Bringing together statisticians and patient and public contributors: our first PPIE Meets Statistics Training Event

By Pradeep Virdee, Katie Arundell and Sue Duncombe

The NDPCHS Cancer Theme were delighted host the first ‘PPIE Meets Statistics Training Event’ on Friday 12 July 2024 at Saïd Business School in Oxford. This in-person, full day meeting provided an exciting opportunity for PPIE contributors to network with statisticians both from our department and externally and hear lay-friendly and engaging talks to demystify statistics.

We used fun, interactive, and engaging ways to explain the concept of data and statistics to lay audiences in an accessible and relatable way. Our creative approaches included poetry, games, interactive scenarios, analogies, and workshops. We wanted to showcase that statistics can be fun.

Pradeep Virdee started off with a talk explaining the fundamental question, “What is statistics?”, followed by talks on specific statistical concepts: “Who cares about statistical significance?” by Richard Stevens, “Statistics in clinical trials” by Ly-Mee Yu, “Developing risk prediction tools” by Pradeep Virdee, and “Diagnostic accuracy” by Susannah Fleming.

To showcase the breadth of data- and statistics-related research in our department, five of our researchers presented three-minute lightening talks (Paul Bateman, Kiana Collins, Sufen Zhu, Nicholas Jones, and Ting Cai). From incorporating PPIE in a grant application to inequalities in PSA testing (a type of blood test to detect prostate cancer) over time across England, these bite-sized talks were a highlight for PPIE contributors, with many eager to know more.

Additional speakers included Polly Kerr, who highlighted the department’s new PPI strategy, Sue Duncombe, a PPIE representative who made introductions at the start of the day and provided reassurance to the audience that this event had PPIE input, and Jamie Sergeant, who described the work of the NIHR Statistics Group.

There were 13 PPIE contributors who attended, visiting us from locations such as Manchester, Bristol, Southampton, London, in addition to Oxford. They were an engaging audience who were keen to meet statisticians, learn about data and statistics, and discuss collaboration opportunities.

The contributors provided positive feedback about the event, particularly praising the speakers for their successful approaches to communicate complicated statistical topics in lay-friendly ways that resonated with patients.

Feedback included comments such as “Very engaging and accessible language used. The enthusiasm of all the presenters is infectious and inspiring”. Many expressed an interest to attending these events again in the future. We are encouraged by their positive reactions, with almost all PPIE contributors commenting that the event exceeded their expectations. Many also praised the good food and coffee! Here’s what Sue Duncombe (PPIE contributor, event organiser, and event speaker) had to say:

“The statisticians had really thought about how to make their presentations and workshops accessible and engaging for a lay audience. The questions raised by the audience showed their level of interest in the topics. Having more confidence in basic statistical ideas will mean PPIE contributors can add even greater value to research. This will bring subsequent benefits for patients and the public.”

Associate Prof Brian Nicholson (Cancer Theme lead) congratulated Pradeep and his team for organising the event, saying “Pradeep is leading the way in bringing statistics closer to patients and the public. By developing our understanding of how scientific methods are best communicated we will hopefully get better at engaging patients and the public in the research we do.”

Inspired by the positive feedback, we plan to run more in-person events in the future and a series of webinars to reach an even wider audience. We are planning such a webinar for October/November 2024, so please stay tuned! For enquiries, please contact cancer@phc.ox.ac.uk.

We would like to thank Polly Kerr and the department for providing the funding needed to arrange this event, all the speakers for putting in their own time to prepare and deliver talks, and all the PPIE contributors who attended and provided reassurance that statistics does matter to patients.

If you’re curious about becoming a patient or public contributor, visit our public involvement pages here. If you’re a researcher in the department and want to bring the benefits of public involvement into your own work, email our very own PPI Manager, Polly Kerr, at polly.kerr@phc.ox.ac.uk