NIHR podcast spotlights RESPIRE CEI activity

RESPIRE’s Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) activity has been highlighted in an NIHR podcast on mobile, stateless and displaced communities.

The latest episode of the NIHR's podcast series, Spotlight on CEI: Leaving no one behind, focuses on engaging and involving mobile, stateless and displaced communities.

Featuring RESPIRE colleagues Kay Nathan (Research Manager based at Universiti Malaya) and Farzana Khan (Knowledge Mobilisation Hub Co-Chair based at Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation (FKRF)), the episode explores some of the challenges that stateless communities experience in terms of being involved and engaged with health research.

Kay and Farzana draw on examples from their work engaging with marginalised communities in Sabah, Malaysia and the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Podcast: Engaging and involving mobile, stateless and displaced communities
From left to right: Jo Vearey, Kay Nathan, Farzana Khan and Gary Hickey
Image credit: NIHR

 

Episode details

Gary Hickey, NIHR Senior Research Manager for Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement hosts this episode and is joined by Dr Jayakayatri Jeevajothi Nathan, Research Manager at Universiti Malaya, Farzana Khan, Chief Executive Director of Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation, and Jo Vearey, Associate Professor at the African Centre for Migration and Society, University of the Witwatersrand.

Together, they discuss what is meant by leaving no one behind, the impact and challenges of engaging mobile, stateless and displaced communities in their research, and community engagement and involvement (CEI) tips.

About the speakers

Kay Nathan collaborated with the RESPIRE team in Sabah, Malaysia, who are developing a clinical algorithm for diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in resource-limited settings. Her efforts focus on engaging stateless communities who face compounded challenges — legal barriers, societal stigma, and high illiteracy rates — that limit their access to healthcare. 

Through community outreach, Kay raises awareness, dispels misconceptions about tuberculosis, and reducing stigma, adapting health information into pictorial formats and videos in local dialects to bridge literacy gaps. Inspired by the principle of “leave no one behind,” her commitment is to create trust and ensure these marginalised communities have access to essential healthcare, overcoming barriers step by step.

Farzana Khan, a Bangladeshi physician, scientist, and CEO of the Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation (FKRF), holds a PhD in Global Health from the University of Edinburgh. With a professional background encompassing palliative care and public health, her research endeavours centre on investigating the delivery and impact of quality palliative care in marginalised environments such as urban slums and humanitarian settings in low- and middle-income countries.

Farzana’s contributions extend to her collaboration with the UN-IOM in Cox's Bazar, where she has been pivotal in establishing palliative care services in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Stakeholder Engagement in Global Health Research: A Resource Guide

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An overview of the impact that RESPIRE projects have in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Pakistan.

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