Patient and Public Involvement in PenCLAHRC

1. Patient and Public Involvement in PenCLAHRC A key aspect of the structure of PenCLAHRC is “Engagement by Design”, in which patients, carers and the public as well as health professionals are involved at all stages of the research process. HYPOTHESES By ensuring that research conducted by PenCLAHRC directly addresses questions posed by end users, we will increase the likely impact of research evidence on clinical practice. Closer engagement with the users of health services and their carers will lead to better treatment decisions; greater ownership of, and commitment to, these decisions; greater patient enablement; and better health outcomes. • THE LIFEWORLD • Impact of health problems on everyday life • Discussions with family and friends • Impact of treatment(s) on everyday life • Evaluation of treatments • Decision making about treatment(s) • PenCLAHRC: BRIDGING THE GAP • Generating the question • Structuring the question • Answering the question • Implementing the answer • Evaluating the implementation • THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM • Concordant consultations based on partnership • Better treatment decisions • Greater commitment to treatment decisions • Improved health outcomes The lifeworld is the everyday world shared with others, which provides culturally transmitted ways of interpreting experiences as well as the language to describe them. It is within the lifeworld that people make sense of symptoms, treatments and consultations with professionals on the basis of meanings and interpretations shared within their social groups. The work of PenCLAHRC is to bridge the gap between the lifeworlds of patients, carers and the public and the health care system. This will be carried out by working with local user and carer groups, engaging with local communities, and building on existing initiatives and good practice within the Peninsula. References: N Britten (2008) Medicines and Society: Patients, Professionals and the Dominance of Pharmaceuticals, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Contacts: Professor Nicky Britten, nicky.britten@pms.ac.uk and Dr Andy Gibson, Peninsula Medical School, St Luke’s Campus, Exeter http://clahrc-peninsula.nihr.ac.uk South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust Torbay Care Trust University of Exeter University of Plymouth Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust Cornwall Partnership Trust Devon Partnership NHS Trust Devon Primary Care Trust NHS South West Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust Plymouth Teaching Primary Care Trust Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Royal Devon & Exeter Healthcare Foundation Trust