As October has drawn to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Black History Month and this year's theme, Honouring Our Communities. Our Black Health Equity Engagement Team is at the heart of the community and we hear many thoughts and feelings about men’s experiences. This piece captures crucial discussion points that were not simply about recruitment, but also touched on history, relationships, the way research systems operate, and what it means to engage communities with honesty, humility and consistency.
Trust Is Not a Message; It Is a Relationship
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the discussion was that trust cannot be built through a leaflet, poster or one-off invitation to join a study. Mistrust is layered. It is shaped by historical mistreatment, current experiences of healthcare and wider societal issues.
For many people, the question is not simply, "Should I take part in research?" but "Who is asking, why are they asking, and what will happen afterwards?"
Generational narratives, social media and everyday interactions with institutions can shape people’s perceptions for the better or worse. People want to understand not only the purpose of a study, but whether their involvement will genuinely make a difference.
It was imperative to make a crucial distinction around representation. Being from an ethnic group may help open a door, but it is not enough on its own. Credibility can be earned by anyone, but comes from being present, listening, understanding community context and demonstrating integrity over time. Communities can recognise when engagement is tokenistic, extractive or rushed.
Community Engagement Requires More Than Visibility
The conversation naturally moved towards what meaningful community engagement looks like in practice. Organisations need to be present in community spaces before they ask for participation. Prostate Cancer UK have a good reputation, but the foundation of this in our community is our engagement with churches, support groups, local community organisations, and informal networks where conversations are already taking place.
Effective engagement is not limited to delivering information. It involves creating opportunities for genuine dialogue, answering difficult questions and being prepared to hear scepticism without becoming defensive.
There Is No Single Black Community Experience
The discussion explored key differences across African and Caribbean communities while also recognising shared experiences of exclusion and mistrust.
Some African communities may have strong STEM-oriented cultures that encourage engagement with science and medicine, while also holding cultural or faith-based beliefs that can make conversations about cancer difficult. Caribbean communities may have different historical experiences, different relationships with institutions and different perspectives on healthcare and research.
These distinctions matter because there is no single engagement model that works for everyone. Effective engagement with diverse communities requires recognising that people's experiences and perspectives are shaped by a range of influences, including faith, culture, migration history, family expectations, and community norms. This flexibility is essential for ensuring research is inclusive and relevant to all communities.
Research Systems Must Also Change
The need to move beyond viewing low participation in research solely as a "community barrier". While barriers undoubtedly exist, research organisations must also examine how their own systems and practices may exclude or discourage involvement. Participants highlighted issues such as limited diversity in senior leadership, underinvestment in patient and public involvement, and engagement taking place too late in the research process. Another concern was the lack of feedback to participants. People who give their experiences, time, biological samples or personal information deserve to have the result of the study communicated in a relatable voices or real world examples to ensure they understand the impact of their involvement.
Moving From Extraction to Shared Benefit
Expanding on the previous discussion point we moved onto the role community organisations play. Many of which have spent years building trusted relationships, we cannot simply be viewed as a shortcut or a "golden ticket" into Black communities. Genuine partnership requires time, investment, mutual respect and recognition of the expertise that exists within those organisations and communities themselves.
The conversation repeatedly returned to the idea of shared benefit. Engagement with diverse communities should not be about what researchers can gain from them. It should also be about what communities gain from their involvement through increased awareness and greater influence over tangible improvements in health outcomes.
Closing Thoughts
Perhaps the most important insight from the discussion is that the conversation needs to move beyond the question, "How do we recruit Black men into research?"
A better question may be, "How do we become authentic and provide value to the communities we want to work with?”
The discussion highlighted that participation is rarely just a recruitment challenge. Communities are looking for honesty, accountability and evidence that their involvement matters.
The challenge is not simply to increase participation. It is to create the conditions in which participations feels worthwhile, valued and safe. When that happens, research becomes more than a process of gathering data, it becomes a genuine partnership with the communities it seeks to serve.