New academy launched to engage region in health education and research
By: Communications
Picture: Prof Caitlin Notley, Citizen’s Academy’s Director
The Citizen’s Academy, a new programme from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of East Anglia (UEA) will be launched to the public on Tuesday 3 May at the Forum in Norwich. This brand-new initiative aims to involve the community and patients in health education and research at UEA, which could have a direct impact on frontline health workers.
The event will host a live panel discussion, led by bestselling author and nurse, Prof Christie Watson, alongside offering a range of exhibits to be explored.
In the interview below with Citizen’s Academy’s Director, Prof Caitlin Notley, she discusses in detail what the academy is, how similar initiatives at UEA have impacted research and education in the past and how members of the public can get involved.
Can you tell us about the Citizens Academy and why it was created?
The Citizen's Academy, based within the Faculty of Medicine and Health, represents a coordinated approach to involving members of the public, patients and experts with relevant experience across all aspects of teaching and research.
It is the product of a 2019 report by a task and finish group, which highlighted a broad range of PPI activities taking place across the Faculty, and considered how to make PPI more visible, sustainable and prominent The report concluded that a central point of contact was needed, a ‘hub’ which could bring together all we do as a Faculty, by involves patients and the public in our research and teaching.
How have similar UEA initiatives impacted medical and health research in the past?
The Citizen’s Academy is not an entirely new approach – it is very much built on the good practice and immense efforts of colleagues that have paved the way for where we are now. For example, PPiRES (Patient and Public Involvement in Research panel), has been operating successfully for many years, and has worked tirelessly with a core group of experts to input to research in development, funded research projects and teaching.
As PPiRes now focuses on studies based in a primary care setting, the Citizen’s Academy provides a central reference point for members of the public and academics, to meet and discuss involvement and engagement more broadly. Existing service user panels and co-production groups have been fundamental to ensuring the success of our work as a Faculty – in helping us to develop and deliver truly patient centred research, and to focus on patient experience within education and clinical training.
The Citizen’s Academy also seeks to develop new areas for patient and public involvement and engagement, in an inclusive and collaborative manner. This is a journey that we are all on together – we are all ‘Citizens’ with relevant experiences to share, and it is vital we learn from each other.
What sort of participants are you looking for?
The Citizen’s Academy invites all interested Citizens to be part of the work we do across the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Often people seek to become involved if they have a clinical experience to share and want to ‘give something back.’ Maybe they have a lived experience of a physical condition, a disability, or a mental health condition. Perhaps they have been a carer or witnessed a family member looking after someone with a long-term condition. Any direct experience of a health condition could be relevant and helpful for us to learn from.
What would they be expected to do? Is it a big commitment?
Involvement can happen in many different ways, at many different levels. Any contribution is welcome, and no one would ever be asked to do anything beyond what they are comfortable with.
For example, a person caring for a relative with Dementia could helpfully advise a research team developing a funding application to support carers of people with Dementia. Learning from direct experience would be really helpful in this example, to shape the research questions, ensure we are collecting patient focused outcomes, and to check that we are using the right language. In this example, involvement may be simply attending one or two meetings to talk to the research team, or there could be opportunities for more extensive involvement, such as being a member of an oversight advisory group, or even getting involved in disseminating research findings.
All involvement will, of course, be formally discussed beforehand, supported, and followed up, so that people contributing their time feel properly prepared and supported. We have a clear reimbursement policy as a way of thanking people for their time and will always reimburse any expenses.
What will the public gain from attending the event at the Forum?
This event is our formal public launch of the Citizen’s Academy. We are so excited that this will be a face-to-face interactive event, after such a difficult few years with limited events being able to happen.
We hope to showcase some of the PPI work already happening in the Faculty of Medicine and Health – there will be exhibits that people can explore, with the opportunity to chat to those of us working at UEA. There will also be the opportunity to volunteer or find out more about involvement opportunities. Our live panel discussion, led by bestselling author and nurse, Prof Christie Watson, will be a really excellent opportunity to hear from PPI members about their experiences, to ask questions, and be part of the conversation about the importance of PPI.
Get involved with the Citizen's Academy at UEA
If you would like to find out about involvement opportunities available within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the team would love to hear from you. Please get in touch via email at citizens.academy@uea.ac.uk.
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