Research User Group Newsletter Keele University RUG Summer newsletter 2018 | Page 14

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ANNUAL EVENT
ANNUAL EVENT
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Accelerating the impact of our
research using Patient Power
Friday 13th October was anything but unlucky for the
Research Institute’s Patient and Public Involvement and
Engagement Team, who were joined by over 80 patients,
stakeholders and researchers for their annual Research
User Group (RUG) event.
This year’s event entitled ‘Accelerating the
impact of research using patient and public
involvement’ was a huge success, leaving all
those involved feeling rather inspired to make
a difference to the way the Research Institute
implements research into practice.
Keele Hall’s ballroom was buzzing with
enthusiasm as participants made introductions
and caught up over their morning coffee and cake.
Delegates could be found talking to
representatives from Arthritis Research UK and
the National Institute for Health Research
(NIHR). Our very own Dr John Bedson was
showcasing the mobile app designed by Keele’s
Research User Group, ‘Keele Pain Recorder’,
aimed at improving pain management.
Jargon busting with Ethel and Agnes
Breaking up the day with a bit of light comic relief, we welcomed
back our two favourite Grannies, Ethel and Agnes.
Ethel and Agnes (played by two budding actresses, and members of
our team) helped demonstrate how daunting the process can be joining
the research – and now implementation – world as a non-academic,
but also how here at Keele we make every effort to ensure a positive
experience that empowers patients to have a voice.
This year they were even joined by a member of Research User Group
on stage who played the part of Ethel’s husband!
Welcome from the
Research Institute Bridging the Research
to Implementation gap The stars of the show;
our patients
Research Institute Director,
Professor Elaine Hay, set the
scene for the day. She welcomed
the development of the Impact
Accelerator Unit over the past
12 months and recognised the
positive changes this has made to
public and patient involvement and
engagement – which is now an
integral part of implementation as
well as research. Promising it
wasn’t something straight out of
a ‘Star Trek’ movie, Elaine
summarised that the unit was about
proactively managing the process
of implementing research findings
into health care by using patient
power. She congratulated all of
those involved in public and patient
involvement and engagement over
the years for all their hard-work
and dedication. Our keynote speaker took the
stage next – Sophie Staniszewska,
Professor of Public Involvement
and Engagement at Warwick
University. Sophie highlighted that
studies often fall victim to ‘research
waste’, where findings are either
not implemented into routine
healthcare or take up to 17 years
to be implemented. However, she
feels that the promising concepts
of co-production and knowledge
mobilisation can go a long
way in bridging the research to
implementation gap. Magdalena Skrybant, a member of
our Lay Involvement in Knowledge
Mobilisation group, highlighted that
as a patient involved in the research
process, it can be really satisfying
to see research published in a
journal but not as much when you
fast forward ten years and it’s still
not been translated in practice.
So what does she mean? Quite
simply, it’s ensuring that clinicians,
economists, academics and
patients are all involved in all
elements of the research cycle.
This includes study design,
research output design,
development of guidelines and
implementation activities. This can
be done through a ‘knowledge
mobiliser’ or ‘knowledge broker’ – a
champion who communicates with
all of these structures to connect the
different areas, helping to facilitate
a more efficient implementation
process.
Aware that processes are slow, she
reiterated how essential patients
are when improving the design and
delivery of research by providing
their insights and experiences.
This could be helping to create
publications that signpost patients
to the right places, or helping
disseminate a mobile app that a
researcher has developed.
Patricia Callaghan also shared her
insights as a member of the group
as she pulled on a few heart strings,
taking the audience through her
journey to becoming a member.