Summer school launches to promote patient and public involvement in research

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) is about involving patients, service users, carers and family members in health and social care research. It is a core element of both the National Institute for Health and Social Care’s commitment to improving the health outcomes of the nation, and our own commitment to giving the people who are meant to benefit from our research a say in shaping the research agenda. We enjoy an international reputation for the quality and breadth of our Public and Patient Involvement.

Now our PPIE team lead Dr Kristin Liabo has brought together a team of experts from the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Exeter and our dedicated Patient and Public Engagement Group (PenPEG) to deliver an informative and thought-provoking summer school designed for anyone with an interest in PPIE and embedding patient and public involvement in their work and research.

Called ‘Building partnerships with creativity and justice: Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) in Health and Care Research’ the summer school represents an opportunity for researchers, PhD students and PPIE involvement co-ordinators and facilitators to, ‘go beyond the numbers and rhetoric and explore innovative and honest ways of generating and disseminating knowledge and foster uptake by building constructive and creative relationships.’

“To understand the world through research, we need to work with the world and people in it, not treat it as separate to us.”

The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the vital links between research, communities and public engagement as members of the public joined the Covid research effort. Professor of Relational Health and PenARC theme lead for Public Health Katrina Wyatt said: “Working alongside communities, patients and carers ensures that we generate a shared understanding of the nature of the problem and research together to try and address the issues. I’m very excited to be part of this summer school and to explore links with our community partners to achieve meaningful engagement and involvement in research and in teaching.”

Professor of Clinical and Social Epidemiology G J Melendez Torres said: “No matter the question, no matter the topic, effective involvement and engagement are essential to delivering meaningful research and driving impact.”

The summer school sets out to examine innovative ways of generating and spreading knowledge, with an online introduction on 15th March, followed by a 3 day residential Summer School beginning on June 28th with a range of expert speakers.

Dr Kristin Liabo said: “To understand the world through research, we need to work with the world and people in it, not treat it as separate to us. We look forward to days of sharing and co-creating further knowledge on positive engagement, first online at the introductory day and then in person in Exeter. Our hope is that people will leave feeling inspired and ready to do more, and more creative, engaged research”.

Angela King, an active patient advocate for over 25 years said: “When we step into the unknown, we begin to learn.  If we take that step together, we can create new ways of seeing and new solutions to the problems we all share.  This summer school is a rare opportunity to explore a different way of working together and a fresh look at PPIE.”

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Book now to take advantage of the early bird-rate  

Visit the CMH website or  contact the team for further information.