News - Listening to voices in the community

Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW), with the support of Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA) and many other organisations, has produced a 1,000 Voices Report.

This report and the research that can be found inside aim to provide a better understanding of how communities in Cheshire and Merseyside experienced the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on the health and wellbeing impacts, including how gaps in health inequalities have widened for the most exposed and marginalised communities.

These specific groups included people:

• who don’t have English as a first language
• who are digitally excluded
• living in deprived areas
• aged over 55 who aren’t in education, employment or training.

400 people in total were interviewed using a variety of methods, including face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, group sessions and online video calls.

The responses were collected by community sector organisations across the Cheshire and Merseyside area, including CWVA and its members in west Cheshire.

This research was commissioned by NHS England North Westand forms part of a wider programme of work to make sure that lessons learned from the pandemic are understood and these insights inform work to address health inequalities in the future.

Download a copy of the 1,000 Voices Report