchers, health professionals, and research delivery experts in the East of England, focused on tackling inequalities, boosting diversity in research, and fosteringinclusive public and patient involvement. We meet every two months and connect over our shared interests.
Spanning multiple universities, NIHR institutes and both primary and secondary care, in its first year it has supported a number of researchengagement events with underserved communities and spurred on diverse recruitment in a number of studies.
Invite your colleagues to join the network by registering here. We meet every two months and seek to share learning and offer a platform to network and go on to engage with communities that matter the most to your research.
Contact us with any enquiries: Inequalities-Research-Network@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Find out more here: https://www.phpc.cam.ac.uk/inequalities-research-network