Patient and public involvement in hearing research: opportunities, impact and reflections with case studies from the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness

OBJECTIVE

Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research improves relevance to end users and improves processes including recruitment participants. PPI in our research has gone from being non-existent to ubiquitous over a few years. We provide critical reflections on the benefits and challenges of PPI.

DESIGN

Case studies are reported according to a modified GRIP2 framework; the aims, methodology, impact of PPI and critical reflections on each case and our experiences with PPI in general.

STUDY SAMPLE

We report five UK projects that included PPI from teenagers, families, people living with dementia, autistic people, and people from South Asian and d/Deaf communities.

RESULTS

Our experience has progressed from understanding the rationale to grappling methodologies and integrating PPI in our research. PPI took place at all stages of research, although commonly involved input to design including recruitment and development of study materials. Methodologies varied between projects, including PPI co-investigators, advisory panels and online surveys.

CONCLUSION

On-going challenges include addressing social exclusion from research for people that lack digital access following increasing on-line PPI and involvement from underserved communities. PPI was initially motivated by funders; however the benefits have driven widespread PPI, ensuring our research is relevant to people living with hearing loss.

Engaging Early-Career Scientists in Global Policy-Making

Pressing global challenges, such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, or antibiotic resistance, require coordinated international responses guided by evidence-informed decisions. For this purpose, it is critical that scientists engage in providing insights during the decision-making process. However, the mechanisms for the engagement of scientists in policy-making are complex and vary internationally, which often poses significant challenges to their involvement. Herein, we address some of the mechanisms and barriers for scientists to engage in policy-making with a global perspective by early-career scientists. We highlight the importance of scientific academies, societies, universities, and early-career networks as stakeholders and how they can adapt their structures to actively contribute to shaping global policies, with representative examples from chemistry-related disciplines. We showcase the importance of raising awareness, providing resources and training, and leading discussions about connecting emerging scientists with global decision-makers to address societal challenges through policies.

Strategies for communicating scientific evidence on healthcare to managers and the population: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Health evidence needs to be communicated and disseminated in a manner that is clearly understood by decision-makers. As an inherent component of health knowledge translation, communicating results of scientific studies, effects of interventions and health risk estimates, in addition to understanding key concepts of clinical epidemiology and interpreting evidence, represent a set of essential instruments to reduce the gap between science and practice. The advancement of digital and social media has reshaped the concept of health communication, introducing new, direct and powerful communication platforms and gateways between researchers and the public. The objective of this scoping review was to identify strategies for communicating scientific evidence in healthcare to managers and/or population.

METHODS

We searched Cochrane Library, Embase®, MEDLINE® and other six electronic databases, in addition to grey literature, relevant websites from related organizations for studies, documents or reports published from 2000, addressing any strategy for communicating scientific evidence on healthcare to managers and/or population.

RESULTS

Our search identified 24 598 unique records, of which 80 met the inclusion criteria and addressed 78 strategies. Most strategies focused on risk and benefit communication in health, were presented by textual format and had been implemented and somehow evaluated. Among the strategies evaluated and appearing to yield some benefit are (i) risk/benefit communication: natural frequencies instead of percentages, absolute risk instead relative risk and number needed to treat, numerical instead nominal communication, mortality instead survival; negative or loss content appear to be more effective than positive or gain content; (ii) evidence synthesis: plain languages summaries to communicate the results of Cochrane reviews to the community were perceived as more reliable, easier to find and understand, and better to support decisions than the original summaries; (iii) teaching/learning: the Informed Health Choices resources seem to be effective for improving critical thinking skills.

CONCLUSION

Our findings contribute to both the knowledge translation process by identifying communication strategies with potential for immediate implementation and to future research by recognizing the need to evaluate the clinical and social impact of other strategies to support evidence-informed policies. Trial registration protocol is prospectively available in MedArxiv (doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.04.21265922).

Youth engagement in research: exploring training needs of youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities

BACKGROUND

Authentic researcher-youth partnerships in patient-oriented research (POR) where the research responds to the needs expressed by youth themselves are essential to make research meaningful. While patient-oriented research (POR) is increasingly practiced, few training programs exist in Canada and none, to our knowledge, are tailored for youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD). Our primary objective was to explore the training needs of youth (ages 18-25) with NDD to enhance their knowledge, confidence, and skills as research partners. Our secondary objective was to identify the benefits and challenges of engaging youth with NDD in a POR approach.

METHODS

Our team of four youth and one parent with lived experience [Youth Engagement in Research (YER) partners] and six researchers engaged in POR to investigate the primary objective via two phases: (1) individual interviews with youth living with NDD and (2) a two-day virtual symposium with focus groups with youth and researchers. Collaborative qualitative content analysis was employed to synthesize the data. Our secondary objective was assessed by asking our YER partners to complete the Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation Tool (PPEET) survey and participate in reflective discussions.

RESULTS

Phase 1 participants (n = 7) identified various barriers and facilitators to their engagement in research and offered suggestions to meet their needs through minimizing barriers and integrating facilitators, which would subsequently enhance their knowledge, confidence, and skills as research partners. Informed by phase 1, phase 2 participants (n = 17) prioritized the following POR training needs: researcher-youth communication, research roles and responsibilities, and finding partnership opportunities. For delivery methods, participants stated the importance of youth representation, using Universal Design for Learning, and co-learning between youth and researchers. Based on the PPEET data and subsequent discussions, YER partners agreed that they were able to express views freely, feel that their views were heard, and that their participation made a meaningful difference. Challenges included scheduling difficulties, ensuring multiple methods for engagement, and working under short timelines.

CONCLUSION

This study identified important training needs for youth with NDD and for researchers to engage in meaningful POR, which can subsequently inform the co-production of accessible training opportunities with and for youth.

Providing multimedia information to children and young people increases recruitment to trials: pre-planned meta-analysis of SWATs

BACKGROUND

Randomised controlled trials are often beset by problems with poor recruitment and retention. Information to support decisions on trial participation is usually provided as printed participant information sheets (PIS), which are often long, technical, and unappealing. Multimedia information (MMI), including animations and videos, may be a valuable alternative or complement to a PIS. The Trials Engagement in Children and Adolescents (TRECA) study compared MMI to PIS to investigate the effects on participant recruitment, retention, and quality of decision-making.

METHODS

We undertook six SWATs (Study Within A Trial) within a series of host trials recruiting children and young people. Potential participants in the host trials were randomly allocated to receive MMI-only, PIS-only, or combined MMI + PIS. We recorded the rates of recruitment and retention (varying between 6 and 26 weeks post-randomisation) in each host trial. Potential participants approached about each host trial were asked to complete a nine-item Decision-Making Questionnaire (DMQ) to indicate their evaluation of the information and their reasons for participation/non-participation. Odds ratios were calculated and combined in a meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Data from 3/6 SWATs for which it was possible were combined in a meta-analysis (n = 1758). Potential participants allocated to MMI-only were more likely to be recruited to the host trial than those allocated to PIS-only (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.05, 2.28; p = 0.03). Those allocated to combined MMI + PIS compared to PIS-only were no more likely to be recruited to the host trial (OR = 0.89; 95% CI 0.53, 1.50; p = 0.67). Providing MMI rather than PIS did not impact on DMQ scores. Once children and young people had been recruited to host trials, their trial retention rates did not differ according to intervention allocation.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing MMI-only increased the trial recruitment rate compared to PIS-only but did not affect DMQ scores. Combined MMI + PIS instead of PIS had no effect on recruitment or retention. MMIs are a useful tool for trial recruitment in children and young people, and they could reduce trial recruitment periods.

An exploration of the reach of the #MakeSpace4Research hashtag

BACKGROUND

Use of social media to communicate with and engage health professionals is increasing. A communications campaign at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust used a Twitter hashtag to improve the visibility of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals research.

