Joined Up North East began as a three-year PhD project led by Mark Adley (view video introduction). It explored the health and social care pathways of multiply marginalised LBGTQ+ adults in the North East - LGBTQ+ people who had also experienced, for example homelessness, drug or alcohol use, the criminal justice system, racism, or domestic violence.

Mark was supported by local community groups, community champions, and Public Advisors who collaborated on the project, and co-authored documents and reports.

Although the PhD is now finished, work on this project is ongoing. He is currently collaborating with local authority and public health leaders across the region on the early stages of a co-designed follow-up, Joined Up 2.0, which aims to create bridges between marginalised groups and the people who fund and design services.

For project updates, please subscribe to the Joined Up mailing list.

The PhD was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) (NIHR200173). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.