My name is Sarah Bowkley, and I am the Public Involvement Manager for a research project at the University of Birmingham. I work closely with Dr Sophie-Christin Ernst, an ophthalmologist and the lead researcher for this phase of the project. We are exploring whether eye scans taken during routine eye tests could help identify people who may be at higher risk of conditions such as stroke. The project uses artificial intelligence (AI) to look for patterns in eye images that may be linked to future health conditions.
We are committed to ensuring that local community voices have the opportunity to help shape this research. We would like to hear people’s views on topics such as trust, accessibility, communication, and whether an approach like this would work well for their community.
We would be delighted to attend any existing community sessions between October and December to listen, learn more about your community, and begin building a relationship. We would then hope to hold a dedicated discussion with community members in January 2027 and would welcome the opportunity to work with you to identify the best approach for your group.
For anyone who chooses to take part in these discussions, we can offer payment in line with NIHR public involvement guidance (£27.50 per hour), either as vouchers or by bank transfer.
I would love the opportunity to discuss this further and learn whether this might be of interest to your organisation. If it would be helpful, I would be happy to arrange a call at a time that suits you.
Best wishes,
Sarah
Tags
community research, health inequalities