AIM

This study aimed to explore the reach of the #MakeSpace4Research campaign during its first 12 months.

METHODS

Between November 2018 and 2019, data on all tweets containing #MakeSpace4Research were examined using an online analytical tool. The studied variables were: total reach; total impressions; unique authors; total retweets; total mentions; and top tweeters. All these were collated using two separate variables: matching tweets and impact.

FINDINGS

#MakeSpace4Research appeared in 6884 tweets, involving 1085 individual Twitter accounts, resulting in more than 16 million impressions. Mentions and impressions both increased threefold, and unique authors more than doubled over the 12-month period. A spike in activity was noted after the campaign was launched at a nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals research conference in May 2019.

CONCLUSION

The #MakeSpace4Research campaign has the potential to connect online communities of research-interested nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

Exploring the Psychosocial Experiences of Individuals with Developmental Language Disorder During Childhood: A Qualitative Investigation

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) often experience co-occurring psychosocial difficulties, the developmental trajectories of which are still not fully understood. This study sought to explore the manifestation of such difficulties during childhood, through first-hand accounts of those with DLD and their close relatives. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 mothers of children with DLD (aged 6-12 years old) and were analysed alongside the secondary data from interviews of five adults with DLD. Interviews were conducted online; all participants resided in Europe and were fluent in spoken and written English. A process of interpretive phenomenological analysis resulted in the development of five overall themes: experiencing anxiety, social frustrations, maintaining factors, childhood strengths and the parenting experience. Cognitive appraisals appeared particularly important during childhood in both escalating and maintaining anxiety, low self-esteem, emotion dysregulation and social frustrations. High levels of isolation and stress were experienced by all mothers. The findings suggest parents in the United Kingdom and Ireland require more support and guidance at the point of diagnosis than is currently provided. Emphasis was given to the link between children's experience of anxiety and social behaviours, such as withdrawal, as well as their intolerance of uncertainty. Internalising symptoms were a prioritisation for intervention during childhood by both parents and adults with DLD.

Decolonising the psychology curriculum: a perspective

Decolonisation seeks to reverse the impact of colonisation on minoritised groups. Governments, healthcare institutions, criminal justice and education systems have procedures and protocols deep-rooted in colonisation and operate through a western lens. Decolonisation reaches beyond increasing inclusivity and aims to re-establish history through the experiences and perspective of those most affected. As with many disciplines, core theories, practices and interventions within Psychology, an ethnocentric viewpoint has been used, continuously reinstated through its curriculum. With awareness around diversification and increase in varying demands, it is important that the Psychology curriculum evolves to suit the needs of its' users. Many recommendations for decolonising the curriculum are trivial surface changes. These involve including required bibliography from diverse minority authors within the modules syllabuses or organising a one-off lecture or workshop from a minority ethnic speaker. Some universities have also suggested that lecturers participate in self-awareness practices to ensure they understand decolonisation to appropriately address it through their teaching, whilst others have provided checklists against which they can check the inclusivity of their modules. All these alterations fail to target the root of the problem. To properly reverse the effects of colonisation within the curriculum it would be necessary to re-evaluate the Westernised history that has been retold for years and teach past events through the experiences of those who suffered. Research into how decolonisation can occur in a structured and comprehensive way is necessary to enable the redress for abolition of colonial practices on a global scale.

Further development and feasibility randomised controlled trial of a digital programme for adolescent depression, MoodHwb: study protocol

INTRODUCTION

A digital programme, MoodHwb, was codesigned with young people experiencing or at high risk of depression, parents/carers and professionals, to provide support for young people with their mood and well-being. A preliminary evaluation study provided support for the programme theory and found that MoodHwb was acceptable to use. This study aims to refine the programme based on user feedback, and to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the updated version and study methods.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Initially, this study will refine MoodHwb with the involvement of young people, including in a pretrial acceptability phase. This will be followed by a multicentre feasibility randomised controlled trial comparing MoodHwb plus usual care with a digital information pack plus usual care. Up to 120 young people aged 13-19 years with symptoms of depression and their parents/carers will be recruited through schools, mental health services, youth services, charities and voluntary self-referral in Wales and Scotland. The primary outcomes are the feasibility and acceptability of the MoodHwb programme (including usage, design and content) and of trial methods (including recruitment and retention rates), assessed 2 months postrandomisation. Secondary outcomes include potential impact on domains including depression knowledge and stigma, help-seeking, well-being and depression and anxiety symptoms measured at 2 months postrandomisation.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The pretrial acceptability phase was approved by the Cardiff University School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (REC) and the University of Glasgow College of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences REC. The trial was approved by Wales NHS REC 3 (21/WA/0205), the Health Research Authority(HRA), Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW), university health board Research and Development (R&D) departments in Wales, and schools in Wales and Scotland. Findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed open-access journals, at conferences and meetings, and online to academic, clinical, and educational audiences and the wider public.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN12437531.

Involving adolescents in the design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of health research: an umbrella review protocol

INTRODUCTION

A lack of awareness on how to engage adolescents in research has been reported as one of the barriers to meaningful youth involvement in health research. Currently, available guidelines on youth involvement are limited in terms of the scope (e.g., focused on limited health research areas), content (e.g., include broad principles) and context (e.g., most guidelines are from high-income countries) for which the guidelines are applicable. To address this, we will develop a set of comprehensive guidelines based on consolidated evidence on youth involvement in health research. To inform these guidelines, we are first conducting an umbrella review to (1) summarise and synthesise findings from reviews on involving adolescents in health research, (2) consolidate the challenges experienced in youth involvement and the recommendations to mitigate these challenges, (3) identify best practices and (4) identify gaps and methodological weaknesses in the extant literature on involving adolescents in health research.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will include review articles exploring adolescents' involvement in studies aiming to improve their physical or mental health. Databases to be searched include Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Epistemonikos and Health Systems Evidence. A grey literature search will be conducted in Web of Science, ProQuest, Google Scholar and PROSPERO, supplemented by a handsearch of the reference lists of eligible reviews, relevant journals, websites of related organisations and input from experts. Data will be analysed using narrative synthesis.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as we are not collecting participant data as part of this review. The findings of this umbrella review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, participatory workshops and academic conferences.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021287467.

Understanding who is and isn't involved and engaged in health research: capturing and analysing demographic data to diversify patient and public involvement and engagement

BACKGROUND

Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) can improve the relevance, quality, ethics and impact of research thus contributing to high quality research. Currently in the UK, people who get involved in research tend to be aged 61 years or above, White and female. Calls for greater diversity and inclusion in PPIE have become more urgent especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, so that research can better address health inequalities and be relevant for all sectors of society. Yet, there are currently no routine systems or requirements to collect or analyse the demographics of people who get involved in health research in the UK. The aim of this study was to develop to capture and analyse the characteristics of who does and doesn't take part in patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) activities.

METHODS

As part of its strategic focus on diversity and inclusion, Vocal developed a questionnaire to assess the demographics of people taking part in its PPIE activities. Vocal is a non-profit organisation which supports PPIE in health research across the region of Greater Manchester in England. The questionnaire was implemented across Vocal activities between December 2018 and March 2022. In that time. Vocal was working with approximately 935 public contributors. 329 responses were received: a return rate of 29.3%. Analysis of findings and comparison against local population demographic data, and available national data related to public contributors to health research, was performed.

RESULTS

Results show that it is feasible to assess the demographics of people who take part in PPIE activities, through a questionnaire system. Further, our emerging data indicate that Vocal are involving people from a wider range of ages and with a greater diversity of ethnic backgrounds in health research, as compared to available national data. Specifically, Vocal involves more people of Asian, African and Caribbean heritage, and includes a wider range of ages in its PPIE activities. More women than men are involved in Vocal's work.

