Public involvement and engagement

Public health research is about understanding and tackling issues that make a difference to the health and wellbeing of people across our population.

This means it is important for us to listen to what information members of the public need us to find. It is also important for us to communicate the results of our research in ways that are understandable and useful. This helps make sure the research we do is practical, and helps people live healthier and happier lives.

Our different public partners help us decide which questions we need to answer and how research can be designed to find those answers. They advise us about how research should be managed and help carry out research. They use their everyday experience to help us understand how the information we find can be shared and made to work.

People are all different, they have different skills, and face different challenges. Some people have more time to engage with us than others do. Some have a particular issue they want to address; others have a more general interest in health. To make sure as many different people as possible can take part in our research, there are different ways you can get involved.

• Reviewing project proposals and reports by email or post
• Taking part in meetings or workshops - in person or online
• Sharing information about research in your community or at conferences

As well as involving public partners in research projects, we manage two networks where we share information about research that is taking place. They have in person and online meetings where they can give us feedback and share information about the projects they are involved with.

Read more about public involvement with NIHR SPHR research

Taking part in our research means you will also be able to join the NIHR SPHR Public Partners Network (PAN) to connect with other members of the public who are participating in our research.

The Network provides development opportunities, is a place to link public partners with NIHR SPHR researchers, and a place to reflect on the impact of public involvement in NIHR SPHR.

It is also an opportunity to find out what is happening across the school and to support each other. The network provides opportunities and resources for learning, consultation, and co-production at a strategic level across SPHR.

Public partner and contributor Margaret Ogden tells us about her experiences of being part of the SPHR Public Partners Network in the poem.

For more information please contact Rachel Proctor

We work closely with the Health and Environment Public Engagement network (HEPE). This is a network of people interested in how people’s health and wellbeing are affected by the places they live, work and visit, as well as how those places are changed by the people using them.

It involves members of different communities in the south west peninsula who have a shared interest in how people interact with the environment, both positively and negatively.

Members of HEPE have diverse backgrounds and experiences which they use to inform and enrich the research undertaken by the University of Exeter's European Centre for Environment and Human Health and SPHERE.

HEPE is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for the South West Peninsula (PenARC)

For more information please contact HEPE