Involving People
At YH ARC we think it’s really important that we work in partnership with patients, carers and members of the public throughout the research process. This is also known as Public Involvement or PPI. We use the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) definition of public involvement:
“Public involvement in research is research ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them.”
Meet our team
Christine Smith
Help us shape our involvement work
Yorkshire and Humber ARC is an active member of the VOICES network and hosts this webpage on their behalf.
Voices was formed in 2015. It brings together members of the public and health and social care professionals from across the Yorkshire and the Humber region who have an interest in public involvement in research.
Involving People
Why get involved?
Public involvement is essential to our research. We want to engage people in all aspects of our research to improve the relevance and reach; and impact and quality of our work. There are many ways for you to get involved with our work, from advising on specific studies to coming to one of our events. To find out more please get in touch with the team YHARC@bthft.nhs.uk
Public involvement in YH ARC
We have a core team called the Patient and Public Involvement/Engagement (PPIE) Leadership & Support Group. The team's role is to:
- support patients, carers and members of the public to get involved in research projects
- Provide training opportunities for both researchers and members of the public to learn more about how to effectively work together
- Support research teams across the different areas of the YH ARC's work to properly plan for, carry out, and report on patient/public involvement activities.
- Communicate and share information about the YH ARC's work with patients and the wider public.
- Support PPI evaluation and produce recommendations for developing and sharing good practice
PPIE training
We provide on-line and face to face training in public involvement, for researchers and members of the public. For more information please contact: Christine Smith (christinesmithconsultancy@gmail.com)
Our resources
PPI Voices Terms of Reference
Voices was formed in 2015. It brings together members of the public and health and social care professionals from across the Yorkshire and the Humber region who have an interest in public involvement in research. Read their terms of reference here.
COVID PPI Resources
Alongside other involvement leads in the region, ARC Y&H have contributed to this guidance document - a collation of information and top tips on conducting involvement activities during Covid-19.
Why do I need to think about equalities impact assesments for Research
This webinar will disuss the challenge of increasing diversity in research and present a solution - The Equality Impact Assessment
Taking Steps Towards Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Yorkshire & Humber ARC Research
We want all people and communities in YH to benefit from our research. To do this we aim to follow best practice and have the highest standards of equality, diversity and inclusion in all our research.
The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) are leading efforts to put the latest NIHR Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy into practice within their research programs. Some ARCs have developed toolkits while others have developed strategies focused on "mainstreaming" EDI.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) on a pain and frailty study – reflections on involvement, engagement, and impact
The The YH ARC supported Pain in Older People with Frailty (POPPY) Study is a 3-year NIHR-funded study hosted by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (commenced April 2022). The study aims to provide service guidance to improve access and support for older adults living with frailty to better manage their pain.
Gypsy and Traveller-led Research Partnerships: Reaching Out
As part of our PPIE and Co-Production focus in December, our Co-Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead, Christine Smith, shares a blog about The Reaching Out Initiative. This important project was born from a vision to bridge gaps and foster meaningful relationships between Gypsy and Traveller Communities (GTC) in Yorkshire and Humber and researchers from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This initiative aimed to encourage the development of new public involvement relationships and more inclusive approaches to community engagement, based on community development principles.
Economic Evaluation Online Resource
As part of the NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) project – Unlocking Data to Inform Public Health Policy and Practice (aka. Unlocking Data project) – the researchers, with support from the YH ARC Co-Chair for the PPIE Leadership Group, have developed an online resource which explains how the Economic Evaluation tool, can be used in a health setting.
Priority setting for ARC research – can we take a longer-term view?
In this blog, our patient and public involvement team reflect on the process of involving people in the setting of ARC research priorities. The blog proposes that a priorities list can evolve over time as more voices are heard, and context changes. In this approach, priority setting can be conceived as a way of building long-term relationships, instead of as a one-off exercise.
Impact! Public Involvement! Improvement! Tying these 3 concepts together….
In this blog, our Public Involvement Leads introduce the quality improvement approach we're using in order to understand how our public involvement makes a difference.
Reflections on Patient Public Involvement and Engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic: so much more than running digital patient panels
The YH ARC reflects on strengths and weaknesses in our attempts to involve and engage communities in our research during Covid in this blog, and the lessons this has taught us about inclusivity and relationships.
Using the World Café process to develop a ReQoL Community of Practice (CoP)
Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are a means of assessing the quality and effectiveness of care from the patient’s perspective. However, the routine use of PROMs in clinical practice can be difficult to implement. New challenges arise at different stages of the implementation process and organisations need to invest time and financial resources into designing an appropriate strategy, information systems, providing technical support and preparing staff.