CONCLUSION

Our 'learn by doing' approach to assessing who does and doesn't take part in Vocal's PPIE activities has informed our practice and continues influence our strategic priorities for PPIE. Our system and learning reported here may be applicable and transferable to other similar settings in which PPIE is carried out. We attribute the greater diversity of our public contributors to our strategic priority and activities to promote more inclusive research since 2018.

Key issues for stakeholder engagement in the development of health and healthcare guidelines

Established in 2015, the Multi-Stakeholder Engagement (MuSE) Consortium is an international network of over 120 individuals interested in stakeholder engagement in research and guidelines. The MuSE group is developing guidance for stakeholder engagement in the development of health and healthcare guideline development. The development of this guidance has included multiple meetings with stakeholders, including patients, payers/purchasers of health services, peer review editors, policymakers, program managers, providers, principal investigators, product makers, the public, and purchasers of health services and has identified a number of key issues. These include: (1) Definitions, roles, and settings (2) Stakeholder identification and selection (3) Levels of engagement, (4) Evaluation of engagement, (5) Documentation and transparency, and (6) Conflict of interest management. In this paper, we discuss these issues and our plan to develop guidance to facilitate stakeholder engagement in all stages of the development of health and healthcare guideline development.

Involving young people in sexual health research and service improvement: conceptual analysis of patient and public involvement (PPI) in three projects

BACKGROUND

Although increasingly recognised as valuable within sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research and service improvement, examples of patient and public involvement (PPI) are underdocumented, including specific issues relating to young people's involvement. This article aims to contribute to greater transparency about the practical, methodological and ethical considerations of SRH-related PPI with young people, and to offer recommendations for their meaningful involvement.

METHODS

Guided by a conceptual tool for evaluating youth participation (the '7P' framework), we analysed learning from PPI within three projects (two academic studies and one service improvement project) that worked with young people to shape sexual health research and practice in Scotland.

ANALYSIS

Cross-project analysis of seven interconnected domains (purpose, positioning, perspectives, power relations, protection, place and process) generated productive dialogue about the nuances of meaningfully involving young people in shaping SRH research and services. Key learning includes the importance of: young people's early involvement in agenda-setting for SRH improvement; developing trusting partnerships that can support involvement of diverse groups of young people; creating multiple ways for young people to contribute, including those that do not rely on direct conversation; and formative evaluation of young people's experiences of involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Mainstreaming young people's meaningful involvement in shaping SRH research and services requires systems-level change. Resources are required to support SRH researchers and practitioners to share learning and build sustainable multi-sector partnerships, which in turn can increase opportunities for young people from diverse groups to engage with SRH-related PPI activities.

Critical pedagogy of place to enhance ecological engagement activities

Scientists in higher education institutions around the globe recognize the importance of engaging with public stakeholders to share their enthusiasm, explain their science, and encourage primary and secondary students to enter the sciences. However, without direct consideration of students' and teachers' perspectives and interests, scientists may design activities around their own goals, limiting the impact on school stakeholders (i.e., students, teachers, paraprofessional staff, students' parents, and other caregivers). We drew from natural and social science research to describe how expanding the conception of place beyond the biophysical can help engage school stakeholders in meaningful ways. We describe the multidimensional PLACE framework that we developed to integrate perspectives, knowledge, and values of all stakeholders in engagement programming. The framework is organized around topics that stakeholders should discuss early on to ensure successful partnerships. We recommend that scientists identify and use pedagogy that is inclusive; language framed around dialogic communication methods; aims and motivations centered on engagement; cultural funds of knowledge of place (i.e., disciplinary, personal, or experiential knowledge); and evaluation of engagement based on meaningful metrics. Two case studies are presented to illustrate how the PLACE framework components, when addressed, can lead to robust, successful partnerships between scientists and schools.

"We know that our voices are valued, and that people are actually going to listen": co-producing an evaluation of a young people's research advisory group

BACKGROUND

Children and young people's (CYP) involvement is an increasing priority in UK healthcare and in heath research, alongside recognition that involving CYP in research requires different considerations to involving adults. Underpinned by children's rights and a co-production ethos this paper, co-authored with young evaluators, explores the learning from a co-produced evaluation of eyeYPAG, a young persons' research advisory group (YPAG) for eye and vision research based at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.

METHODS

A team of young evaluators, supported by the eyeYPAG facilitator, conducted focus groups and online surveys with YPAG members, their parents and carers, researchers, group facilitators and funders. Qualitative data was analysed using a collaborative reflexive thematic analysis approach. Quantitative data, limited by the small number of participants, was analysed in Excel and reported as descriptive data.

RESULTS

CYP valued the social and creative aspects of the group as well as learning about research and developing skills and confidence. Learning was a two-way process, with both researchers and facilitators reflecting on how much they had learnt from working with the YPAG. All participants talked about the importance of impact, feeling that CYP are making a difference to research, as well as CYP's right to be involved. Effective planning and facilitation were key to the success of the group, in relation to accessibility and the development and delivery of sessions both online and in-person. Resourcing and administration were key challenges to this, as was engaging researchers who were not already converted to the public involvement cause. As the nature of a YPAG is that it primarily focuses on advising researcher-led projects, co-production was identified as something that the group was 'working towards', including through this evaluation. Co-producing with CYP involves building up knowledge, confidence and acknowledging power dynamics.

CONCLUSIONS

Co-producing an evaluation enabled us to learn about the benefits and challenges of involving CYP in research, as well as how to involve them in the development of that evidence. An ethos of co-production and children's rights helped to shift the balance of power and develop more engaging and inclusive ways of working.

Top 10 priorities for Sexual Violence and Abuse Research: indings of the James Lind Alliance Sexual Violence Priority Setting Partnership

OBJECTIVES

To establish a James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) to identify research priorities relevant to the health and social care needs of adults with lived experience of recent and/or historical sexual violence/abuse.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults (aged 18+ years) with lived experience of sexual violence/abuse (ie, 'survivors') were consulted for this PSP, alongside healthcare and social care professionals who support survivors across the public, voluntary, community, independent practice and social enterprise sectors.

METHODS

In line with standard JLA PSP methodology, participants completed an initial online survey to propose research questions relevant to the health and social care needs of survivors. Research questions unanswered by current evidence were identified, and a second online survey was deployed to identify respondents' priorities from this list. Questions prioritised through the second survey were presented at a consensus meeting with key stakeholders to agree the top 10 research priorities using a modified nominal group technique approach.

RESULTS

223 participants (54% survivors) provided 484 suggested questions. Seventy-five unique questions unanswered by research were identified and subsequently ranked by 343 participants (60% survivors). A consensus meeting with 31 stakeholders (42% survivors) examined the top-ranking priorities from the second survey and agreed the top 10 research priorities. These included research into forms of support and recovery outcomes valued by survivors, how to best support people of colour/black, Asian and minority ethnic and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) survivors, improving access to high-quality psychological therapies, reducing public misconceptions/stigma, the impact of involvement in the criminal justice system on well-being, and how physical and mental health services can become more 'trauma informed'.

CONCLUSIONS

These research priorities identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to better support adult survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Researchers and funders should prioritise further work in these priority areas identified by survivors and the professionals who support them.

Research Buddy partnership in a MD-PhD program: lessons learned

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

There is increasing recognition of the importance of patient involvement in research. In recent years, there has also been growing interest in patient partnerships with doctoral studies students. However, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to go about such involvement activities. The purpose of this perspective piece was to share experiential insight of the experience of a patient involvement program such that others can learn from this experience. BODY: This is a co-authored perspective piece centred on the experience of MGH, a patient who has had hip replacement surgery, and DG, a medical student completing a PhD, participating in a Research Buddy partnership over the course of over 3 years. The context in which this partnership took place was also described to facilitate comparison with readers' own circumstances and contexts. DG and MGH met regularly to discuss, and work together on, various aspects of DG's PhD research project. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on reflections from DG and MGH regarding their experience in the Research Buddy program to synthesise nine lessons which were then corroborated with reference to published literature on patient involvement in research. These lessons were: learn from experience; tailor the program; get involved early; embrace uniqueness; meet regularly; build rapport; ensure mutual benefit; broad involvement; regularly reflect and review.

