Voices from the room: Health OpenSpaces launches new zine

Health OpenSpaces, a UK Young Academy member-led initiative, publishes a new zine capturing insights, questions, and reflections from its workshop on the barriers to studying pregnancy in medical research. 

In September 2025, researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and those with experience of pregnancy came together in London for a day-long workshop exploring a central question: what would it take to address the underrepresentation of pregnancy in medical research?

Organised by Health OpenSpaces, a UK Young Academy member-led initiative, what set the event apart was its format: before the day began, all professional backgrounds of participants were anonymised, placing them on a more equal footing as they entered the space. A senior clinician, a community artist, a policymaker, and someone with lived experience could then begin conversations with fewer assumptions, creating room for more open and balanced discussion. 

The workshop was organised by the Health OpenSpaces project, a member-led project supported by the UK Young Academy, that aims to create spaces for genuine, cross-society dialogue on key healthcare topics. By bringing together diverse perspectives and emphasising interdisciplinary collaboration, it fosters inclusive environments where every voice is heard. 

Designed to reflect this project’s approach, the event convened participants from across sectors to explore barriers to accessing medical interventions during pregnancy, alongside wider systemic gaps in research. Discussions spanned healthcare structures, culture, trust, representation, and communication, as well as potential ways forward. 

These conversations are now captured in a new zine: a short, visuals-led publication that distils the ideas and energy of the day into an engaging format. Through creative interpretation, it brings together reflections from the room for a wider audience. 

The zine can be used in a number of ways: 

• As a conversation starter on pregnancy in medical research 

• As a resource for reflection and discussion within teams, organisations, and communities 

• As a standalone publication raising awareness of both the issue and the Health OpenSpaces methodology 

• As an example of how interdisciplinary engagement can broaden perspectives and support more effective solutions 

The zine is available to download now. 

For more information, or to explore the Health OpenSpaces approach and methodology further, contact enquiries@ukyoungacademy.org 

The zine was designed and illustrated by artists Hana Ayoob and Maha Shami.