A protocol for the establishment and evaluation of an older adult stakeholder panel for health services research

Mairéad Conneely; Pauline Boland; Aoife O'Neill; David Byrne; Sinéad Cronin; Dominic Quinn; Dominic Trépel; Siobhán Leahy; Jon Salsberg; Rose Galvin; Katie Robinson

doi:10.12688/hrbopenres.12979.2

A protocol for the establishment and evaluation of an older adult stakeholder panel for health services research

HRB Open Res. 2020 Jul 20:3:1. doi: 10.12688/hrbopenres.12979.2. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Allied Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, V94 T9PX, Ireland.
² HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Mercer Building, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland, DO2 YN72, Ireland.
³ Trinity Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland, DO2 PN40, Ireland.
⁴ Graduate Entry Medical School Ireland, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, V94 T9PX, Ireland.

Abstract

Background: There has been a policy shift towards public and patient involvement (PPI) in population health and health services research in Ireland and internationally. Despite growing evidence that PPI can have positive impacts on the quality and appropriateness of health research, little is known about the involvement and impact of older adults as research partners. The aim of this study is to 1) describe the process of establishing a PPI panel of older adults, family carers and ageing research academics and 2) to evaluate the impact of this research partnership on all research partners. Methods: A partnership-focused framework will guide the recruitment and establishment of a PPI panel of older adults, family carers and academic researchers. Eight to ten older adults and four to six family carers with experience of using health services will be recruited through gatekeepers in a range of non-governmental, voluntary, and community organisations in the Mid-West region of Ireland. Academic researchers will be recruited through the Ageing Research Centre at the University of Limerick. To evaluating the impact of the research partnership on all members of the PPI panel we propose to record an activity log, maintain a record of all meeting, panel discussions and conduct individual interviews with all members of the research team at key time points. The final plan for evaluation will be negotiated and agreed with all members of the PPI panel. Data will be transcribed, managed in NVivo and analysed using an inductive approach to thematic analysis. Dissemination of research findings will be facilitated by the research partnership team of academics and older adults. Discussion: This study will identify learning about the process of establishing a PPI panel guided by a partnership-focused framework and will evaluate the impact of participation in a PPI panel for all members of the research team.

Keywords: Older adults; collaboration; engagement.; public and patient involvement; research participation.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Health Research Board (HRB) of Ireland through the HRB Collaborative Doctoral Awards under Grant CDA-2018-005 (Right Care Programme).