CONCLUSIONS

In this perspective piece, a patient and a medical student completing a PhD reflected upon their experience co-designing a Research Buddy partnership within a patient involvement program. A series of nine lessons was identified and presented to inform readers seeking to develop or enhance their own patient involvement programs. Researcher-patient rapport is foundational to all other aspects of the patient's involvement.

Consumer engagement in doctoral research - what difference does it make?

STUDY DESIGN

Qualitative reflective descriptive study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate a consumer engagement experience in the context of doctoral research.

SETTING

Full time doctoral research at an Australian university.

METHOD

A reflective evaluation of consumer engagement was completed, presented using the Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public, and frameworks of the research cycle, levels of consumer participation and integrated knowledge translation guiding principles providing theoretical background. Seven people with SCI (n = 6 men, n = 1 woman) replied to an expression of interest to join a Consumer Advisory Group for a doctoral researcher. Activities included: four 90-minute meetings, formal and ad-hoc email exchanges, and one-to-one conversations as required. Data sources included meeting transcripts, email correspondence, researcher's notes, and a short consumer survey.

RESULTS

Consumer engagement occurred at each stage of the research cycle and met all guiding principles. Consumers participated at consultation and involving levels, however, collaboration evolved. Enablers included a common interest for the research topic, rapport with the researcher, using a virtual platform to disseminate research findings, supervisory support, and availability of funding. Challenges included complexity in harnessing different perspectives, using a virtual platform for group meetings, time, and consumers' negative experiences of media.

CONCLUSION

Consumer engagement informed doctoral research by promoting nuanced perspectives on the unique experiences of living with SCI, providing unanticipated richness to data analysis. Building trust, and being responsive, led to in-depth consumer participation.

Modelling of daily radiofrequency electromagnetic field dose for a prospective adolescent cohort

INTRODUCTION

Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields originate from a variety of wireless communication sources operating near and far from the body, making it challenging to quantify daily absorbed dose. In the framework of the prospective cohort SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones), we aimed to characterize RF-EMF dose over a 2-year period.

METHODS

The SCAMP cohort included 6605 children from greater London, UK at baseline (age 12.1 years; 2014-2016) and 5194 at follow-up (age 14.2; 2016-2018). We estimated the daily dose of RF-EMF to eight tissues including the whole body and whole brain, using dosimetric algorithms for the specific absorption rate transfer into the body. We considered RF-EMF dose from 12 common usage scenarios such as mobile phone calls or data transmission. We evaluated the association between sociodemographic factors (gender, ethnicity, phone ownership and socio-economic status), and the dose change between baseline and follow-up.

RESULTS

Whole body dose was estimated at an average of 170 mJ/kg/day at baseline and 178 mJ/kg/day at follow-up. Among the eight tissues considered, the right temporal lobe received the highest daily dose (baseline 1150 mJ/kg/day, follow-up 1520 mJ/kg/day). Estimated daily dose [mJ/kg/day] increased between baseline and follow-up for head and brain related tissues, but remained stable for the whole body and heart. Doses estimated at baseline and follow-up showed low correlation among the 3384 children who completed both assessments. Asian ethnicity (compared to white) and owning a bar phone or no phone (as opposed to a smartphone) were associated with lower estimated whole-body and whole-brain RF-EMF dose, while black ethnicity, a moderate/low socio-economic status (compared to high), and increasing age (at baseline) were associated with higher estimated RF-EMF dose.

CONCLUSION

This study describes the first longitudinal exposure assessment for children in a critical period of development. Dose estimations will be used in further epidemiological analyses for the SCAMP study.

Leading co-production in five UK collaborative research partnerships (2008-2018): responses to four tensions from senior leaders using auto-ethnography

BACKGROUND

Despite growing enthusiasm for co-production in healthcare services and research, research on co-production practices is lacking. Multiple frameworks, guidelines and principles are available but little empirical research is conducted on 'how to do' co-production of research to improve healthcare services. This paper brings together insights from UK-based collaborative research partnerships on leading co-production. Its aim is to inform practical guidance for new partnerships planning to facilitate the co-production of applied health research in the future.

METHODS

Using an auto-ethnographic approach, experiential evidence was elicited through collective sense making from recorded conversations between the research team and senior leaders of five UK-based collaborative research partnerships. This approach applies a cultural analysis and interpretation of the leaders' behaviours, thoughts and experiences of co-production taking place in 2008-2018 and involving academics, health practitioners, policy makers and representatives of third sector organisations.

RESULTS

The findings highlight a variety of practices across CLAHRCs, whereby the intersection between the senior leaders' vision and local organisational context in which co-production occurs largely determines the nature of co-production process and outcomes. We identified four tensions in doing co-production: (1) idealistic, tokenistic vs realistic narratives, (2) power differences and (lack of) reciprocity, (3) excluding vs including language and communication, (4) individual motivation vs structural issues.

CONCLUSIONS

The tensions were productive in helping collaborative research partnerships to tailor co-production practices to their local needs and opportunities. Resulting variation in co-production practices across partnerships can therefore be seen as highly advantageous creative adaptation, which makes us question the utility of seeking a unified 'gold standard' of co-production. Strategic leadership is an important starting point for finding context-tailored solutions; however, development of more distributed forms of leadership over time is needed to facilitate co-production practices between partners. Facilitating structures for co-production can enable power sharing and boost capacity and capability building, resulting in more inclusive language and communication and, ultimately, more credible practices of co-production in research. We provide recommendations for creating more realistic narratives around co-production and facilitating power sharing between partners.

Parkinson’s from inside out: emerging and unexpected benefits of a long-term partnership

This article is a personal reflection on a long-standing patient and public involvement (PPI) partnership between a person with Parkinson’s and a cognitive neuroscience researcher. They describe how the partnership arose, was established and evolved to produce unexpected benefits to the research and more broadly. Initially, working together helped to communicate the purpose of the research to a lay audience and to make lab-based testing sessions for people with Parkinson’s as comfortable as possible. They then worked together on the steering group for a research project about Parkinson’s and imitation, which led to co-designing interventions using imitation and imagination of movements to improve movements, including a dance class. Further benefits were realised through co-teaching undergraduate students about Parkinson’s, establishing a broader culture of PPI within the research lab and sharing their expertise of PPI more broadly. They consider key ingredients for successful collaboration, including shared curiosity, open-mindedness and trust, as well as the importance of informal discussion and space. Challenges are also considered, including authorship of research articles and anonymity. Their account demonstrates the value of the collaboration to research itself, but also the broader (often unexpected) benefits that can emerge when a collaboration has space and time to flourish.

"I see salt everywhere": A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, is rising in Sub-Saharan African countries like Tanzania and Malawi. This increase reflects complex interactions between diverse social, environmental, biological, and political factors. To intervene successfully, new approaches are therefore needed to understand how local knowledges and attitudes towards common NCDs influence health behaviours. This study compares the utility of using a novel arts-based participatory method and more traditional focus groups to generate new understandings of local knowledges, attitudes, and behaviours towards NCDs and their risk factors. Single-gender arts-based participatory workshops and focus group discussions were conducted with local communities in Tanzania and Malawi. Thematic analysis compared workshop and focus group transcripts for depth of content and researcher-participant hierarchies. In addition, semiotic analysis examined the contribution of photographs of workshop activities to understanding participants' experiences and beliefs about NCD risk factors. The arts-based participatory workshops produced in-depth, vivid, emotive narratives of participants' beliefs about NCDs and their impact (e.g., "… it spreads all over your body and kills you-snake's poison is similar to diabetes poison"), while the focus groups provided more basic accounts (e.g., "diabetes is a fast killer"). The workshops also empowered participants to navigate activities with autonomy, revealing their almost overwhelmingly negative beliefs about NCDs. However, enabling participants to direct the focus of workshop activities led to challenges, including the perpetuation of stigma (e.g., comparing smells associated with diabetes symptoms with sewage). Semiotic analysis of workshop photographs provided little additional insight beyond that gained from the transcripts. Arts-based participatory workshops are promising as a novel method to inform development of culturally relevant approaches to NCD prevention in Tanzania and Malawi. Future research should incorporate more structured opportunities for participant reflection during the workshops to minimise harm from any emerging stigma.

