WORKSHOP 1 - blackpool

Creative methods of communicating to inform women’s health research: a workshop from Blackpool
7th July 2026 13:00-14:30
Room 616.10.06 1st floor, Anna Watts Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter

Natalie Kheirkhah, Founder of Rainbow Pathways Community Arts in Blackpool, will lead a practical workshop, developed with Siobhean McCarthy-Perham, on how we can undertake more inclusive and creative patient and public involvement with women.

We will catch some sun on the very short walk to the Anna Watts Building, hear a PPI contributor’s insights, make our own gratitude jars, and enjoy sweet treats from the Oxford Community Action Kitchen!

This workshop is open to all members of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences who are interested in women’s health and/or PPI. There are a limited number of spaces for this workshop, please sign up as soon as possible here.

WORKSHOP 2 - blackbird leys

A team from Blackbird Leys will run another workshop sometime September-December 2026.

Background

Women in the UK generally live longer than men but spend longer ill or disabled. Good healthcare is crucial to support women's health throughout their lives. Good healthcare is based on evidence; we create evidence by doing research. Women are less likely to be included in research.

To make sure we do the best we can for women we need to carry out the best research we can. To do this we need women to work with us to direct and shape our research. To do this our researchers need to get better at working with patients and the public. This is called patient and public involvement - PPI.

There are a lots of PPI activities taking place in our department involving many patients and members of the public. Undoubtedly, these people bring valuable lived experience to the projects with which they are involved. But they tend not to fall into communities considered as "under-served" by research.

Researchers often have not worked, or do not work, fairly, with under-served communities. We hope that learning better and more creative PPI methods will help us to work more fairly with women in under-served communities to make sure these women shape our research. Their meaningful involvement will improve our research, and lead to better healthcare for women generally.

Meet the team

Rebekah Burrow, Polly Kerr, Natalie Kheirkhah, Freddie Longfoot, Rose Higgins, Pradeep Virdee, Siobhean McCarthy-Perham