Improving our health by translating research evidence into local NHS practice
Research for health in the new world
2nd February 2011
Jump to download presentations from the event
A free dissemination event to bring together the health services research community and showcase the achievements of the NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Birmingham and the Black Country (NIHR CLAHRC-BBC) attracted over a hundred delegates from across the Midlands and beyond.
The event, titled ‘Research for health in the new world’, held on Tuesday 1st February, was staged at The Old Library Theatre situated in the Custard Factory, Birmingham. Through a series of guest speakers and discussions, the event addressed the challenges of delivering patient and public involvement in applied health research, tackled the barriers of implementing knowledge into practice and facilitated engagement across the applied health services research community. The research activities and findings being conducted by the NIHR CLAHRC-BBC were also showcased.
Prof Tim Hofer from the University of Michigan opened the event with his key note speech titled ‘Trends in Quality Improvement for Patients’. Prof Tim Hofer explored the developments in quality improvement over the last three decades and what needs to be addressed when designing quality improvement. He said “quality improvement is an integral part of the bench to bedside continuum”.
Philippa Yeeles, Deputy Director of INVOLVE chaired the session entitled “Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) for Health”. Through a series of case studies, Reverend Barry Clark, Chaplaincy Manager for University Hospital Birmingham celebrated how patient and public involvement is used in the research activities of the CLAHRC for Birmingham and the Black Country. Reverend Clark introduced Brin Helliwell, a Stroke Survivor which left him with total paralysis on his right side. Brin explained to delegates how he got involved with the CLAHRC, specifically Theme 7 which investigates the management of stroke and transient ischaemic attack. Brin said “by getting involved with the research as a patient, the more my brain has speeded up and my confidence grown.”
Reverend Clark went on to address the challenges of delivering patient and public involvement in applied health research, explaining the importance of using stories based on personal experience alongside numerical data. He asked the challenging question “are patients the subject to our work or the object?”
Dr Jonathan Ives, Lecturer in Behavioural Science at the University of Birmingham asked the question whether we need to rethink the provision of training when involving patients and public in applied health research. “We cannot do without patient and public involvement in carrying out research, but it must be done in a way that avoids the paradox of creating a professional lay person. Rather than professionalising lay people, researchers should be trained to communicate better with non-experts.”
Professor Richard Lilford, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at University of Birmingham chaired the last session of the afternoon titled ‘Knowledge for Health”. Prof Lilford informed delegates that knowledge management is an inherent part of CLAHRC-BBC and introduced the idea of a ‘knowledge exchange forum’ which is a “place where academics and health service managers can meet to exchange knowledge”.
Dr Tom Marshall, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Public Health, University of Birmingham, closed the dissemination event and summarised the key messages from the afternoon, specifically highlighting the important role of patient and public involvement “to steer researchers into which direction is useful” in applied health research.
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Timothy P. Hofer, MD University of Michigan Medical School Associate Director, VA Center for Clinical Management Research |
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Barry Clark, CLAHRC-BBC PPI Lead; Aubrey Forkuoh and Brin Helliwell CLAHRC-BBC PPI Representatives |
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Barry Clark, CLAHRC-BBC PPI Lead |
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Richard Lilford, Director CLAHRC-BBC |
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| Objectivity and induction | John Paley, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health University of Stirling |
Further presentations and photographs will be published shortly.