A balance between putting on the researcher's hat and being a fellow human being: a researcher perspective on informal carer involvement in health and social care research

BACKGROUND

Public involvement in health and social care research is increasingly prioritized by policy-makers and research funders. Often, the impact of the involvement is described in terms of how it has contributed to the research outcomes and how it has affected the involved members of the public. There is a dearth of studies reporting from the perspective of researchers themselves of having involved members of the public in their research. Nevertheless, there is a general expectation for researchers to accept and embrace public involvement in research. This study aims to explore researchers' views of involving informal carers in health and social care research.

METHODS

Eleven individual in-depth interviews with researchers in the fields of social work, caring science, health science and medical science constituted the dataset of this qualitative study, inspired by discourse psychology.

RESULTS

The qualitative data analysis resulted in two interpretative repertoires describing researchers' views of involving informal carers in research, "Philosophy of Science" and "Personal relationships and growth". Both repertoires need to be recognized; however, as of today, the Philosophy of Science repertoire is more acknowledged, while the second repertoire describing empathy, relationships and emotions may be viewed as the researcher being "unprofessional". Further, the findings highlighted the dual perspective of being a researcher and a carer as creating opportunities for growth on the part of the researcher, on both a professional and a personal level.

CONCLUSIONS

Researchers and their research work would benefit from acknowledging, discussing and reporting both interpretative repertoires in their publications, as well as recognizing the benefit of dialectal positions, for example, having a dual perspective as both a researcher and an informal carer.

Does the process of developing products for knowledge mobilisation from healthcare research influence their uptake? A comparative case study

Background

Getting knowledge from healthcare research into practice (knowledge mobilisation) remains a global challenge. One way in which researchers may attempt to do this is to develop products (such as toolkits, actionable tools, dashboards, guidance, audit tools, protocols and clinical decision aids) in addition to journal papers. Despite their increasing ubiquity, the development of such products remains under-explored in the academic literature. This study aimed to further this understanding by exploring the development of products from healthcare research and how the process of their development might influence their potential application.

Methods

This study compared the data generated from a prospective, longitudinal, comparative case study of four research projects which aimed to develop products from healthcare research. Qualitative methods included thematic analysis of data generated from semi-structured interviews (38), meeting observations (83 h) and project documents (300+). Cases were studied for an average of 11.5 months (range 8–19 months).

Results

Case comparison resulted in the identification of three main themes with the potential to affect the use of products in practice. First, aspects of the product, including the perceived need for the specific product being identified, the clarity of product aim and clarity and range of end-users. Second, aspects of development, whereby different types of stakeholder engagement appear to influence potential product application, which either needs to be ‘meaningful’, or delivered through the implicit understanding of users’ needs by the developing team. The third, overarching theme, relates to the academic context in which products are developed, highlighting how the academic context perpetuates the development of products, which may not always be useful in practice.

Conclusions

This study showed that aspects of products from healthcare research (need/aim/end-user) and aspects of their development (stakeholder engagement/implicit understanding of end-users) influence their potential application. It explored the motivation for product development and identifies the influence of the current academic context on product development. It shows that there is a tension between ideal ‘systems approaches’ to knowledge mobilisation and ‘linear approaches’, which appear to be more pervasive in practice currently. The development of fewer, high-quality products which fulfil the needs of specified end-users might act to counter the current cynicism felt by many stakeholders in regard to products from healthcare research.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43058-022-00360-9.

The contribution of peer research in evaluating complex public health interventions: examples from two UK community empowerment projects

BACKGROUND

Peer-research is steered and conducted by people with lived experience of the issues being researched. This paper explores the value of peer-research in two complex public health intervention evaluations in the UK.

METHODS

Reports from 18 peer research projects, completed by residents from 12 communities in the UK taking part in two community empowerment interventions, were analysed using cross-case analysis.

RESULTS

Undertaking peer research helped to build the evaluation and research skills within individual projects as well as providing data on other outcomes related to the programmes Theory of Change. Some peer researchers, however, felt unprepared for the activity despite support from the academic team and were unsatisfied with project outcomes. While peer research projects provided more opportunities for local residents to engage with the overall evaluations, there was an overreliance on people closely connected to the programmes to be peer researchers. The peer research projects explored topics that were broader than the aims and objectives of the overall programme evaluations. All provided insight into the context in which projects occurred, while some also informed understanding of programme change mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS

Including peer research as part of complex public health intervention evaluations can help uncover important contextual and ecological details beyond the reach of more traditional evaluation data collection. Peer research can also empower and build research/evaluation capacity within communities, which is particularly pertinent for community empowerment interventions.

Supporting the ambulance service to safely convey fewer patients to hospital by developing a risk prediction tool: Risk of Adverse Outcomes after a Suspected Seizure (RADOSS)-protocol for the mixed-methods observational RADOSS project

INTRODUCTION

Ambulances services are asked to further reduce avoidable conveyances to emergency departments (EDs). Risk of Adverse Outcomes after a Suspected Seizure seeks to support this by: (1) clarifying the risks of conveyance and non-conveyance, and (2) developing a risk prediction tool for clinicians to use 'on scene' to estimate the benefits an individual would receive if conveyed to ED and risks if not.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Mixed-methods, multi-work package (WP) project. For WP1 and WP2 we shall use an existing linked data set that tracks urgent and emergency care (UEC) use of persons served by one English regional ambulance service. Risk tools are specific to clinical scenarios. We shall use suspected seizures in adults as an exemplar.WP1: Form a cohort of patients cared for a seizure by the service during 2019/2020. It, and nested Knowledge Exchange workshops with clinicians and service users, will allow us to: determine the proportions following conveyance and non-conveyance that die and/or recontact UEC system within 3 (/30) days; quantify the proportion of conveyed incidents resulting in 'avoidable ED attendances' (AA); optimise risk tool development; and develop statistical models that, using information available 'on scene', predict the risk of death/recontact with the UEC system within 3 (/30) days and the likelihood of an attendance at ED resulting in an AA.WP2: Form a cohort of patients cared for a seizure during 2021/2022 to 'temporally' validate the WP1 predictive models.WP3: Complete the 'next steps' workshops with stakeholders. Using nominal group techniques, finalise plans to develop the risk tool for clinical use and its evaluation.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

WP1a and WP2 will be conducted under database ethical approval (IRAS 307353) and Confidentiality Advisory Group (22/CAG/0019) approval. WP1b and WP3 have approval from the University of Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee (11450). We shall engage in proactive dissemination and knowledge mobilisation to share findings with stakeholders and maximise evidence usage.

Meaningful public engagement in the context of open science: reflections from early and mid-career academics

How is public engagement perceived to contribute to open science? This commentary highlights common reflections on this question from interviews with 12 public engagement fellows in Utrecht University’s Open Science Programme in the Netherlands. We identify four reasons why public engagement is an essential enabler of open science. Interaction between academics and society can: (1) better align science with the needs of society; (2) secure a relationship of trust between science and society; (3) increase the quality and impact of science; and (4) support the impact of open access and FAIR data practices (data which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability). To be successful and sustainable, such public engagement requires support in skills training and a form of institutionalisation in a university-wide system, but, most of all, the fellows express the importance of a formal and informal recognition and rewards system. Our findings suggest that in order to make public engagement an integral part of open science, universities should invest in institutional support, create awareness, and stimulate dialogue among staff members on how to ‘do’ good public engagement.

