Co-design
Community work is shaped with people rather than delivered to them.
Co-designed work shaped by trust, context and reciprocal benefit.
HAW connects research and practical tools with people, organisations and settings where health-information decisions happen in everyday life.
Cultural humility
Programmes recognise language, power, history, trust and lived experience.
Reciprocal benefit
Participation creates value for communities as well as evidence and learning.
Community is part of the core platform
Community work tests whether research, tools and learning make sense in real settings.
Activities include listening sessions, co-design workshops, partnerships, training, public information resources and evaluation.
Participation is respectful and transparent
Community activities use meaningful consent, accessible information, appropriate safeguarding and clear explanations of how insights are used.
When stories or lived experience are included, contributors are told whether their words remain private, are anonymised, summarised or published.
- Plain-language participation information.
- Consent and withdrawal processes.
- Safeguarding routes for sensitive topics.
- Fair recognition of community expertise.
- Accessible formats and communication support.
Locally grounded collaboration
HAW works in the UK, across African countries and with African-diaspora communities while keeping each programme grounded in local context.
Programme information identifies partners, aims, evidence basis, ethics, outputs and impact measures.
Listening and insight
Understanding how people judge and use health information.
Co-designed tools
Testing and refining practical resources with intended users.
Learning programmes
Turning community insights into Academy modules and facilitator resources.
References behind this section
These sources make the evidence basis visible and help readers review the guidance, standards and research informing this page.
Reference standard
Community engagement for quality, people-centred health services
World Health Organization
Guides HAW's community-led approach to participation, trust, reciprocal benefit and context-sensitive design.
View sourceUK health standard
Accessible Information Standard
NHS England
Supports clear information and communication support needs, especially for disabled people and people with sensory loss.
View sourceReference standard
Health literacy
World Health Organization
Frames health literacy as a personal and organisational capability shaped by social, economic and communication conditions.
View sourceWeb standard
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2
W3C
Sets the accessibility benchmark used for HAW interface, content and interaction design.
View sourceWork with HAW
Partnerships begin with shared purpose, transparency and a realistic scope of work.