Webinar: Public Engagement and Involvement in Health Research: How well are we doing?

Public engagement and involvement in health research is now a global phenomenon. It can help improve the quality and relevance of research and is increasingly required by research funders from across the world. But how well do we really 'do' public engagement and involvement in research in different parts of the world? The UK has a long history of these type of activities, but do they provide the benchmark for best practice? Researchers in South Africa are making significant efforts to tackle the nation’s health challenges and community engagement plays a critical role, but are they approaching it the right way? What can we learn from each other to help us improve?

In these videos, originally part of the Cochrane Learning Live and International PPI Network webinar series, you will hear from speakers from the UK and South Africa with experience of running and taking part in public engagement and involvement projects. They share their experiences of the progress that has been made as well as putting forward the problems and issues with this field of work. 

The webinar was delivered in July 2020 and organised through a collaboration between the International PPI Network, the NIHR Global Health Programme and Mesh, The Global Health Network's Community Engagement hub.

Part 1: Introduction to Community Engagement and Involvement and the NIHR Global Health Research Programme

Doreen Tembo, Senior Research Manager for Patient and Public Involvement and External Review at the NIHR Evaluations Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre 

Part 2: Community Engagement and Involvement: Views from South Africa

Anastasia Koch, Co-founder of Eh!woza and TB Researcher and Nabeel Petersen, Director of Interfer and Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow 

Part 3: Community Engagement and Involvement: Views from the United Kingdom

Gary Hickey, Senior Public Involvement Manager at the Wessex Institute and Kati Turner, Survivor Researcher at the Population Health Research Institute at St George's University of London

Part 4: Questions and Answers 

Audience Poll: “What two key elements of public engagement and involvement need to be improved?"

During the webinar the audience were asked to give their answer to this question. The cloud below illustrates the key themes that emerged. Most mentioned was the need for appropriate evaluation of the impact and quality of engagement work and the importance of widening the diversity of those involved. 

Download the slides from the webinar [PDFs]:

Part 1: Community Engagement and Involvement and the NIHR Global Health Research Programme

Part 2: Community Engagement and Involvement: Views from South Africa

Part 3: Community Engagement and Involvement: Views from the United Kingdom

If you have any questions or comments please get in touch: mesh@tghn.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License