The diffusion of sustainability and Dingle Peninsula 2030

Instilling a collaborative approach can widen participation to a range of stakeholders, enabling the diffusion of sustainability and increasing local capacity to meet decarbonisation targets to mitigate against climate change. Dingle Peninsula 2030 has emerged as an international case study of a collaborative regional sustainability project, whereby a wide range of initiatives, beyond the initial remit of the project, have emerged in the area. This holistic scale of action is required for effective climate action. Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framing, the interrelated nature of climate action has been shown through this study. In setting out to undergo energy projects a wide range of new initiatives emerged as community members became engaged in the process. Initiatives have emerged related to energy, transport, agriculture, education, tourism and employment, in what we have coined the 'diffusion of sustainability'.

Black affirming pedagogy: Reflections on the premises, challenges and possibilities of mainstreaming antiracist black pedagogy in Canadian sociology

Antiblackness, anti-Black racism and other oppressions work within systems such as capitalism, white supremacy and globalization. As a system, Canadian higher education institutions are complicit with the oppression of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples. Anti-oppressive and antiracist pedagogies attempt to challenge institutional power and oppression but face resistance within the academy and wider society. This paper articulates Black Affirming Pedagogy as an additional anticolonial, antiracist, pro-Black teaching praxis aimed at furthering educators' resiliencies and capacities for cultivating transformations and social change. Pro-Black affirmations of Blackness, allyship/solidarity, humanity, diverse knowledge, and action are discussed alongside strategies for praxis. Risks of engaging in Black Affirming Pedagogy and suggestions for overcoming them are also highlighted.

Co-production to understand online help-seeking for young people experiencing emotional abuse and neglect: Building capabilities, adapting research methodology and evaluating involvement and impact

BACKGROUND

Involving young people (YP) as co-researchers (YCoR) in mental health research is important for ethical and epistemological reasons. However, approaches to involve and evaluate 'meaningful involvement' in complex qualitative mental health research, and how to evaluate impacts (or change) for the co-researcher and the research is less well defined.

OBJECTIVES

This co-produced research explored the experiences of YP seeking help for emotional abuse and neglect via an online, peer-peer message board. This practical case study aims to evidence the meaningful role and impacts associated with YCoR involvement in sensitive and complex mental health research using a flexible approach to co-production.

METHODS

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we explored on- and off-line approaches and adapted research methodology to build relationships, knowledge, skills, and confidence with YCoR. The virtual involvement was evaluated against the five principles of co-production. Anonymous, continuous digital feedback, reflective practices and multiple dissemination outputs are used to evaluate the impact of the study on those involved and the research.

RESULTS

Ten members of NeurOX Young People's Advisory Group were involved in the core project. Additional members were invited at later stages and in the dissemination of outputs. We describe a supportive, scaffolded learning approach to build capabilities and embed the lived experience of YCoR in complex qualitative research. A digital blended approach was acceptable to YCoR, principles of co-production were met and the impact/benefits of involvement are described. To demonstrate the epistemological value of involving YP we evidence YPs capabilities for involvement and the 'change' or contribution YCoR made to the research through reflective practices.

CONCLUSIONS

This case study demonstrates how flexible approaches co-production with YCoR can be robust and responsive to balance ethical and epistemological impact in complex mental health research. Supportive, scaffolded practices and safe environments helped build the confidence and capacity of YCoRs to demonstrate valuable phenomenological insights in the analysis. YP's perspectives on how they describe 'meaningful' and impactful involvement illustrate the reciprocal benefits gained through working together.

PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

This case study describes the YCoR involvement throughout the research and dissemination of outputs. YCoR co-authors were involved in developing the outline and reviewing the draft stages of the manuscript.

Perceived behavioral control as a moderator: Scientists' attitude, norms, and willingness to engage the public

Scientists play important roles in conducting public engagement, but evidence shows that scientists perceive great challenges in doing so. Drawing broadly from the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examines factors predicting scientists’ willingness to conduct public engagement. This study further examines how perceived behavioral control (PBC) of conducting public engagement would moderate the relationships between the proposed predictors and scientists’ willingness to conduct public engagement. Using survey data collected from 706 scientists based in Singapore, this study found that attitude toward and personal norms of conducting public engagement, as well as PBC, significantly predicted scientists’ willingness to conduct public engagement. Notably, PBC interacted with attitude toward conducting public engagement, the perceived descriptive norms, the perceived positive media influence, and the perceived negative external norms of conducting public engagement, as well as personal norms of conducting public engagement to predict scientists’ willingness to conduct public engagement. We postulated the key role that the perception of the ease or difficulty plays in motivating scientists to conduct the skill-intensive endeavor explains the significant moderating effects. The theoretical implications on the TPB and the practical implications for public engagement are further discussed.

How do STEM graduate students perceive science communication? Understanding science communication perceptions of future scientists

Increasingly, communicating science to the public is recognized as the responsibility of professional scientists; however, these skills are not always included in graduate training. In addition, most research on science communication training during graduate school, which is limited, has been program evaluation or literature reviews and does not report on or seek to understand graduate student perspectives. This research study provides a comprehensive analysis of graduate-level science communication training from the perspective of STEM graduate students. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aimed to investigate where graduate students are receiving science communication training (if at all), what this training looks like from the student’s point of view, and, for graduate students that are engaging in science communication, what do these experiences look like. This study also explores how graduate students define science communication. Taken together, these results will give graduate students a voice in the development of science communication trainings and will remove barriers and increase equity in science communication training.

Identifying science in the news: An assessment of the precision and recall of Altmetric.com news mention data

The company Altmetric is often used to collect mentions of research in online news stories, yet there have been concerns about the quality of this data. This study investigates these concerns. Using a manual content analysis of 400 news stories as a comparison method, we analyzed the precision and recall with which Altmetric identified mentions of research in 8 news outlets. We also used logistic regression to identify the characteristics of research mentions that influence their likelihood of being successfully identified. We find that, for a predefined set of outlets, Altmetric’s news mention data were relatively accurate (F-score = 0.80), with very high precision (0.95) and acceptable recall (0.70), although recall is below 0.50 for some news outlets. Altmetric is more likely to successfully identify mentions of research that include a hyperlink to the research item, an author name, and/or the title of a publication venue. This data source appears to be less reliable for mentions of research that provide little or no bibliometric information, as well as for identifying mentions of scholarly monographs, conference presentations, dissertations, and non-English research articles. Our findings suggest that, with caveats, scholars can use Altmetric news mention data as a relatively reliable source to identify research mentions across a range of outlets with high precision and acceptable recall, offering scholars the potential to conserve resources during data collection. Our study does not, however, offer an assessment of completeness or accuracy of Altmetric news data overall.

Combatting neo-Colonialism in Health Research: What can Aboriginal Health Research Ethics and Global Health Research Ethics Teach Each Other?

The ethics of research involving Aboriginal populations and low and middle-income country populations each developed out of a long history of exploitative research projects and partnerships. Commonalities and differences between the two fields have not yet been examined. This study undertook two independent literature searches for Aboriginal health research ethics and global health research ethics. Content analysis identified shared and differently emphasised ethical principles and concepts between the two fields. Shared ethical concepts like "benefit" and "capacity development" have been developed to guide collaborations in both Aboriginal health research and global health research. However, Aboriginal health research ethics gives much greater prominence to ethical principles that assist in decolonising research practice such as "self-determination", "community-control", and "community ownership". The paper argues that global health research ethics would benefit from giving greater emphasis to these principles to guide research practice, while justice as approached in global health research ethics may inform Aboriginal health research practice. With increasing attention being drawn to the need to decolonise global health research, the lessons Aboriginal health research ethics can offer may be especially timely.

