People in Health West of England Learning and Development Programme: Understanding Research Evidence

This practical and engaging workshop is designed for people involved in or supporting health research from outside traditional academic roles. Whether you're a public contributor, part of a community organisation, an academic, or someone helping connect communities to research, this session helps demystify the world of health research. It will explore:

What health research is and the different ways it can be done
How it's presented in the media and what to watch out for
How to think critically about health information and research findings
Key questions to ask when engaging with research evidence

Who can attend?

Anyone with an interest in public involvement in health and social care research, including public contributors, community organisations and researchers.

This event will be in-person only. The building is fully accessible. Further details on the workshop and venue will be provided at least one week prior to the event.

Presenters

This workshop will be delivered by Andy Gibson, Faiza Gul and Mari-Rose Kennedy.

Andy Gibson is Associate Professor in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and has a social sciences background. His research interests focus on public involvement in health research. He is the academic co-lead for People in Health West of England, a University of the West of England (UWE)-led collaborative initiative on PPI in health research, and is PPI lead for: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West, NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, and Bristol Health Partners. He also leads the UWE patient and public involvement team based in the Department of Health and Social Sciences.
Faiza Gul is a Research Associate in Public Involvement at the University of the West of England. She recently completed her PhD at UWE in the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing on A critical analysis of the impact of inter-generational differences on the attitudes to lifestyle behavioural change among South Asian migrant population in the UK. Faiza's work focuses on involving diverse communities in research to ensure inclusive and impactful outcomes. She is passionate about improving public health through collaborative and evidence-based approaches. In her UWE role Faiza supports researchers and academics to embed meaningful involvement of patients, communities, and the public throughout the research process. Her work helps ensure that research is not only scientifically robust but also ethically grounded, culturally sensitive, and relevant to the communities it aims to serve.
Mari-Rose Kennedy is qualitative researcher with ARC West working in public involvement. She is currently working as a Senior Research Associate on the Health Research Ambassador project with community partner CaafiHealth, an initiative to increase connections between underserved communities and research. Mari is also working with university- and community- based colleagues to expand the Health Ambassador model, focusing on knowledge mobilisation activities, and coordinates the 'My Friday Coffee Morning - Barton Hill'. Mari’s research interests include public involvement, health inequalities and provision of health and social care, responsible research and innovation, research integrity and ethics.

About People in Health West of England

People in Health West of England (PHWE) is a University of the West of England-based organisation which exists to promote and facilitate patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in health research. We seek to promote a collaborative approach to the representation of the patient and public voice for better involvement, better research and better health outcomes for all.

The aims of these biannual workshops are to:

Strengthen the PPIE community of practice across the West of England region in health and social care research
Help clinicians, researchers and public contributors gain a better understanding of what PPIE is and involves
Develop PPI skills and expertise

All workshops within this series are free, but spaces are limited.

Understanding Research Evidence in Patient and Public Involvement projects