The importance of patient and public involvement and engagement in research – a PhD researcher’s journey of discovery

Anna Pathmanathan PhD student, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Reblogged from Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol

Hello, my name is Anna Pathmanathan and I am a Third year PhD researcher at the University of Bristol. I am part of the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) team and I’m investigating health differences between different ethnic groups, relating to antibiotic resistance and respiratory health concerns.

I am currently conducting big data analysis of healthcare records and interviewing health care practitioners and patients, as part of my work.

What did you know and how did you feel about patient and public involvement and engagement when you started your PhD?

Before starting my PhD, I had no experience of engaging or involving the public in research. I had very little research experience at all, so it was all new to me.

When I realised I needed to involve the public in my research I felt very nervous, as this was something I had never done. Having just started a PhD, I didn’t feel qualified to coordinate meetings with members of the public, as I had never done this and had no experience of engaging with the public or knowing how to run these meetings.

How did you overcome your nerves and what have you learned about PPIE?

Through completing training as part of my PhD, I have grown to understand the importance of including members of the public in all aspects of research – from deciding the topic all the way to sharing the results.

I have shadowed colleagues’ PPIE meetings to understand more about PPIE, and attended training run by the University of Bristol and People in Health West of England. Initially PPIE was this scary acronym, and I did not understand why it was beneficial. However, these opportunities helped me to understand what PPIE was, how to conduct it and understand how it can support research.

Speaking to colleagues who are conducting PPIE and receiving support from the PPIE coordinator within my team drastically improved my confidence and prepared me for the process of meaningfully incorporating PPIE in my PhD. But the best way I overcame my PPIE fears was to start.

Once I began involving the public and talking to contributors, I learned the best way to facilitate meetings with my advisory group. You really do learn and gain confidence by beginning. I also joined the CAPC PPIE Steering Group which has involved talking about PPIE best practice with staff and public members and helping to develop CAPC’s longer term PPIE plans. Through this, I have learned how to conduct PPIE, to make sure it is meaningful, relevant and beneficial for all concerned.

How do you feel about PPIE now?

I’m now in a different place to where I started. My understanding of PPIE has grown exponentially and I am now comfortable facilitating PPIE advisory group meetings, presenting to interest holders and communicating my research to many types of people, with different opinions and experiences.

Through my journey with PPIE I have grown to see its importance and benefits. PPIE ensures that research is relevant, helps to strengthen and form relationships with public members and organisations, and ultimately improves the impact your research has in society. I truly believe that if we want to make a real-world impact as researchers, we need to talk to the people our research affects.

Crucially, because of the public involvement in and engagement with my PhD, I am confident that my research is relevant and will make a difference to the population’s health.

What would you tell other PhD students starting their PPIE journey?

If I was speaking to somebody who was anxious about beginning PPIE or had limited experience of it, I would say don’t worry, it can be intimidating to begin with, especially if you don’t know where to start.

The whole point of PPIE is to work collaboratively with the public, so it’s okay if you don’t have all the answers, just be open and honest about that, and you might find the answers together.

It’s ok if you don’t know how to solve an issue you are having with your research, public involvement and engagement can provide you with new perspectives that can help resolve it. PPIE makes you a better researcher and all research needs it. The importance of working with the public cannot be overstated.