A stakeholder engagement strategy for an ongoing research program in rural dementia care: Stakeholder and researcher perspectives

Participatory research approaches have developed in response to the growing emphasis on translation of research evidence into practice. However, there are few published examples of stakeholder engagement strategies, and little guidance specific to larger ongoing research programs or those with a rural focus. This paper describes the evolution, structure, and processes of an annual Rural Dementia Summit launched in 2008 as an engagement strategy for the Rural Dementia Action Research (RaDAR) program and ongoing for more than 10 years; and reports findings from a parallel mixed-methods study that includes stakeholder and researcher perspectives on the Summit’s value and impact. Twelve years of stakeholder evaluations were analyzed. Rating scale data were summarized with descriptive statistics; open-ended questions were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis. A thematic analysis was also used to analyze interviews with RaDAR researchers. Rating scale data showed high stakeholder satisfaction with all aspects of the Summit. Five themes were identified in the qualitative data: hearing diverse perspectives, building connections, collaborating for change, developing research and practice capacity, and leaving recharged. Five themes were identified in the researcher data: impact on development as a researcher, understanding stakeholder needs, informing research design, deepening commitment to rural dementia research, and building a culture of engagement. These findings reflect the key principles and impacts of stakeholder engagement reported in the literature. Additional findings include the value stakeholders place on connecting with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, how the Summit was revitalizing, and how it developed stakeholder capacity to support change in their communities. Findings indicate that the Summit has developed into a community of practice where people with a common interest come together to learn and collaborate to improve rural dementia care. The Summit’s success and sustainability are linked to RaDAR’s responsiveness to stakeholder needs, the trust that has been established, and the value that stakeholders and researchers find in their participation.

Bringing research alive through stories: reflecting on research storytelling as a public engagement method

Stories are vital in making sense of our lives – and research. Consequently, 12 researchers from the University of Sheffield underwent a three-month training process from September to November 2019 to learn how to shape their research experiences into accessible, ten-minute, spoken stories. This culminated in a storytelling evening as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science, at which researchers from different disciplines discussed various nature–society dynamics in diverse field sites in the Global South. By reflecting on the training process and the performance through qualitative interviews with storytellers and audience members, our study answers the research question: What lessons emerge from an interdisciplinary group of researchers engaging with research storytelling for public engagement? Our study addresses gaps in the literature by focusing on interdisciplinary research storytelling, spoken ten-minute stories, bringing together storytellers’ and audience’s viewpoints, and providing practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners. We argue that research storytelling can have diverse benefits for both researchers and listeners by promoting learning in an accessible format, boosting self-confidence and helping (un/re)learn scholarly communication. However, professional guidance and peer support, as well as ethical sensitivity, are crucial.

Living bioethics, clinical ethics committees and children's consent to heart surgery

This discussion paper considers how seldom recognised theories influence clinical ethics committees. A companion paper examined four major theories in social science: positivism, interpretivism, critical theory and functionalism, which can encourage legalistic ethics theories or practical living bioethics, which aims for theory-practice congruence. This paper develops the legalistic or living bioethics themes by relating the four theories to clinical ethics committee members' reported aims and practices and approaches towards efficiency, power, intimidation, justice, equality and children's interests and rights. Different approaches to framing ethical questions are also considered. Being aware of the four theories' influence can help when seeking to understand and possibly change clinical ethics committee routines. The paper is not a research report but is informed by a recent study in two London paediatric cardiac units. Forty-five practitioners and related experts were interviewed, including eight members of ethics committees, about the work of informing, preparing and supporting families during the extended process of consent to children's elective heart surgery. The mosaic of multidisciplinary teamwork is reported in a series of papers about each profession, including this one on bioethics and law and clinical ethics committees' influence on clinical practice. The qualitative social research was funded by the British Heart Foundation, in order that more may be known about the perioperative views and needs of all concerned. Questions included how disputes can be avoided, how high ethical standards and respectful cooperation between staff and families can be encouraged, and how minors' consent or refusal may be respected, with the support of clinical ethics committees.

Our Health: exploring interdisciplinarity and community-based participatory research in a higher education science shop

This paper presents a qualitative case study of the experiences of student and community partners involved in collaborative health research in the context of an extra-curricular higher education science shop: Our Health. Our Health community partners set research questions around health and well-being, and conduct research with interdisciplinary groups of students using a community-based participatory research model. Our case study explores the benefits and challenges that this approach raises for students and community partners as they navigate the complexities of stepping beyond disciplinary boundaries and relationships to develop new research insights and methodologies. This qualitative case study draws on: grounded theory to analyse online focus groups with participating undergraduate students and community partners; semi-structured interviews with graduate students and key university staff members; and online project meetings. For the latter, we used non-participant observation to observe community members and students at work in online meetings, co-creating evolving knowledge around the lived experiences of health issues. Through these methods, we developed a deeper understanding of the relational modes of community–student collaboration in community-based participatory research. Our findings demonstrate the key role played by interdisciplinarity in the context of a community-based participatory research approach in enabling students and community partners to develop their intrapersonal skills, health research skills and knowledge integration skills, while strengthening connections between the academy and wider communities.

How are public engagement health festivals evaluated? A systematic review with narrative synthesis

The evaluation of public engagement health festivals is of growing importance, but there has been no synthesis of its practice to date. We conducted a systematic review of evidence from the evaluation of health-related public engagement festivals published since 2000 to inform future evaluation. Primary study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Extracted data were integrated using narrative synthesis, with evaluation methods compared with the Queen Mary University of London public engagement evaluation toolkit. 407 database records were screened; eight studies of varied methodological quality met the inclusion criteria. Evaluations frequently used questionnaires to collect mixed-methods data. Higher quality studies had specific evaluation aims, used a wider variety of evaluation methods and had independent evaluation teams. Evaluation sample profiles were often gender-biased and not ethnically representative. Patient involvement in event delivery supported learning and engagement. These findings and recommendations can help improve future evaluations. (Research Registry ID reviewregistry1021).

Learning to love ourselves again: Organizing Filipinx/a/o scholar-activists as antiracist public health praxis

A critical component for health equity lies in the inclusion of structurally excluded voices, such as Filipina/x/o Americans (FilAms). Because filam invisibility is normalized, denaturalizing these conditions requires reimagining power relations regarding whose experiences are documented, whose perspectives are legitimized, and whose strategies are supported. in this community case study, we describe our efforts to organize a multidisciplinary, multigenerational, community-driven collaboration for FilAm community wellness. Catalyzed by the disproportionate burden of deaths among FilAm healthcare workers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying silence from mainstream public health leaders, we formed the Filipinx/a/o Community Health Association (FilCHA). FilCHA is a counterspace where students, faculty, clinicians, and community leaders across the nation could collectively organize to resist our erasure. By building a virtual, intellectual community that centers our voices, FilCHA shifts power through partnerships in which people who directly experience the conditions that cause inequities have leadership roles and avenues to share their perspectives. We used Pinayism to guide our study of FilCHA, not just for the current crisis State-side, but through a multigenerational, transnational understanding of what knowledges have been taken from us and our ancestors. By naming our collective pain, building a counterspace for love of the community, and generating reflections for our communities, we work toward shared liberation. Harnessing the collective power of researchers as truth seekers and organizers as community builders in affirming spaces for holistic community wellbeing is love in action. This moment demands that we explicitly name love as essential to antiracist public health praxis.

