The Women's Gynaecology Project (external link) was funded through the Public Involvement and Engagement (PIE) Hub, a partnership between Wigan Council Public Health and Wigan Borough Community First. The PIE Hub supports residents and community organisations to lead research on issues that matter to them, ensuring local voices help shape health and wellbeing services across the borough.
Wigan Integrated Care Board (ICB) commissioned the project to better understand women’s experiences of gynaecology services, identify barriers to access and ensure women’s voices informed future service improvement.
The project worked through trusted community organisations, Leigh Soroptimists and Let’s Shape Our Creativity, to create safe spaces where women could share their experiences of gynaecological health. Through surveys, conversations and creative workshops in community venues, 230 women aged 22 to 70+ were engaged, with 101 women sharing their experiences.
Creative methods, including body-mapping activities, helped women explore and communicate personal experiences in ways that felt natural and accessible. Flexible online, face-to-face and anonymous options ensured a diverse range of voices were heard, including those less likely to engage through traditional research methods.
Women highlighted difficulties accessing services, long waiting times, communication barriers, uncertainty about where to seek support and concerns not always being heard or taken seriously. These experiences often left women feeling frustrated while navigating their health journeys.
The findings have been shared with Wigan ICB, Women’s Wellness Hub leads, Primary Care Networks and wider health partners. Community researchers also presented directly to the Sexual Health Strategic Partnership Board, ensuring women’s lived experiences were heard by decision-makers. The findings will also be discussed through the Sexual Health Operational Network, creating further opportunities to influence future service planning and improvement.
Emma McEwan from Let’s Shape Our Creativity said: “It was a privilege to share the experiences of women across the borough and the recommendations that came directly from their voices. The people living these experiences should be at the heart of shaping the services designed to support them. Creative community-led research creates spaces where people feel safe to speak honestly, and those conversations have the power to influence real change.”
The project showed how relatively small-scale community funding can generate rich insight and create direct connections between residents and decision-makers. It strengthened the role of community researchers within the local health system and provided valuable evidence to support future service development, commissioning and engagement activity.
The project reflects Wigan’s commitment to listening deeply, showing how meaningful conversations between communities and services can lead to better understanding and more informed decision-making.
By trusting local organisations to lead the work and enabling women to share their experiences in ways that felt safe and comfortable, the project demonstrated that lived experience can help shape better decisions and better outcomes.