A patient and public involvement (PPI) workshop for the improvement of women’s health technologies
27 March 2023
Patient experience Public engagement & involvement
Over 20 women, health professionals, researchers, and medical device engineers came together for a workshop at St. Hugh’s College on International Women’s Day.
The workshop was a follow up to the EMPOWER priority setting partnership, an NIHR SPCR-funded project which aimed to identify the most important areas for developing better technologies to support women’s health and well-being. Building on the rich and active commitment of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences to patient and public involvement (PPI) in research, the workshop focused on including a wide range of experiences and perspectives in the design of women’s health technologies. The session was funded by the NIHR Community Healthcare Medtech and IVD Cooperative.
After introductions and a brief overview of the session, the workshop began with a presentation from co-organiser Dr Sharon Dixon (GP and NIHR doctoral research fellow) summarising the key messages about the EMPOWER study, which used priority setting methods to develop a top ten list of unmet needs for women’s healthcare.
The 8th March workshop focused on two of these priorities: 1) better tools for internal examination (e.g. speculums), and 2) better devices to help with vaginal prolapse (e.g. pessaries).
A speculum is a duck-bill-shaped medical instrument, typically made from metal or plastic, which is used to open the walls of the vagina to better examine the vagina and cervix. Pessaries, which come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, are flexible devices placed in the vagina to help support the bladder, vagina, uterus, and/or rectum; ring pessaries are some of the most commonly used pessaries for prolapse.
|
A plastic speculum |
A speculum is a duck-bill-shaped medical instrument, typically made from metal or plastic, which is used to open the walls of the vagina to better examine the vagina and cervix. Pessaries, which come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, are flexible devices placed in the vagina to help support the bladder, vagina, uterus, and/or rectum; ring pessaries are some of the most commonly used pessaries for prolapse.
|
|
Real speculums and ring pessaries were brought in as examples, and participants had the opportunity to try out using these tools with vaginal anatomical models after a demonstration by co-organiser Dr Neda Taghinejadi (Sexual and Reproductive Health doctor, and researcher). Co-organiser Dr Abigail McNiven (researcher) had this to say about the experience: “Having the chance to look at, feel and try out the kit on dummy models at the workshop was the first time that some of us had ever really thought about these pieces of equipment – even though they may have been used on us many times before. The sense of camaraderie and shared learning at the workshop was incredible, and made it possible for us to talk through some difficult topics and start to really reflect on how these devices and their uses could be improved by us and for us.” |
Ring pessaries in an assortment of sizes |
Participants explored their initial responses to and lifelong experiences of the uses of these devices. Discussion emphasised the importance of patient empowerment and how pessaries and speculums could be redesigned or better communicated about to support self-use.
EMPOWER co-investigator and academic clinical fellow in Community Sexual and Reproductive Health, Dr Neda Taghinejadi, explains how to insert a plastic speculum
After lunch, the group was joined by healthcare professionals and two Oxford medical device engineers working to design more effective health technologies. In two breakout groups, equipped with art supplies and modelling clay, participants were asked to brainstorm new speculum and pessary designs, with the stipulation that no idea was too farfetched. From built-in lights to inflatable supports and pressure sensors, creativity abounded with practical feedback from the healthcare professionals and engineers.
Moving forward, the hope of the research team is for further collaborations between women, health professionals, and medical device engineers can lead to the development of more effective women’s health technologies. Supplementing the pioneering work of the EMPOWER study, such collaborations will seek to address the remaining top 10 priorities for unmet needs in women’s healthcare.
The research team extends special thanks to Ashley Younger and Maeve Moran for their assistance on the day, as well as to all those who shared their experiences and expertise with the group.