The Ecological Root Metaphor for Higher Education: Searching for Evidence of Conceptual Emergence within University Education Strategies

Recent research has suggested that Higher Education would benefit from the adoption of institutional models that relinquish ties to industrial thinking and associated metaphors. This long-established, market-led managerial perspective has been colonised by neoliberal values that work against education. A move towards models that have greater resonance with ecological thinking is considered to better align the institutional purpose with tackling the wicked problems of the current century and promoting social justice. This paper considers the role of root metaphors in promoting and maintaining an ecological perspective and asks if there is any evidence for the emergence of ecological thinking in institutional education strategies that might support the development of the imagined future of the ecological university. Qualitative document analysis suggests that the move towards the adoption of the ecological root metaphor will require a punctuated change that is not compatible with the typical incremental nature of change within universities. The incremental adoption of ecological terminology may trigger an increase in pedagogic frailty if the root metaphor remains linked to the neoliberal ideology of consumerism. The construction of strategy documents needs to consider how key concepts are related to each other and how they can portray a coherent image of the institution’s ambitions.

Integrating beyond Content: A Framework for Infusing Elementary STEM-Focused Schools Components into Full-Service Community Schools

Learning through an integrated STEM framework has been shown to provide elementary students with numerous advantages over learning through isolated content instruction. All students, however, do not have access to high quality STEM instruction for reasons such as living in an under resourced community or their elementary school teachers feeling unprepared in STEM. For the purpose broadening STEM participation, this conceptual paper proposes a thoughtful integration of two interdisciplinary yet separate educational initiatives: STEM-focused elementary schools and full-service community schools (FSCS). In this conceptual manuscript, each educational initiative is first described independently. Then an explanation of how the central tenets of STEM-focused elementary schools and FSCS overlap is presented. Resultantly, a proposed model for integrating the two educational initiatives (FSCSeSTEM) is depicted using a rigorous design-based research methodology. This conceptual piece ultimately demonstrates that it seems prudent to consider integrating not only content in elementary schools, but also well-researched and established educational initiatives for the possibility of expanding STEM opportunities for all. FSCSeSTEM is one such attempt at a conceptual model proposed for future research and practice.

Does digital, multimedia information increase recruitment and retention in a children's wrist fracture treatment trial, and what do people think of it? A randomised controlled Study Within A Trial (SWAT)

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate digital, multimedia information (MMI) for its effects on trial recruitment, retention, decisions about participation and acceptability by patients, compared with printed information.

DESIGN

Study Within A Trial using random cluster allocation within the Forearm Fracture Recovery in Children Evaluation (FORCE) study.

SETTING

Emergency departments in 23 UK hospitals.

PARTICIPANTS

1409 children aged 4-16 years attending with a torus (buckle) fracture, and their parents/guardian. Children's mean age was 9.2 years, 41.0% were female, 77.4% were ethnically White and 90.0% spoke English as a first language.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants and their parents/guardian received trial information either via multimedia, including animated videos, talking head videos and text (revised for readability and age appropriateness when needed) on tablet computer (MMI group; n=681), or printed participant information sheet (PIS group; n=728).

OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcome was recruitment rate to FORCE. Secondary outcomes were Decision-Making Questionnaire (nine Likert items, analysed summatively and individually), three 'free text' questions (deriving subjective evaluations) and trial retention.

RESULTS

MMI produced a small, not statistically significant increase in recruitment: 475 (69.8%) participants were recruited from the MMI group; 484 (66.5%) from the PIS group (OR=1.35; 95% CI 0.76 to 2.40, p=0.31). A total of 324 (23.0%) questionnaires were returned and analysed. There was no difference in total Decision-Making Questionnaire scores: adjusted mean difference 0.05 (95% CI -1.23 to 1.32, p=0.94). The MMI group was more likely to report the information 'very easy' to understand (89; 57.8% vs 67; 39.4%; Z=2.60, p=0.01) and identify information that was explained well (96; 62.3% vs 71; 41.8%). Almost all FORCE recruits were retained at the 6 weeks' timepoint and there was no difference in retention rate between the information groups: MMI (473; 99.6%); PIS (481; 99.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

MMI did not increase recruitment or retention in the FORCE trial, but participants rated multimedia as easier to understand and were more likely to evaluate it positively.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN73136092 and ISRCTN13955395.

Epistemic justice in public involvement and engagement: Creating conditions for impact

Introduction

Patient and public involvement in research is anchored in moral and epistemological rationales. Moral rationales relate to the public having a right to influence how knowledge about them is generated. Epistemological rationales relate to how research design and implementation can improve when informed by experiential, as well as technical, knowledge. In other words, public involvement can increase the epistemological resources of researchers, and contribute to research that is fit for purpose and has high external validity.

Methods

This article presents an analysis of 3 meetings and 11 interviews with public collaborators and researchers in three UK‐based health research studies. Data comprised transcripts of audio‐recorded research meetings and interviews with public collaborators and researchers. Data were first analysed to develop a data‐informed definition of experiential knowledge, then thematically to investigate how this experiential knowledge was considered and received within the research space.

Results

At meetings, public collaborators shared their experiential knowledge as stories, comments, questions, answers and when referring to their own roles. They were aware of crossing a boundary from everyday life, and some adapted their contributions to fit within the research space. Although researchers and public collaborators made efforts to create an inclusive climate, obstacles to impact were identified.

Conclusions

Considering experiential knowledge as a boundary object highlights that this knowledge has a different form to other kinds of knowledge that contribute to research. To enable impact from experiential knowledge, researchers need to create a space where public collaborators experience epistemic justice.

Patient and Public Contribution

The Peninsula Public Engagement Group (PenPEG) was involved in the planning and conceptualization of the study, including the development of the ethics application and the interview schedules. One member of this group (Richard Fitzgerald) and one from outside the group (Leon Farmer), were full members of the author team and were involved in the data analysis. Leon Farmer has since become a member of PenPEG. Richard Fitzgerald and Leon Farmer were not involved in the three research studies sampled for this study. Sadly Richard Fitzgerald died during the course of this study.

An Introduction to Engaged Phenomenology

In this article, I introduce engaged phenomenology as an approach through which phenomenologists can more explicitly and critically consider the generative conditions and implications of their research. I make an explicit link between philosophical insights from critical and generative phenomenology and the ethical and methodological insights offered by engaged research methods-a community-oriented approach to the generation of shared understanding for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders in research. The article consists of (a) a review of these respective strands of inquiry, (b) an overview and critique of mainstream qualitative methodologies in phenomenology, and (c) suggestions for those interested in working through engaged phenomenology as an approach to both theory and research praxis.

Public and Patient Involvement in Doctoral Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections on the Process, Challenges, Impact and Experiences From the Perspectives of Adults With Cerebral Palsy and the Doctoral Researcher

Introduction

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong condition, where people may experience complications as they age. Including the views of people with CP through Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) ensures that research into the condition is relevant and meaningful in addressing their concerns. However, there is a lack of evidence on incorporating the voices of adults with CP in the doctoral research process. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an overview of how adults with CP were involved in a doctoral research process during the pandemic.

Methods

This paper describes the PPI process and its impact at various stages of the doctoral research process and reflects on the experiences from the perspective of the doctoral researcher and adults with CP using the INVOLVE Values and Principles framework. Five adults with CP were consulted throughout the doctoral research programme. The data for this paper is a combination of reflection notes, email exchanges, meeting minutes and informal discussions with the PPI team on their experiences of being involved in the PPI process. The content of this paper is informed by GRIPP 2 checklist.

Results

The doctoral researcher and adult reflections highlighted the value of collaboration and the positive impact on research at each stage of the doctoral research process. Although meetings were adapted due to the pandemic, the values of PPI were adhered to throughout the doctoral research.

Conclusion

Involving adults with CP positively impacted the doctoral research process. It is recommended to consider individual access needs to ensure meetings and information are accessible for disabled adults. Our reflective findings and recommendations may help other researchers who plan to involve adults with CP in doctoral research.