Communities Keeping Well (CKW): demonstrating impact of a community centred long term conditions (LTC) prevention programme tackling health inequalities
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Authors
Stef Abrar
Dr Isobel Braithwaite (LBTH)
Diana Fitzwilliam (LBTH)
Mimi Coultas (LBTH)
Dr Elizabeth Walters
Institute for Connected Communities
University of East London (UEL)
Associate Professor Darren Sharpe
Institute for Connected Communities
UEL
Contact
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Issue Date
06-May-26
Type
Conference Abstract
Language
Keywords
Communities cohesion , Neighbourhood health & place-based working , Working with people and communities
Alternative Title
Abstract
Background: 'Communities Keeping Well' (CKW) is a co designed community health partnership in which Public Health and primary care work with residents in eight of Tower Hamlets' most deprived, diverse and multilingual neighbourhoods to prevent long-term conditions.
Programme objectives: CKW uses an asset based co design approach (CSEAD) to generate neighbourhood priorities through street conversations and World Cafés, and then funds and supports peer led activities aligned to these priorities through resident training and participatory budgeting. In parallel, CKW aims to stimulate culture change in primary care towards community centred, hyperlocal prevention.
Stage at submission: Over two years, CKW has engaged more than 4,000 residents and has funded over 130 resident led projects in two Rounds to date. The programme is regarded positively by residents and programme sponsors, and has been shortlisted for two LGC awards.
Methods: We report learning from CKW programme monitoring and an independent, predominantly qualitative evaluation led by UEL, incorporating participatory methods. Evaluation activity has included resident surveys, resident group interviews, interviews with resident project leads, stakeholder surveys, practitioner reflection sheets, and interviews with community coordinators and commissioning staff.
Learning so far: Over two years, CKW has engaged >4,000 residents and funded 136 resident led projects, and has been shortlisted for two LGC awards. Emerging evaluation findings from Round 1 indicate qualitative improvements in health literacy, motivation, physical activity, diet, sleep, confidence and reduced loneliness among participants. Demonstrating impact at scale remains challenging however, and the evaluation approach has been adapted for Round 2, aiming to address key identified barriers to evaluation engagement. These include language and literacy barriers, low trust in statutory services (affecting willingness to share postcode/ethnicity), the administrative burden of collecting anonymised identifiers, and cultural sensitivities e.g. around gender/women-only spaces.
Implications: Early adaptations to strengthen feasibility and equity of data gathering include: incentivising and training resident project leads to support data collection; using multi lingual teams (including volunteers); simplifying measures (e.g. visual response options); and using culturally sensitive consent approaches for creative methods. We recommend that commissioners and evaluators should plan proportionate, culturally-informed and co-produced measurement approaches (and resourcing) when evaluating community centred prevention programmes working with underserved communities.