Inclusive research for women’s health: A collaborative approach

On 20^th November we held our second department Research Showcase, 'Advancing Women’s Health'. With three talks from academics from the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Women’s & Reproductive Health, and Population Health, our researchers got an insight into some of the work advancing women’s health across the university.

Thirteen researchers from NDPCHS presented snippets of their own research, with an incredible range across the life-span of women, illustrated wonderfully in this infographic by Professor Nerys Astbury and Dr Kath Tucker.

Also clear were the breadth of the type of research questions being asked, the methods used to answer them, and the resources available to researchers.

A key part of the success of the day was the interested, supportive, and constructive approach. Networking, brainstorming, and a gathering together of the day’s ideas left our researchers in a strong position to collaborate together, and pursue support for vital themes in their research; equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and patient and public involvement (PPI).

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Women have historically been excluded from research, and research into women’s health has been neglected. Equality, diversity and inclusion in our work to transform women’s health is vital to ensuring we do not exacerbate or perpetuate health inequalities. Indeed, researchers need to do even better than that, and reduce inequalities and improve health for all women. Some researchers talked about their work with under-served groups within women’s health, including adolescents, women from deprived areas, and women from ethnic minority groups. Inclusive research is a key strategy for the main funders of research in NDPCHS, including the National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation.

Patient and Public Involvement

Many researchers working on women’s health talked about the PPI they had undertaken, and how it had improved their research – persuading others of the importance of the research, shaping research questions, through participatory methods co-producing information for patients, and communicating clearly about the research.

A PPI-focused meeting, including a PPI contributor and a research participant, explored how women’s health researchers have been undertaking PPI, and, how we might do it better. Tips were:

Researchers SHOULD:

• welcome and fully include contributors
• invite a wide variety of voices
• prioritise supporting their understanding and ability to influence research
• keep in contact with contributors and give them the choice to disengage
• communicate purpose clearly – “what is it you want us to do?"
• be clear about long research timelines
• offer PPI Contributors and research participants the chance to “transition” to other projects or a new research contact at the end of a project or a role

Researchers SHOULDN’T

• rely only on “expert” PPI Contributors
• patronise PPI Contributors
• feel bad for “bothering” Contributors and research participants, even after the long periods of time research takes
• “drop” contributors and participants at the end of a project or a role

All researchers need to practice inclusive research and undertake meaningful PPI, and NDPCHS has resources to support this:

• our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Culture Coordinator, Ginger Jansen, and researchers with a wealth of experience of undertaking inclusive research
• our PPI Manager, Polly Kerr, plus training, guidance, and even a little funding.

After the Showcase, as I continue my training and research, I am building on the opportunities it has provided. This includes exploring new connections and potential collaborations with other researchers in Oxford, redoubling efforts to recruit a diverse range of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) contributors and working with them to maximise their impact, and undertaking further training in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) through programmes offered by my division and department.