According to the WHO, healthcare in Europe requires ‘systemic change through innovation’ if it is to respond to the demographic, epidemiological, environmental and technological challenges the region is facing. However, top-down methods of innovation in healthcare, driven by the macro levels of the system, have been struggling to impact the healthcare system at the scale that is required to drive meaningful and sustainable change. It has been widely acknowledged that frontline-led, employee-driven innovation will be the main driver to ensure that innovation in healthcare is human-centred and prioritises the needs of the patients.

This study protocol presents a research project designed to evaluate the experiences of frontline innovators supported by the Irish Health Service Executive’s HSE Spark Innovation programme. The purpose of this research is threefold. First, the findings will further strengthen the provision of support for frontline healthcare professionals, ensuring that they can continue to address the challenges they experience in providing care. Second, the research will provide insight into the structures required to support frontline innovation within the public healthcare sector, forming a starting point for other public sector organisations interested in establishing their own support system for frontline innovation. Finally, it will highlight the impact supporting frontline clinicians to innovate has on service users, staff and the wider healthcare organisation.

A qualitative research design, situated in a phenomenological framework, will be adopted for this research. ‘Participants’ in this study will include staff from the Irish public healthcare system who have obtained innovation support (either funding or human centred design support) from HSE Spark. The participants will be invited to share their experiences of the innovation support they received from HSE Spark, as well as their understanding of the impact of this support on their professional development, their service and the wider healthcare organisation. A stratified purposive sampling approach will be used to ensure the sample provides information-rich representations of individuals’ experiences engaging innovation initiatives supported by HSE Spark. One-to-one, semistructured interviews will be conducted with participants. Transcripts from these interviews will be analysed through a thematic approach, using the data analysis software NVivo. Themes will be derived from the data and used to understand the healthcare professionals’ experiences of engaging with innovation projects and with the support provided to them by HSE Spark. These themes will be used to identify the unspoken needs of innovators within healthcare, the support they need to continue innovating in this sector, and the impact supporting frontline innovation has on the service users, staff and the healthcare organisation.

We used the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) reporting guideline to draft this manuscript, and the SRQR reporting checklist when editing.

Ethics approval for this study has been obtained from HSE Regional Ethics Committee (No. 20251650-RDMLRREC) and Maynooth University Social Sciences Research Committee (Approval Number: SRESC-2025-40031). Dissemination of results will be via journal articles, conference presentations and proceedings. Study findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and through conference presentations. Lay summaries of the findings will also be prepared for distribution in internal Irish Health Service publications. Other dissemination activities include the preparation of a book of case studies and key findings on the challenges of integrating human-centred design into public services, to be presented to the Irish Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

This proof-of-concept study explored the feasibility and acceptability of research cafés as a community-based model to engage racially minoritised communities in health research, with a focus on mental health.

Adopting a community peer research approach, a research team led by researchers from racially minoritised backgrounds, partnered with four voluntary organisations to conduct four research cafés. A mixed-methods feasibility design combined descriptive quantitative questionnaire data with thematic analysis of discussion notes to evaluate the impact of these cafés in South West London.

The study took place in Wandsworth, Kingston, Croydon and Sutton, in community venues provided by the voluntary organisations.

A total of 75 participants from racially minoritised backgrounds attended the sessions. Participants were intentionally selected based on age, ethnicity, location, mental well-being experiences and willingness to engage in mental health research.

Quantitative data were collected on participant attendance, demographics and feedback. Qualitative data captured participant perceptions and experiences related to healthcare and research.

The study took place between October 2023 and March 2024. Out of the 112 individuals who registered, 75 people attended with 74 contributing to the analysis (excluding one on the day sign-up). Participants were predominantly Asian/Asian British (62%) and Black/Black British (31%). All participants reported feeling comfortable and respected. Understanding of research improved for 96% and 95% expressed interest in further research involvement, most commonly the idea of joining a peer research network (64%). Participants also highlighted a need for training in research methods and communication skills for ongoing involvement. Five main themes emerged from the café discussions: (1) systemic barriers to accessing safe healthcare and mistrust of UK healthcare systems; (2) the need for cultural competence and sensitivity in healthcare and research; (3) research as a positive step for change; (4) barriers to research participation and (5) the importance of incentives and feedback for research participation.

Preliminary findings suggest that diverse and inclusive community-based partnerships are the basis for developing research cafés as a feasible and acceptable model for engaging racially minoritised communities in health research. They complement existing participatory approaches by creating inclusive, peer-facilitated spaces that build trust, improve awareness and generate high intention for future involvement and participation. Future studies are needed to test the model’s scalability across different geographic and demographic contexts and evaluate its long-term impact on research literacy, participation and equity.

This project aims to comprehensively examine the incidence of suicidality, individual and population characteristics, and health pathways, for a cohort of Australian veterans using linked administrative data.

The cohort will comprise veterans who are clients of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) residing in Queensland between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022. People currently serving in the Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police personnel, other DVA clients who are not veterans (eg, eligible dependents), and clients currently known to DVA who have requested that their data not be disclosed for research will be excluded. This cohort will be linked to DVA administrative data, the Queensland Hospital Admitted Patients Data Collection (QHAPDC), Queensland Hospital Non-Admitted Patients Data Collection, Emergency Data Collection (EDC), Consumer Integrated Mental Health and Addiction Application (CIMHAA), Queensland Death Register, National Death Index, Medicare Benefits Schedule, Centrelink (Data Over Multiple Individual Occurrences) database and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. These data will be linked for a period of at least 1-year preindex and postindex contact with DVA, such that the entire study period is expected to encompass at least 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2023.

This study received ethical approval from the Departments of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC; Project ID: 556-23), and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare HREC (Project ID: EO2024/1/1461). This project also received Public Health Act approval (File reference: PHA 556-23). The project was ratified by the University of Queensland HREC (Project ID: 2024/HE002153). The findings of this project will be disseminated via a publicly available report, presentations and peer-reviewed publications.