Your say / UWE Bristol
‘Serving up change: how a badminton tournament is supporting community health in Bristol for stroke survivors’
Health research that actively engages the community is key to addressing societal challenges across our city, region, and beyond – and connecting it through sport offers a unique and powerful way to bring people and research together.
This approach has come to life at UWE Bristol: an annual badminton tournament has quietly become a catalyst for community-health research, student learning and benefits for people who have experienced a stroke.
The badminton tournament, organised to support the charity Bristol After Stroke, has grown from 24 teams when it began in 2018, to nearly 80 today and has raised more than £32,000 for the charity to date.
is needed now More than ever
Whilst the fundraising is fantastic, its significance lies in the ripple effects. The event champions connections between stroke survivors, researchers, volunteers, UWE Bristol students and the local community – and has helped to redefine the impact research can have.
The story begins with a research challenge. I needed to speak to stroke survivors for my PhD and recruiting them through conventional hospital channels proved difficult, but Bristol After Stroke’s day-centres offered a reliable bridge between survivors and researchers.
This partnership opened access to participants and allowed us to understand the lived experience of stroke survivors. A clear observation emerged – many survivors felt a sharp drop-off in support once they left hospital care – a gap that conventional services sometimes struggle to fill.
Together, UWE Bristol researchers and Bristol After Stroke developed ‘Next Steps’, group exercise classes alongside an hour of support from dieticians and pharmacists, as well as 1:1s to evaluate personal needs. Through Next Steps classes, people gain confidence and we’ve even started walking football and netball.
Now in its 10th year, Next Steps helped to develop a digital library of more than 25 rehabilitation videos, freely available on YouTube. Each is specialised for individual needs and carefully informed by patient feedback, showing that the best research not only identifies a problem – it finds a solution.
My team didn’t stop there. Recognising the cultural and linguistic diversity of Bristol, we partnered with South Asian groups to create materials in Gujarati to widen access. Informed directly by patient feedback, this meant that groups that previously did not engage could be supported.
Next Steps also offers training for UWE Bristol’s physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation students – and so far over 200 students have learned from direct contact with people who have experienced stroke. For many students, this is a formative bridge between academic research and real-world impact.
As part of the next chapter, we are now collaborating with AI specialists to develop machine-learning algorithms that can generate personalised rehabilitation plans. Supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the cutting-edge project aims to empower stroke survivors by tailoring clinical expertise to their everyday recovery.
So back to badminton – how does the tournament fit in? As well as being a passion of mine, badminton offered a way to directly raise money for Bristol After Stroke through sport. Although stroke survivors aren’t yet playing themselves, we hope it will inspire people to become active again and we’ve already seen an increased interest in Next Steps walking activities.
In Bristol, we are often challenged by health inequalities and in this case, the need to reduce the isolation and challenges faced by many after a stroke. UWE Bristol’s belief is that research – a central pillar of our RISE framework – should collaboratively involve the community to deliver impact. This story is that approach in action.
Dr Praveen Kumar (third from the left on the front row) at the last session of Bristol After Stroke “Next-Steps” class
There is still work to be done. The fundraising target for this year’s tournament is £6,500 and our ambition is to raise £50,000 by the tournament’s 10th anniversary in 2027. To reach that, we need Bristol residents, local businesses and student teams to champion the tournament – as an act of civic health-innovation and an example of what can be achieved together.
Our appeal to Bristol is this: come on board. Whether you play, volunteer, sponsor or donate – you count. In a city known for its civic and cultural creativity, Bristol has an opportunity to show that health research doesn’t need to be siloed. It can be engaging and interesting. Universities and charities can lead the way, demonstrating that unique approaches like this can change lives.
At UWE Bristol, we’re proud to champion this model, one that could be replicated for other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis. So, get involved and have an impact on research that is transforming people’s lives.
This is an opinion piece from Dr Praveen Kumar, associate professor in Stroke Rehabilitation at UWE Bristol.
If you would like to get involved, from playing in the tournament at UWE Bristol’s Centre for Sport to volunteering or donating, please contact Dr Praveen Kumar via email Praveen.kumar@uwe.ac.uk or mobile 0117 3288829.
All photos: Bristol After Stroke
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