University of Hertfordshire researchers raise over £600 for children's hospice
Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire have raised more than £600 for a children’s hospice by match-donating money with survey respondents during their latest research project.
Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire have raised more than £600 for a children’s hospice by match-donating money with survey respondents during their latest research project.
The University’s Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team’s (PHIRST) project, led by Senior Research Fellow Nigel Lloyd, involved researching workplace health and wellbeing in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Walsall, West Midlands.
Working in partnership with Walsall Council’s Public Health team, they required local SMEs to complete a survey and participate in interviews to obtain the required research data. To encourage local businesses to take part, the University volunteered to donate money to the Acorns Children’s Hospice in Walsall for every SME that participated, raising £605 in total.
Mr Lloyd, alongside Walsall Council’s Public Health team, gave the money to the hospice – which provides specialist palliative care for babies, children and young people, and support for their families - during a cheque presentation on Thursday, 8 June.
He said: “We were delighted to work with Walsall Council’s Public Health team to look at ways to improve the health of people in their local community, and grateful that so many businesses supported us with this important research. This project was particularly special as it meant we were able to support Acorns Children’s Hospice by providing a small donation for the valuable work they do supporting and bringing some comfort to babies, children, young people and their families at the most difficult time.”
Councillor Gary Flint, Portfolio Holder for Wellbeing, Leisure and Public Spaces at Walsall Council, said: “This was an important study exploring workplace wellbeing in Walsall. We were pleased to have worked with the University of Hertfordshire’s PHIRST team to conduct the research and hear from local businesses about their experiences of improving health and wellbeing among the workforce.
“The study has also raised vital funds for Acorns, in which one of their centres is based in Walsall. We are grateful to all those who participated and shared their experiences. This will help Walsall partners and employers to further develop health and wellbeing support offered in the workplace.”
The Herts PHIRST team are part of the National Institute Health Research (NIHR) PHIRST programme which connects local authorities with research experts to evaluate and provide guidance on public health initiatives to improve people’s health in their local communities, reducing health inequalities in the UK.
Working in partnership with researchers, local authorities can gain insights and learnings about their public health schemes, enabling them to review and improve the delivery of services and ensure they are tailored to people’s needs. To find out more about this important work, please visit the research project website